[3][1] As a child, he ran away from home and from the age of nine performed in vaudeville as a comic entertainer with Butterbeans and Susie, who gave him the nickname "Candy Yams" for his relatively light freckled complexion.

[4] He worked in bands as a guitarist, and in 1942 took Charlie Christian's place in the orchestra at the Lyon's Den club in Oklahoma City.

[7] In 1959, he produced the single "You're So Fine" by The Falcons, a group that included Mack Rice, Eddie Floyd and Robert Ward.

He worked as a songwriter for Henry Stone's TK label in Miami, Florida, writing for George McCrae, Wilson Pickett and others.

[7][8] He composed the soundtrack for the 1978 blaxploitation movie The Six Thousand Dollar Nigger, also known as Super Soul Brother, starring Wildman Steve.