Artist Guide

Mel Waiters (Celebrating Past Southern Soul Royalty)

#2 ranked Southern Soul Artist

"Hole In The Wall"

Mel Waiters (Celebrating Past Southern Soul Royalty)

Composed by Mel Waiters

September 1, 2020:

Mel Waiters (From Buddy Ace To Sir Charles Jones)

This month your Daddy B. Nice celebrates what may be becoming an annual event: Remembering Mel Waiters for the touchstone artist he was, and rejoicing in his musical antics. Featured is an insight into Mel's early inspiration with and admiration for Buddy Ace, taken from an interview I did with his long-time back-up singer, Chandra Calloway.

But first let's look at Mel's later-career competition, if not inspiration (although I think he was an inspiration, too), Sir Charles Jones. After all, Jones and Mel Waiters were number one and number two (just like the charts say) for many, many years. And for those who have been around for awhile, who can forget the World Wrestling-styled extravaganza called...

"Who Will Be The King Of Southern Soul?"

...captured live onstage in New Orleans. (And by the way, these promotions are carrying on to this day, only now it's Sir Charles and Jeter Jones, or Tucka and Pokey Bear, or Calvin Richardson and T.K. Soul.) Anything to bring in the crowds and arouse their passions.

And let's not forget the lyrics to "Friday," Sir Charles' most iconic song. He was thinking of Mel when he wrote these lines:

"Mel Waiters on the radio,
Singing about the whiskey.
I think I'll go by the store
To get me a bottle
So I can be ready
To get my groove on the dance floor."

Which occasions another side note: Mel was not a whiskey drinker! But that didn't keep him from celebrating drink in his songs.

I went back into the YouTube vaults and dug out this gem. It's never been taken down. Charles is quite the trash-talker. Mel's mike is off for much of the song, but if you've watched this far into the video, you'll be singing along with the enraptured audience.

Watch "Who Will Be The King Of Southern Soul" on YouTube.

If you pay particular attention to Mel's physical appearance onstage in the video, you'll better understand some of the remarks I make in the beginning of the "Mel Waiters/Buddy Ace" article below.

Mel Waiters & Buddy Ace

September 28, 2013 (Updated May 9 and August 30, 2020):

Listen to Mel Waiters singing "The Hole In The Wall" on YouTube.

Released in 1999--technically not a 21st Century Southern Soul candidate--Mel Waiters' "Hole In The Wall" nevertheless kicked off the modern era of Southern Soul music. And although there were few artists who wouldn't have considered themselves "outsiders" around the turn of the century, Mel Waiters was an "outsider" by even those scant standards.

Sir Charles Jones had Marvin Sease, the very heart and soul of chitlin' circuit rhythm and blues, as a mentor. T. K. Soul tutored--if only for awhile--under Southern Soul icon Willie Clayton.

A "late starter" as an recording artist, Mel Waiters was already nearly as old as Clayton, long past the youthful "prime" when most vocal acts (including Jones and Soul) make their initial mark, when he began recording. He didn't have the credentials to be a member of the older generation yet his maturity was seemingly out of place in the younger generation of trend-setters.

And, to add to to the unlikelihood of Waiters' success, he was from Texas, that vast frontier west of the Delta known for swallowing up artists in the anonymous vastness of its expanse.

At a time when countless musicians from non-Delta regions of the country were trying and failing to capture the authentic sound of Delta-based Southern Soul, how did this unknown singer/songwriter produce the touchstone for the entire emerging genre?

The official biography (scroll down to "About Artist") doesn't offer many clues, but a 2009 interview your Daddy B. Nice conducted with Chandra Calloway, Waiters' longtime background singer, does offer an insight.

First, one must remember that the prime yet almost entirely unheard and unheralded era of Southern R&B actually took place from 1985 to 2000. That era was also kicked off by an unlikely "outsider," Texan Z.Z. Hill and his classic "Down Home Blues."

After Hill died, another charismatic if less well-known Texan took up the good fight: Jasper, Texas native Buddy Ace. Here is an excerpt from the aforementioned interview beginning with Chandra Calloway's account of seeing Buddy Ace:

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When did you first have a glimpse that there were people like Mel Waiters and Marvin Sease?

I can tell you the exact date, Daddy. Ironically, it was a Valentine's Day Party at the Nighty-Night Club in Fort Worth.

Nighty-Night. (Daddy B. Nice laughs.) That's cool.

And I went with my mom and everyone was dressed in red and white. I mean dressed to the nines. High heels, make-up, the whole deal.

You're kidding. They don't do stuff like this up north!

Huh-uh. The guys too. Red hats, white shoes.

Did you say gloves?

No. (Chandra laughs.) I had a cape on.

Wow. Now how old were you?

I was probably. . . 25 years old.

They had a well-known local band. But the headliner was Buddy Ace.

Oh, man.

Yeah. And Buddy Ace blew my mind. He had his ladies onstage. They were called The Sugar Babies. They all looked like Diana Ross. And that was it for me. I was inspired. And he sang, "It Don't Hurt No More." And then he went around the crowd, from table to table, and up to ours, and he put the microphone to my mouth. And I had been singing around by this time. But when I took that microphone and belted out, "It don't hurt no more!", I couldn't believe what had come out of me. It was something I'd never done. But the crowd loved it. That was my first encounter with Southern Soul music, and I was hooked.

That's an amazing story.

My present boss (Mel Waiters). That's why he dyed his hair white to this day, too.

Mel? I thought he picked that up from Dennis Rodman!

(Chandra laughs.) No. He saw Buddy Ace perform and he was his inspiration, too. Johnnie Taylor and Tyrone Davis were big influences, of course. But he wanted to look and he wanted to perform like Buddy Ace.

Did Buddy Ace have white hair?

Yes.

Now he had it because he was old, right?

Right. And Mel still goes out into the crowd during his concerts and walks around like Buddy did.

Read the entire interview.

Listen to Buddy Ace singing "It Don't Hurt No More" on YouTube.

Listen to Buddy Ace singing "Pouring Water On A Drowning Man" Live Onstage on YouTube.

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Note: Mel Waiters also appears on Daddy B. Nice's original Top 100 Southern Soul Artists (90's-00's). The "21st Century" after Mel Waiters' name in the headline is to distinguish his artist-guide entries on this page from his artist-guide page on Daddy B. Nice's original chart.
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To automatically link to Mel Waiter's charted radio singles, awards, CD's and other citations and references on the website, go to "Waiters, Mel" in Daddy B. Nice's Comprehensive Index.

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--Daddy B. Nice

About Mel Waiters (Celebrating Past Southern Soul Royalty)

One of contemporary Southern Soul's undisputed headliner artists, known for his straightforward, non-satirical approach to "everyday" material and his no-frills, vibrato-less vocal style, Melvin (aka Mel) Waiters was born June 25, 1956 in San Antonio, Texas.

Waiters described his early years to Heikki Suosalo of "Soul Express" on the occasion of his first album, I'M SERIOUS, in 1996.

At the age of seven, after I received my first drum set on a Christmas morning, I went into the living-room, where my grand-parents were at and I started 'I'm a drummer by trade'. By twelve noon they took it away from me.I started playing at the age of twelve, and in my senior high school years I started playing with quite a few bands around town. We played around suburbs and went to other cities. I also did a lot of opening dates for bands like Frankie Beverly & Maze. This was through 1984. I also became a jock, an announcer by 1976 at the radio station in San Antonio ('76-'82) and in Beaumont, Texas ('82-'84).

After a hiatus of about five years, Waiters re-entered the music business, formed a band and honed his skills while under contract with the United States Government as an entertainer at military bases throughout the Southwest ('89-95), during which time he also set up a home recording studio.

