Jesse Gee

Jesse Gould was born in White Hall, Alabama. At an early age he and his twin sister, Bessie, sang in church. He and his family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and at the young age of sixteen he formed his own band, Jesse Gould and the Downbeats. He played drums at this time but soon became the lead singer for the group.They played locals clubs and colleges throughout the Cincinnati area. It was at one of their gigs that Jesse met Alonzo Tucker, a former member of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters and also writer and producer for the great Jackie Wilson. Alonzo convinced Jesse to come to NYC where he met Kelly Owens, Owens was an established arranger and song writer for such artist like Big Maybelle and Elvis Presley. Jesse and Owens together wrote and recorded several songs for Barry Records released in the mid to late sixties. During the success of one of Jesse's big hits"Don't you mess with my money"Jesse gain some road experience traveling with Rosco Gordon, noted for his mega hit"Just a little bit". After that tour Jesse was back in the recording studio where he met Billy Nichols and together they wrote recorded "Funky Eyes" "Let's Do It" "That's Hot" and "Out Of Work"