OBITUARY 

Alvin Cash            CHICAGO (AP) -- Alvin Cash, who had a hit in 1963 with the dance tune ``It's Twine Time,'' died Nov. 21. He was 60.             Cash died in his sleep at his Chicago home. The cause of death was not determined, though he had been suffering from stomach problems.             A native of St. Louis, Cash started his career as a tap dancer and performed with his brother in a group called the Step Brothers. He started singing later, hitting the Chicago scene with his group Alvin Cash and the Registers.             ``It's Twine Time'' earned them appearances on shows hosted by Dick Clark and Ed Sullivan. Follow-up dance tunes included ``The Funky Washing Machine,'' ``The Ali Shuffle'' and ``The Philly Freeze.''       Alvin Cash; Singer Had Hit With 'It's Twine Time'    LA Times Alvin Cash, 60, who had a hit dance tune in 1963 called "It's Twine Time." A native of St. Louis, Cash began his career as a tap dancer and performed with his brother in a group called the Step Brothers. He started singing later, hitting the Chicago scene with his group Alvin Cash and the Registers. "It's Twine Time" won them bookings for television shows hosted by Ed Sullivan and Dick Clark. Among their other dance tunes were "The Funky Washing Machine," "The Ali Shuffle" and "The Philly Freeze." On Nov. 21 in Chicago after suffering stomach problems.

 

 

BIOGRAPHY

All-Music Guide    Alvin Cash was born Alvin Welch in St. Louis, MO on February 15, 1939. His parents had a big family: Alvin was one of eight children. While in elementary school he formed a song and dance group with three of his brothers: Arthur, George, and Robert. The brothers did tap, soft shoes -- the works. They aspired to become the best dance act in the world and called themselves the Crawlers. Alvin attended Summers High in St. Louis with other future R&B luminaries like Luther Ingram, Billy Davis (Fifth Dimension) and Anna Mae Bullock (who became Tina Turner). Having established a name for himself in the St. Louis area in 1963, Alvin moved to Chicago, IL seeking a record deal.    Former Fortune and Motown Record artist Andre Williams worked for Onederful/Mar-V-Lus Records and had caught the Crawlers' act. He invited the guys to the studio to chant some lines over a dance track he had co-written with Verlie Rice. The two previously wrote "Shake a Tail Feather" for the Five Du-Tones. The tune "Twine Time" was in the same format as Andre's 1957 hit "Bacon Fat," a funky instrumental augmented by chants and sayings. "Twine Time" surprised everybody by zooming to number 14 on Billboard's pop chart in February 1965. On the label the artist was listed as Alvin Cash and the Crawlers, though it's unclear if his brothers were in the studio. Alvin brought his band the Nightlighters to the studio with him. The band changed their name to the Crawlers and accompanied Alvin on gigs, eventually changing again to the Registers. Alvin abandoned his siblings after the hit and went solo with the band.    His post-"Twine" recordings never measured up commercially, and although many were far better recordings, the most successful was "the Philly Freeze," which reached number 49. The follow-up to "Twine," "the Barracuda," fizzled at number 59. He recorded many tributes to pugilist Muhammad Ali including an LP titled Alvin Cash Does the Greatest Hits of Muhammad Ali. Alvin appeared in the Buddy Holly movie as a member of the Five Satins and in a few black action films. Alvin still lives in Chicago and is still wheelin' and dealin.' -- Andrew Hamilton, All-Music Guide

 

 LINKS

Google links to Alvin Cash