Self-produced and performed (excepting saxophone), Waiter's first album, I'm Serious (Serious Sounds), notched a modicum of attention with the single "Hit It And Quit It" upon its debut in 1995.

Waiters followed it up with the even more popular single "Suki-Suki Man," the title track of his second album (Serious Sounds) in 1997.

By this time Waiters had caught the eye of Tommy Couch Jr. at Malaco Records subsidiary Waldoxy Records in Jackson, Mississippi, who signed the artist to a contract (essentially letting Waiters do all his own recording and producing) thus beginning a long-standing collaboration.

Woman In Need (1997), the first Waiters album under Waldoxy's imprint, netted his biggest single to date, "Got My Whiskey," featuring (according to Blues Critic Dylann DeAnna) a "very polished dance sound."

But Waiters still hadn't reached his peak. That came with 1999's Material Things (Waldoxy) and the iconic Southern Soul single, "Hole In The Wall."

Buttressed by a strong, simple hook, the song's lyrics became a rallying cry across the chitlin' circuit:

"Three o'clock in the morning,
All the damned clubs are closed.
I went to this place, y'all,
I didn't want anyone to know.
I walked into the room,
Had my nose in the air.
It's seven in the morning
And I'm still in there.

Let's go, baby,
To the hole in the wall.
I had my best time, y'all,
In the hole in the wall."

"Hole In The Wall" perfectly captured the mixture of initial contempt and ultimate wonder awaiting fans intrepid enough to venture beyond the bounds of commercial R&B into southern soul, inadvertently making inroads on those very commercial charts: Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles at #24, Billboard's Top Blues Albums chart (#5) and Billboard's Top R & B/Hip Hop Albums chart at #83.

Mel Waiters released four albums between 2000 and 2005, two sets of new material for Waldoxy--Let Me Show You How To Love (2001) and Nite Out--and two sets of retrospective/miscellaneous material--I Want The Best (Serious Sounds/Suzie Q 2002) and Got My Whiskey (601 Music 2005).

The single "Let Me Show You How To Love Again" from the album of the same name, showcased Waiters' balladry to spectacular effect, with the subtle layering and echoing of Waiter's double-tracked vocals adding immensely to the song's emotional depth and urgency.

"Let Me Show You How To Love Again, The CD, in fact, set the Waiters' gold standard for ballads, with "How Can I Get Next To You," replete with sparkling sax and deep keyboard riffs, a close second to the title track.

Nite Out, on the other hand, produced a pair of uptempo Southern Soul singles, "Smaller The Club" and "Girls' Night Out."

But the Nite Out album was also distinguished by some of Waiters' best ballads to date, most notably "No Ring On My Finger," a rousing Kelly Price/Ronald Isley/R. Kelly-like duet with longtime back-up singer Chandra Calloway. Another slow stunner from the CD was the smokey and reflective (and yet compellingly melodic) bar angst of "Whiskey And Blues."

Waiter's output leveled off a bit beginning in 2006, not that the quality was less than consistently professional and entertaining. However, the spectacular "highs" of the early 00's were increasingly absent, replaced by a frequently formulaic sameness to the songs. Among the Waiters' CD's and songs that in part or entirely overcame this "familiarity"--the bane of veterans--were:

Throw Back Days (Waldoxy 2006) with the nostalgic title-tune "Throw Back Days" and fellow singles "Friday Night Fish Fry," "Half Pint" and "I Like Your Sister" (an overlooked track and nifty hook that Waiters redid on his next album in "I Ain't Gone Do It");

I Ain't Gone Do It (Waldoxy 2010), featuring one of Waiters' finest post-"Let Me Show You How To Love" ballads in "Meet Me Tonight;" also the ballad "Barbeque," a cover of "I Fell In Love At The Barbeque" by Cupid, who contributed background vocals;

--and two popular uptempo singles--the amusingly autobiographical "I Ain't Gone Do It," with the memorable couplet--

I've tried Viagra
And it don't do a thing.

