His big break came in 1964, when he won the Tip Top Bread Talent Contest at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater. Performing "I've Got Tears in My Eyes" with Henrietta and David Buchanan, Buster won the $750 prize and came to the attention of Steve Blaine, whose father, Jerry Blaine, ran the Jubilee and Josie record labels. Buster's composition, "Lookin' for a Home", was released on Jubilee in late '64 and became a radio hit in many local markets. As a result of the record's success, Buster went out on the road, appearing in venues such as Philadelphia's Uptown Theater. Al Kooper, a lifelong fan of Buster, covered "Lookin' for a Home" on his "Kooper Session" album.
Buster continued to perform and record for Jubilee and its sister label, Josie, throughout the 1960's. His biggest hit was with "Young Boy Blues", released on Josie in 1968. It met with a great deal of success in places like Cleveland, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, and Buster again travelled in support of the disc. Doc Pomus, the song's writer, preferred Buster's version of "Young Boy Blues" to other recorded versions, including the Ben E. King original. After the Jubilee/Josie label began to decline, Buster cut one final single in 1970 on the Minit label, "City of Blues", backed with "Cry Me a River". Arranged by George Butler with orchestral arrangement by Horace Ott, the single is another "lost masterpiece" of the era, but barely sold at the time. Around the same time, Jubilee collected many of Buster's single recordings and other tracks and prepared an LP, entitled "Looking for a Home", for release, but few if any copies were actually issued by the faltering label.
With his recording career on hold, Buster turned his attention to performing. During the early 1970's, he taught himself how to play blues guitar and added more blues to his live repertoire. The nucleus of the Soul Brothers band also began to take shape, and Buster started entertaining a new generation of Long Islanders and New Yorkers with blues, soul classics, and original material. Little Buster & the Soul Brothers paid their dues as the opening band for artists such as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, James Brown, Solomon Burke, Etta James, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Albert King, Al Kooper, and many other musical greats. While making occasional out-of-town appearances, the band mainly played the bars and clubs of Long Island and New York City, expanding their playlist, working up new original numbers, and tightening their sound.
After numerous false starts, Little Buster & the Soul Brothers finally recorded an album in 1995, primarily featuring Buster's originals. "Right on Time!", released on Rounder's Bullseye Blues label in July of that year, received critical acclaim from around the world and was nominated for a W.C. Handy Award in the category of "Best Blues/Soul Album". The CD was alwo a runner-up for "Best Soul/Blues Album of 1995" in the Living Blues Magazine Critics' Awards. The album's release also created new opportunities for the band, leading to appearances on "CBS This Morning", "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", "The Chris Rock Show", and Dan Ackroyd's "House of Blues Radio Hour". Buster and the Soul Brothers have also been featured in magazines such as Juke Blues(UK), 20th Century Guitar, New York Music Guide, Newsday, and Voices from the Shadows(UK).
Since the release of "Right on Time!", the band graduated to headliner status at clubs such as Tramps, Terra Blues, and Manny's Car Wash in New York City, and played at the Celebrate Brooklyn Festival, the Newport Jazz Festival in Saratoga, the Atlantic Jazz Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the Park Tower Blues Festival in Tokyo, Japan. As a change of pace, Buster also performed "solo" from time to time, for the first time in his career.
The members of the late-90` era Soul Brothers were:
Edward "Little Buster" Forehand - Guitar, vocals, harmonica
Jerry Harshaw - Tenor Saxophone
'Saxy Ric' - Tenor Saxaphone
Eugene DaCosta Cordew - Keyboards
Robert Schlesinger - Hammond B-3 Organ
Alan Levy - Bass
Frank Anstiss - Drums
For many years, Buster dreamed of re-releasing his old 45's, which have become extremely difficult to find. Finally, in late 1996, he learned that Sequel Records, England's premiere reissue label, had obtained the rights to release all of the material Buster had cut for the Jubilee and Josie labels during the 1960's, and were preparing a CD collection. The cover and track order was taken from Buster's ill-fated Jubilee LP, and the collection was entitled "Looking for a Home". Released in the United States in February, 1997, this collection finally made these rare tracks available to the public.
During the late 1990`s, Buster continued to perform at clubs in New York City and Long Island, toured regularly on the East Coast and in Canada, and performed at festivals throughout the world. Subsequent CD releases included "Work Your Show" in 2000 and "Live Volume One" in 2004. Following a series of strokes, Buster passed away on May 11, 2006.
Fan Page: Little Buster & The Soul Brothers
What Can I Do
Little Buster & The Soul Brothers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Five ベッドに入る
Nine 横目で見る時計を伏せた
呆れているのは 誰よりも自分
もう冷めている振りするのはやめよう
Father, mother, brother, sister いつも
バカな嘘でも信じてくれた
It's time to wake up! 目覚めたら
Now get up! Get up! 心は
Gotta move on! 止まらない
求めれば始まる
Alright! 想像以上へ
踏み込めれば oh yea!
夢は叶えるもの step by step, I can do it!
Wow, I can do it! I can do it!
I can do it! I can do it!
I can do it!
Ah 何をしたいのか
Cry out 声がかれてもいい
Pain 当たり前なら逃げてもいられない
The light in the shadow 探そう
そして捨てかけていた気持ちを
照らし出して見つめれば
I promise to get back myself
It's time to wake up! 目覚めたら
Now get up! Get up! 心は
Gotta move on! 止まらない
求めれば始まる
Alright! 想像以上へ
踏み込めれば oh yea!
夢は叶えるもの step by step, you can do it!
Wow, you can do it! You can do it!
You can do it! You can do it!
You can do it! You can do it!
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
めくるめく日々
巡り巡る time won't wait
It's time to wake up! 目覚めたら
Now get up! Get up! 心は
Gotta move on! 止まらない
求めれば始まる
Alright! 想像以上へ
踏み込めれば oh yea!
夢は叶えるもの step by step, we can do it!
Wow, we can do it! We can do it!
We can do it! We can do it!
We can do it! We can do it!
The song starts off with the singer telling us it is still too early to sleep at four in the morning, but they decide to try and sleep anyways. They cover the clock with their arm and feel disappointed in themselves for trying to act nonchalant about something they actually care about. They then think about their family, who always believed in them even when they told silly lies. The singer ponders what they want to do with their life and acknowledges that if pain is inevitable, then they can't just run away from it.
The chorus encourages the listener to wake up and move on, emphasizing that if you want something, it will all start from there. The song motivates and inspires listeners to pursue their dreams and believe in themselves. The bridge explains how time keeps moving and we need to make the most of it. The song ends with the chorus once again, reminding the listener that if they put their mind to it, they can achieve their goals.
Line by Line Meaning
Four まだ眠れない
It's four, but I still can't sleep
Five ベッドに入る
It's five, time to go to bed
Nine 横目で見る時計を伏せた
It's nine, I covered the clock with my eyes
呆れているのは 誰よりも自分
The one who's disappointed the most is myself
もう冷めている振りするのはやめよう
I'll stop pretending to be cold
Father, mother, brother, sister いつも
Family, always
バカな嘘でも信じてくれた
Believed even my stupid lies
彼女の涙は今も この胸の中で流れている
Her tears are still flowing in my heart
It's time to wake up! 目覚めたら
It's time to wake up, when you open your eyes
Now get up! Get up! 心は
Now get up, your heart
Gotta move on! 止まらない
Gotta move on, can't stop
求めれば始まる
It begins if you seek
Alright! 想像以上へ
Alright, beyond imagination
踏み込めれば oh yea!
If you step forward, oh yea!
夢は叶えるもの step by step, I can do it!
Dreams come true step by step, I can do it!
Wow, I can do it! I can do it!
Wow, I can do it! I can do it!
I can do it! I can do it!
I can do it! I can do it!
Ah 何をしたいのか
Ah, what do I want to do?
Cry out 声がかれてもいい
Cry out, even if my voice becomes hoarse
Pain 当たり前なら逃げてもいられない
If pain is natural, I can't escape it
The light in the shadow 探そう
Let's search for the light in the shadow
そして捨てかけていた気持ちを
And throw away the feelings I was about to give up
照らし出して見つめれば
If I shine a light on them and look
I promise to get back myself
I promise to find myself again
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Days of the week
めくるめく日々
Dazzling days
巡り巡る time won't wait
Time keeps ticking
Alright! 想像以上へ
Alright, beyond imagination
踏み込めれば oh yea!
If you step forward, oh yea!
夢は叶えるもの step by step, we can do it!
Dreams come true step by step, we can do it!
Wow, we can do it! We can do it!
Wow, we can do it! We can do it!
We can do it! We can do it!
We can do it! We can do it!
We can do it! We can do it!
We can do it! We can do it!
We can do it! We can do it!
We can do it! We can do it!
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Michico, T Kura
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kennyat Kwnphoto gmail
Wish Buster was still with us; I will always remember him. Great solo on this one by Jerry !
Dr Kenneth Mitchell
I fell in love with his lyrics a few years ago. Always great to listen to Little Buster....
May 12, 2016..Dr. Mitchell, NYC Foot Specialist
William Coleman
Great song and album. He should have been a big star.
Bud Moffett
Just GREAT, as ALWAYS... WTG, Al and Bobby! Love you guys, Brother Bud ;)
Mark Axen
Remember seeing him at The Right Track Inn, Freeport, NY, many years ago! Good stuff.
MrLucRad
And OBI. I used to work at the RTI, and grew up in Freeport
Rosanne Riley
My brother in-law became personal friends with him in the early 90’s. He played at my going away party when I moved to FL in 93
Hilmar Wensorra
In VERY loving memory of Mr. Edward James Forehand (1942 - 2006 R.I.P. Gone but NOT forgotten)