1945 - 2001
We are sad to announce that Dave Purple has passed away. A memorial service was held for him on July 8, 2001 in Clearwater , Florida. David Alan Purple was born February 27, 1945 in Clearwater, Florida.
Dave, who was known by everyone as "Grape", was one of The Cryan' Shames founding members. Formerly from LaGrange Park, Illinois, Dave was a member of The Prowlers prior to joining The Travellers in February 1965 along with Jim Pilster (J.C. Hooke), Tom Doody (Toad), James Fairs, Dennis Conroy and Gerry Stone (Stonehenge.)
Dave had a solid musical background on keyboards, and was self taught on bass guitar. His unique style set a standard for future bassists. He left The Cryan' Shames in early 1967 for military service. After leaving the Cryan' Shames in 1967, Dave went into the music business as an engineer, first with Chess Records in Chicago, IL. Embracing the emerging R&B soul sound, he worked on the following albums (by no means a complete listing ):
"Left My Blues in San Francisco," Buddy Guy (1967)
"Whose Muddy Shoes," Elmore James (1969)
He remained at Chess until about 1970, when he moved to Memphis, TN to become head engineer at Stax Records, an emerging label riding the success of Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Booker T & the MGs. He engineered a number of albums while at Stax, among them:
"If Walls Could Talk," Little Milton (1970)
"Black Moses," Isaac Hayes (1971)
"High on the Blues," Jimmy McCracklin (1971)
"Starting All Over Again," Mel & Tim (1972)
"I Like 'Em Young," Moms Mabley (1972)
"Genesis," The Soul Children (1972)
"Live at the Sahara Tahoe," Isaac Hayes (1973)
"Blues at Sunset," Albert King (1973)
"Talking to the People," Black Nasty (1973)
"Waiting for Little Milton," Little Milton (1973)
"Phases of Reality," William Bell (1973)
"Soul Street," Eddie Floyd (1974)
"Friction," The Soul Children (1974)
"Love Means," Carla Thomas
"Memphis Queen," Carla Thomas
"Greatest Hits," Luther Ingram
"Phase II," Margie Joseph
"Little Bluebird," Johnnie Taylor
"Senior Soul," Billy Eckstein
"If She Walked Into My Life," Billy Eckstein
He also worked on the soundtrack from "Shaft," for which he earned a Grammy in 1971 for "Best Engineering" on the "Theme from Shaft."
During his years there, Stax began to collapse. As artists departed in the turmoil beginning around 1973/4, Dave also left before Stax closed in 1975.
He then returned for a short time to Chicago, where he assisted a group of men with the technical issues of beginning their own studio. He left Chicago for Boston, MA and began his career in the sales of professional audio equipment, a career he carried with him for the remainder of his life.
He then moved to Nashville in the mid- to late-1970s, and held a number of jobs in the sales of audio equipment, dealing directly with studios in the acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment. Dave lived in Antioch, TN (a suburb of Nashville) at the time of his death in June, 2001. Dave was active in the recording industry, and he is survived by his sons Chad and Rob.
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