Cornell Dupree

Cornell Luther Dupree (December 19, 1942 – May 8, 2011) was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. He worked at various times with Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, King Curtis and Steve Gadd, appeared on David Letterman, and wrote a book on soul and blues guitar: Rhythm and Blues Guitar. He reportedly recorded on 2,500 sessions.

Biography

Dupree was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, where he graduated from I.M. Terrell High School. Dupree began his career playing in the Atlantic Records studio band, recording on albums by Aretha Franklin (Aretha Live at Fillmore West) and King Curtis as a member of Curtis's band "The King Pins" (having grown up with King Curtis in Fort Worth). He appeared on the 1969 Lena Horne and Gábor Szabó recording, and on recordings with Archie Shepp, Grover Washington, Jr., Snooky Young and Miles Davis.

He was a founding member of the band Stuff, which featured fellow guitarist Eric Gale, Richard Tee on keyboards, Steve Gadd and Chris Parker on drums, and Gordon Edwards on bass. Dupree and Tee recorded together on many occasions. Notable albums include the aforementioned Aretha and King Curtis records, plus Joe Cocker's Stingray and Luxury You Can Afford, plus Cornell's solo albums Teasin', Saturday Night Fever (instrumental), Shadow Dancing, Can't Get Through, Coast to Coast, Uncle Funky, Child's Play, Bop 'n' Blues, and Unstuffed. He played on Brook Benton's "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Please Send Me Someone to Love", and is featured on two tracks of Peter Wolf's 1998 album, Fool's Parade.

In December 1972, the UK music magazine, NME, reported that Dupree, along with Roberta Flack and Jerry Jemmott, had been injured in an auto accident in Manhattan.

Yamaha produced a signature guitar called the Carnell Dupree Model.

In 1989, Cornell recorded a video for Arlen Roth's Hot Licks called Mastering R&B Guitar, which documented his style, technique and influences. In 2009, Dupree appeared in a documentary entitled Still Bill, which chronicled the life and times of Bill Withers. He appeared on stage playing a guitar-led version of Grandma's Hands. Bill Withers, at first, was sitting in the audience, but ended up joining him on stage to sing the lyrics to the song. In this part of the documentary, Dupree played his guitar on a stool, breathing using an oxygen machine, which foretold his suffering from emphysema.

Dupree died on May 8, 2011 at his home in Fort Worth, Texas. He had been waiting for a lung transplant as a result of suffering from emphysema.

Discography

As leader

• 1974: Teasin' (Atlantic; CD reissue: Wounded Bird)
• 1977: Saturday Night Fever (Versatile)
• 1979: Shadow Dancing (Versatile)
• 1988: Coast to Coast (Antilles)
• 1991: Can't Get Through (Amazing)
• 1992: Uncle Funky (Live)
• 1993: Child's Play (Amazing)
• 1994: Bop 'n' Blues (Kokopelli)
• 1998: Unstuffed (Pnec)
• 2005: Mr. 2005 (Birdland)
• 2011: I'm Alright (Dialtone)
• 2011: Doin' Alright (P-Vine)

As sideman

With Sam Cooke

• Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 (RCA Victor, 1985)

With Hank Crawford

• It's a Funky Thing to Do (Cotillion, 1971)
• Help Me Make it Through the Night (Kudu, 1972)
• We Got a Good Thing Going (Kudu, 1972)
• Crunch Time (Milestone, 1999) with Jimmy McGriff

With King Curtis

• Live at Fillmore West (Atco, 1971)

With Charles Earland

• The Dynamite Brothers (Prestige, 1973)

With Aretha Franklin

• Aretha Live at Fillmore West (Atlantic, 1971)
• Young, Gifted and Black (Atlantic, 1972)
• Amazing Grace (Atlantic, 1972)

With Eddie Harris

• Come on Down (Atlantic, 1970)
• Second Movement (Atlantic, 1971) - with Les McCann

With Gene Harris

• Gene Harris of the Three Sounds (Blue Note, 1972)

With Donny Hathaway

• Live (Atlantic, 1972)

With Lena Horne and Gábor Szabó

• Lena & Gabor (Skye, 1969)

With Roland Kirk

• The Case of the 3 Sided Dream in Audio Color (Atlantic, 1975)

With Yusef Lateef

• Hush 'N' Thunder (Atlantic, 1972)

With Arif Mardin

• Journey (Atlantic, 1974)

With Les McCann

• Invitation to Openness (Atlantic, 1972)

With Jack McDuff

• A Change Is Gonna Come (Atlantic, 1966)
• Magnetic Feel (Cadet, 1975)

With Jimmy McGriff

• The Dudes Doin' Business (Capitol, 1970) with Junior Parker

With David Newman

• Lonely Avenue (Atlantic, 1972)
• The Weapon (Atlantic, 1973)
• Scratch My Back (Prestige, 1979)
• Return to the Wide Open Spaces (Amazing, 1990) with Ellis Marsalis

With Bernard Purdie

• Stand By Me (Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get) (Mega, 1971)
• Soul Is... Pretty Purdie (Flying Dutchman, 1972)

With Buddy Rich

• Europa Jazz Buddy Rich Big Band (EJ-1009 Italy, 1981)

With Marlena Shaw

• Marlena (Blue Note, 1972)
• From the Depths of My Soul (Blue Note, 1973)

With Dakota Staton

• Madame Foo-Foo (Groove Merchant, 1972)

With Sonny Stitt

• Mr. Bojangles (Cadet, 1973)

With Stanley Turrentine

• Cherry (CTI, 1972)
• The Man with the Sad Face (Fantasy, 1976)
• Nightwings (Fantasy, 1977)

With Cedar Walton

• Beyond Mobius (RCA, 1976)

With Charles Williams

• Stickball (Mainstream, 1972)

With Eddie Palmieri

• Harlem River Drive (Roulette, 1971);
• Live at Sing Sing Vol. 1 & 2 (Tico, 1972).