Lloyd Price (born March 9, 1933) is an American R&B vocalist, known as “Mr. Personality”, after his 1959 million-selling hit, “Personality“. His first recording, “Lawdy Miss Clawdy“, was a hit for Specialty Records in 1952. He continued to release records, but none were as popular until several years later, when he refined the New Orleans beat and achieved a series of national hits.^[2] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. He is also the earliest solo act who is still alive to earn a Billboard Hot 100 number-one single with “Stagger Lee“.

Price was born and grew up in Kenner, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. He had formal training on trumpet and piano, sang in his church’s gospel choir, and was a member of a combo in high school. His mother, Beatrice Price, owned the Fish ‘n’ Fry Restaurant, and Price picked up lifelong interests in business and food from her.

Art Rupe, the owner of Specialty Records, based in Los Angeles, came to New Orleans in 1952 to record the distinctive style of rhythm and blues developing there, which had been highly successful for his competitor Imperial Records. Rupe heard Price’s song “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” and wanted to record it. Because Price did not have a band, Rupe hired Dave Bartholomew to create the arrangements and Bartholomew’s band (plus Fats Domino on piano) to back Price in the recording session. The song was a massive hit. His next release, “Oooh, Oooh, Oooh”, cut at the same session, was a much smaller hit. Price continued making recordings for Speciality, but none of them reached the charts at that time.