Artist page

George Semper was a Trinidadian-American multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, label owner, and publisher from San Diego. Born on January 1, 1942, he passed away on September 1, 2009. Semper began his professional career in 1958 as the leader of "The Kingsmen," a rock and soul group based in San Diego. He served as the musical director for notable artists such as Brenton Wood, The Total Experience, and at the Wattstax concert. An original member of the Merry Clayton Group, he is recognized as an innovator of the Hammond B3 jazz organ from the 1960s and is often referred to as the Godfather of Bay Area Funk from the 1970s. Semper owned the record labels Inner City Records, Inner City Attractions, and Parlour Records, and was an executive at Mojo Records, which was owned by Jimmy Smith, as well as working in A&R for other labels including A&M and Imperial Records. He also owned San Diego Market Street East and co-owned Jazzville nightclubs.

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