Howard Tate Biography
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 1938, Macon, Georgia, USA. A former member of the Gainors with Garnet Mimms, Tate also sang with Bill Doggett’s band. A solo act by 1962, he (like Mimms) was guided by producer/songwriter Jerry Ragovoy. Between 1966 and 1968, Tate secured four US R&B hits on Verve Records including ‘Ain’t Nobody Home’, ‘Look At Granny Run, Run’ (later covered by Ry Cooder) and ‘Stop’ (later covered by Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper). Tate’s work provided material for several acts, most notably Janis Joplin, who recorded ‘Get It While You Can’.
After releasing two singles on the Turntable label, ‘There Are The Things That Make Me Know You’re Gone’ (1969) and ‘My Soul’s Got A Hole In It’ (1970), Tate moved to Atlantic Records where he enjoyed the production assistance of former mentor Ragovoy. From there he moved on to various other labels, but sadly, with little success, and he left music to work as an insurance salesman in 1974. Later on he went back to studying and received a degree in business studies but tragedy struck when his daughter died in a fire that destroyed his house. His fortunes further declined and he sunk into alcohol and drugs until he found God in 1993 and became a minister of the church a year later. Longstanding Tate fans were delighted with the news in August 2001 that, after far too long, the singer was going back into the recording studio with Ragovoy. The results were released in 2003 on Rediscovered. Tate possesses a fabulous voice of great tone and range, and it remains a mystery why he has not been more successful or prolific. He late 60s material was the same class as Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye and Johnnie Taylor. His reissued material is crying out to be heard.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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1938, Macon, Georgia, USA. A former member of the Gainors with Garnet Mimms, Tate also sang with Bill Doggett’s band. A solo act by 1962, he (like Mimms) was guided by producer/songwriter Jerry Ragovoy. Between 1966 and 1968, Tate secured four US R&B hits on Verve Records including ‘Ain’t Nobody Home’, ‘Look At Granny Run, Run’ (later covered by Ry Cooder) and ‘Stop’ (later covered by Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper). Tate’s work provided material for several acts, most notably Janis Joplin, who recorded ‘Get It While You Can’.