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Although more well known for his workings in the jazz idiom, Newborn's first band was an R&B outfit featuring his father and brother on drums and guitar respectively, bassist Tuff Green, saxophonist Ben Branch and singer Willie Mitchell. Newborn's group would go on to be the house and at the Plantation Inn Club in West Memphis, Arkansas from 1947 to 1951, and would accompany the revered blues guitarist and singer B.B. King on some of his earliest recordings towards the close of the 1940s. As the 1950s progressed, Newborn struck out on his own, moved to New York and began to producing his own recordings, both as a front man and alongside others. Some of his earliest efforts included working alongside fellow Sun Records recording artist, blues harmonica player Big Walter Horton, We Three in 1958 with bassist Paul Chambers and Roy Haynes on drums, and his first solo outing, Phineas' Rainbow, released on RCA Victor in 1956. Although predominantly known for his work in smaller groups, Newborn continued to experiment with lineups throughout the following year, employing a full string section on While My Lady Sleeps and brass on Phineas Newborn, Jr Plays Harold Arlen's Music from Jamaica. Newborn relocated to Los Angeles in 1961, where he recorded a string of albums for the Contemporary Records label. Unfortunately, some critics took a rather dim view of his music, these revelations hit Newborn hard, resulting in deep emotional problems which in turn culminated in his internment at Camarillo State Mental Hospital. This would greatly hinder his career for the rest of his life. Newborn all but disappeared from public view through the late 1960s and early to mid-1970s, producing no recorded music and being criminally overlooked by the jazz community. Although he would stage something of a comeback towards the late 1970s, he would never regain the status he had enjoyed in his earlier career. He passed away on 26th May, 1989, at the age of 57.

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