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Based on an interview with Luther McDaniels

http://www.uncamarvy.com/4Deuces/4deu...

© 2008 by Marv Goldberg


One of the seminal drinking songs of our time is "W-P-L-J." Combining a salute to a cheap way to get high (white port mixed with lemon juice) with a tune reminiscent of the Midnighters' "Annie" series, it's no wonder that "W-P-L-J" has endured for over 50 years.

The story of "W-P-L-J" begins with the 4 Deuces, and that story begins with Luther McDaniel. (To get it out of the way at the beginning, he was born "McDaniel," but nowadays spells it "McDaniels"; this is how it will be written from here on.)

Luther was born in Panola County, Texas. He never knew his father, who was killed in an accident soon after Luther was born. Mostly raised by his grandmother, he joined the Mitchell Brothers gospel group when he was about 11 or 12. While Luther had no musical training, he still traveled with the group all over East Texas, appearing in many gospel group "battles."

Around the end of World War 2, his mother remarried and moved to Salinas, California, about a hundred miles south of San Francisco (his new stepfather was stationed at Fort Ord in Monterey, only a few miles away). Luther went to California, decided he didn't like it, went back to Texas, decided California wasn't that bad, and returned to California to stay.

When he was in his 20s, Luther took to hanging around a cafe on Lake Street (the Golden Dragon) on weekends, as did a lot of soldiers from Fort Ord. One of the things that the soldiers did there was feed the jukebox and sing along with it. One evening (probably in late 1954), he was impressed with three guys harmonizing to something and decided to join them.

It turned out that the three soldiers also had gospel backgrounds and they all got together to kill some time. The others were: James Dunbar (first tenor), Orvis Lee Teamer (baritone), and Henry Shufford (bass). This unnamed group started performing in local churches and gaining valuable experience. At the time, Luther was about 23 and attending Hartnell Junior College; the others were a couple of years older.

Luther had a friend named Carl Williamms, who one day invited Luther to accompany him while he checked out some rabbit traps that he'd set. On the way, Carl stopped off at a liquor store and bought a bottle of white port, a relatively inexpensive wine. Mixing it with a can of lemon juice, he offered some to Luther, who was immediately taken with the drink. Pretty soon a song started floating around in his head: a paean to white port and lemon juice.

Luther introduced the other members of the group to the concoction and pretty soon they had their own nickname for it that they used at parties: "WPLJ." They also began adding secular music to their repertoire, including the one Luther had written: "W-P-L-J." Once they had that song down pat, they started calling themselves the "4 Deuces."

The first time they sang it at the Golden Dragon, owner Eugene Coleman loved it. Coincidentally, Mercy Dee Walton (currently recording for Flair) was in town and he and Coleman were friends. Coleman raved about the song. Walton asked to hear it and was also impressed. He suggested that they contact Ray Dobard, owner of Music City Records (on Alcatraz Avenue in Berkeley, across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco).