“Chicken Gumbo” (1957) – Josephine Premice * Written by Walter Merrick, Joe Willoughby, and Evans * Produced by Barney Kessel * LP: Caribe: Josephine Premice Sings Calypso * Label: Verve
When Josephine Premice released her late ’50s Calypso records, she had a respectable showbiz track record, having debuted in the 1945 Broadway revue Blue Holiday. Born in Brooklyn, Premice was the daughter of a Count in the deposed Haitian aristocracy. Her father, Lucas Premice, had escaped prison chains and eventually wound up in the USA, where Josephine received an upper class education and attended Columbia University. Sounding like a rescued treasure from the shores of Haiti, her Caribe album is actually a product of the LA session guitarist Barney Kessel and a fleet of pro songwriters, including Joe Willoughby and Walter Merrick, who composed “Chicken Gumbo,” the album’s tribute to the healing powers of the Haitian dish alongside “okra water.” (A mystery songwriter named Evans also receives credit for “Chicken Gumbo” on the label.) Such surprises of origin take nothing away from Caribe‘s aural pleasures. In the ensuing decades, Premice would make a handful of TV appearances, including one on The Jeffersons, where she played Louise Jefferson’s sister Maxine.