Oliver Sain
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Oliver Sain (born 1 March 1932 in Dundee, Mississippi, died 28 October 2003, St. Louis, Missouri) was a saxophonist, songwriter, bandleader, drummer and record producer.
In 1949, Sain moved to Greenville, Mississippi to join his stepfather, pianist Willie Love, as a drummer in a band fronted by Sonny Boy Williamson, soon leaving to join Howlin’ Wolf where he acted as a drummer on and off for the following decade. After returning from the U. S. Army draft he took up the saxophone.
Sain is credited with launching the career of Little Milton, who became a vocalist is Sain’s band, and discovering Bobby McClure and Fontella Bass, who he originally hired as pianist for Little Milton.
Sain wrote "Don't Mess up a Good Thing" which was a number one hit in the US for Bobby McClure in 1965. In the mid-1970s, he recorded his own disco records such as "Bus Stop", "Booty Bumpin' (The Double Bump)" (1975), "Party Hearty" (1976) and "Feel Like Dancing" (1977).
Sain died 28 October 2003 from a bone cancer that followed on from a previous bladder cancer.