Irving Banister

Irving Sully Banister Sr. (February 16, 1933 – December 15, 2020) was an American guitarist who recorded and performed R&B music, in a career lasting more than sixty years."

Early years Irving Banister was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to Louis and Elsie Mae Banister. He had two brothers, Joe and Guardie. "I was playing the trumpet until I was seventeen, but I got my front teeth knocked out," said Banister. "I couldn't hit the high notes anymore. There weren't any guitar players in the band, so I bought a big hollow body Epiphone, a pickup, and amplifier from a music store on South Broad Street for $100."

The band's first recording session was through the intercession of Dr. Daddy-O with Aladdin Records on November 23, 1952. Dave Bartholomew, who was doing production work for Aladdin in New Orleans, signed the band. The contract stipulated 1/2-cent per song to be divided between the writers and 1/2-cent per record to go to Dr. Daddy-O. Potentially lucrative performance royalties were specifically excluded from the contract. Of the four songs recorded only two, "Early Sunday Morning" and "No One To Love Me", were released at the time, under the name The Sha-Weez. The record did not sell, but the band's popularity increased, assisted by their weekly radio broadcasts. They performed at and the Dew Drop Inn. The Dew Drop's owner Frank Painia also booked the band at out of town dates.

Banister was drafted into the Army and served as a cook. Banister was the guitarist when Eddie Bo recorded his "I'm Wise", a hit in New Orleans that Little Richard later covered as "Slippin' And Slidin". Banister considered Bo's mid-1950s band as one of the best to ever come out of New Orleans. The record scraped the bottom of the Billboard charts but failed to take off nationwide. The song was a favorite in New Orleans, whose residents could not understand why it wasn't a hit.

In the mid-1960s dates at white clubs dried up. Owners worried that R&B bands would attract black patrons who would scare off their white audiences. The British Invasion had begun to dominate radio play and gigs were harder to find. Ironically British musicians, who adulated black R&B, pushed established R&B artists from American radio airwaves. Author Rick Coleman wrote, "There was a strange, distorted reflection taking place, as British groups brought R&B back to America." White American groups also began to freely copy black idioms. When club dates dried up, Danny White disbanded the Cavaliers in 1966. Irving Banister returned to Sugar Boy Crawford's band. Crawford was attempting to restart his career, after a beating by Louisiana State Police left him out of action for two years. Sugar Boy's comeback was brief. Banister said, "He couldn't sing the fast numbers anymore so he retired." Banister recalled, "I picked up freelance gigs with other bands when the All Stars weren't working. I've worked with local artists like Johnny Adams, Irma Thomas, Ernie K-Doe, and touring acts like Solomon Burke."

Personal life Banister and wife Littdell "Queen Bee" Banister were the parents of Cassandra, Terry, and Irving "Honey" Banister Jr.,

Banister's last known recording was an appearance on son Honey's band Cha Wa's 2016 debut "Funk and Feathers". Irving Banister, Sr. died December 15, 2020.