Goodnight Daddy G

The great Gene Barge departs the stage, studio, and movie screen

Back around 1961, I somehow acquired a 45-rpm record with three tunes: “Daddy’s Home,” by Shep and the Limelights, “Over the Mountain” by Johnny and Joe, and “CC Rider,” by Chuck Willis. The soulful tenor saxophone solo spoke to me, but I didn’t know the player. Years later I learned the soloist was Gene Barge, also known as “Daddy G,” who has just passed away at the age of 98.

Gene Barge was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1926, the eldest of eight children. His father was a welder in the Norfolk Naval yard, where a visiting British soldier gave him a saxophone. The horn got passed on to son Gene, then a student at West Virginia State College. The saxophone was then the featured instrument in many bands. Barge paid his dues and got noticed.

Chuck Willis invited the tenor man to join his touring band and in 1957 brought him to the recording session for “CC Rider.” When the studio saxman failed to work out, Gene stepped in, and the tune soon topped the R&B charts. Willis died in 1958 but Barge found a spot with Norfolk friend Gary Anderson, better known as Gary U.S. Bonds. The singer let Gene stretch out on hits such as “Quarter to Three,” “New Orleans,” “School is Out,” “Dear Lady Twist,” and “Twist Twist Senora,” which gives Barge a composer credit. Barge is also mentioned in “The Bristol Stomp,” by the Dovells, which says “we rocked with Daddy G.”

In Chicago Barge hooked up with Chess records and played on “Rescue Me,” a hit for Fontella Bass in 1965. The tenor and alto man worked with many other artists and co-produced Natalie Cole’s “Sophisticated Lady,” a Grammy Winner in 1977. Barge went on to tour with the Rolling Stones and even played on Public Enemy’s “New Whirl Odor” album, released in 2005. On top of all that, Daddy G was also an actor.

Gene Barge appeared in Above the Law, The Package and The Fugitive, in which he plays a detective tasked to brief the press. They were all small parts, but it’s hard to find A-list actors who toured with the Rolling Stones and played with Gary U.S. Bonds, Fontella Bass, and Chuck Willis, way back in 1957. When I got word of his passing, I broke out a horn and played along to his “CC Rider” solo. My way of saying Daddy G, rest in peace.