--and the Everyman anthem, "Everything's Going Up," both anchored by Fred Flintstone-solid, Waiters-style hooks.

The CD's Say What's On Your Mind (Brittney 2011) and Got No Curfew (Brittney, 2012) notched popular southern soul singles with their title tunes, or near-title tunes in the case of "When You Get Drunk (You Say What's On Your Mind)" from the former and--from the latter--"Got No Curfew" an especially durable single still charting on southern soul deejay playlists in the second year after its release.

The CD Poor Side Of Town (Brittney, 2013) had just been released at the time of this writing.

Mel Waiters' Discography:

I'm Serious (Serious Sounds 1995)

Suki-Suki Man (Serious Sounds 1997)

Woman In Need (Waldoxy 1997)

Material Things (Waldoxy 1999)

I Want The Best (Serious Sounds/Suzie Q 2000)

Let Me Show You How To Love (Waldoxy 2001)

A Nite Out (Waldoxy 2003)

Got My Whiskey (601 Music 2005)

Throw Back Days (Waldoxy 2006)

I Ain't Gone Do It (Waldoxy 2010)

Christmas At The Hole In The Wall (Brittney 2010)

Say What's On Your Mind (Brittney 2011)

(If He's Gonna) Beat You (Single/Not on any album) Brittney 2011

Got No Curfew (Brittney 2012)

Dance Music Collection (Brittney 2013)

Poor Side Of Town" (Brittney 2013)

True Love (Music Access 2015)

To shop for all of Mel Waiters' albums, go to "Waiters, Mel" in Daddy B. Nice's Bargain CD Store.

Tidbits

1.

September 25, 2013: Mel Waiters on YouTube

2.

September 29, 2013: NEW ALBUM ALERT!

Sample/Buy Mel Waiter's Poor Side Of Town CD. (Brittney, 2013)

See Daddy B. Nice's Top Ten "Breaking" Southern Soul Singles for September '13 and October '13: "Hottest Thing," "Poor Side Of Town."

3.

March 30, 2015: NEW ALBUM ALERT!

Sample/Buy Mel Waiter's new TRUE LOVE CD at AMAZON.

Listen to Mel Waiters introducing his new album, TRUE LOVE, on YouTube.

Listen to Mel Waiters singing "True Love on YouTube.

4.

January 1, 2016:

In Memoriam 2015 Pt. 2

June 2, 2015:

Services for Mel Waiters

5-8 pm, Friday, June 5, 2015:

Wake At New Creations Fellowship Church, 8700 Fourwinds Drive, San Antonio, Texas

210-646-7997

12 Noon, Saturday, June 6, 2015:

Funeral at New Creations Fellowship Church, 8700 Fourwinds Drive, San Antonio, Texas

210-646-7997

May 28, 2015: Southern Soul Tragedy:

MEL WAITERS DIED THIS MORNING, THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2015, OF CANCER IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS. HE WAS ONLY 58.

See story on Daddy B. Nice's Corner.

Scroll down to read Daddy B. Nice's biography of the artist.

--Daddy B. Nice

Listen to Mel Waiters singing "Hole In The Wall" on YouTube.

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May 15, 2015:

Mel Waiters Is Hospitalized In Critical Condition (Cardio-Pulmonary).

May 15, 2015:

Mel Waiters Is Hospitalized:

Mel Waiters Is Currently Being Treated In A Texas Hospital For Cardio Pulmanary Complications,

....according to "The Boogie Report." His condition is serious and the family asks that all concerned parties refrain from calling family members and refrain from calling the hospital. For more information and updates Contact Rogers Redding, 478-742-8772.

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5.

June 11, 2017:

From Daddy B. Nice's Concert Calendar:

Saturday, June 24, 2017. Vibes Events Center, 1211 East Houston St., San Antonio, Texas. Mel Waiters Tribute. Pokey Bear, Tucka, Cupid, Walter Waiters and more. 210-394-3100.