Little Elliott Lloyd
Little Elliott Lloyd was born Lloyd Elliott Paioff on his father's birthday, September 7, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York. He came from a long line of professional musicians and artists. His grandfather, Louis, aka Abraham Paioff, made and sold violins. After arriving in America from his native Russia, Abraham continued making and selling violins in Manhattan, and played in society orchestras in NYC with his family members. Abraham played background music for silent movies. Little Elliott’s father, Leon Paioff, was a highly skilled photographer, painter, and sculptor, as well as a classical and jazz pianist, and was a first cousin to Man Ray, the world renowned Dada and Surrealist artist. Little Elliott's maternal grandmother, was a force to be reckoned with, Madame Rochelle, owner and designer of a fashion house in 1920s Paris, France.
This rich heritage of creativity certainly contributed to Little Elliott's development as an artist, musician, and charismatic personality. After he graduated from Fort Hamilton High School in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn he attained a BA degree in Fine Arts from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. During this time he began forming bands and playing locally in Fort Greene and Bedford Stuyvesant in Brooklyn. He recalled opening for Guitar Crusher in Eric's Bar near Pratt during this germinal time. His first band was developed around the age of 15/16 and called “Yo Mommas.”
He settled in the Mid Hudson Valley around 1970, (after the delivery of his firstborn daughter, Justine, followed by his son, Julian Elliott Paioff, in 1971), where he dedicated the rest of his life to playing (harmonica/guitar/bass), composing, and singing his heart out. Although a victim of parental alienation, he did what he was gifted to do, play music. Some of his very popular and ever evolving bands in the 1970's and 1980's included The Big Deal Blues Band, The Honeymoon Cats, The Funky Huns and The Elliott Lloyd Project. They played all over the Hudson Valley, i.e. New Paltz (St Blaises, The North Light, Coochie’s, The Barn), Poughkeepsie (The Chance, Rocky's Bar, The Derby, Frivolous Sal’s, Shaboo), Rosendale, Woodstock, Rifton (Sturbridge Lion, Hotel Astoria, The Black Swan). Later, he worked closely with his friend, Rob Sacher, at the Mission in NYC. Rob wrote the book, "Wake Me When It's Over" including a chapter dedicated to Little Elliott Lloyd.
He was the founder of Larkin Talent Associates, a company that helped to guide the careers of cutting edge jazz artists Matthew Shipp, David S Ware, Kali Fasteau, and Rob Brown. Some legendary bluesmen and musicians that he played with included: Eddie Kirkland, Little Sammy Davis, Harvey Brooks, Brad Lee Sexton, Lonnie Mack, and Pee Wee Ellis.His brother-in-law, Johnny Mars, blues living legend, is a produced musician and had a strong influence on him. In the mid 1980's, his band opened locally for headliners James Brown, Gary US Bonds, James Cotton, Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, and Levon Helm. Elliott hired a number of future NY Blues Hall of Fame members into his bands, including Fred “Midnite Slim” Scribner, Danny Lewis, Aaron “Professor Louie” Hurwitz with Miss Marie, DA Flash, Jimmy Eppard, Brad Sexton, Doug Abramson, Dave Gibson among others. In 1984, Elliott was endorsed by Hohner Harmonicas and appeared in their annual calendar. His thoughtful band mates, had him inducted into the NY Blues Hall of Fame, posthumously. One of his musical heros, JR Walker, (of JR Walker and the Allstars), signed the record “Shotgun” for him, and we can still sense his excitement when seeing the autograph and photo on the album.
Little Elliott Lloyd died of leukemia at the age of 45 at the Albany Medical Center on June 19, 1993, with his loving partner Cynthia; sister, Elaine and mother, Rene’e by his side. Many of the musicians that he played with such as Little Sammy Davis, Kali Fasteau, Rob Brown and Matthew Shipp came to visit him in the hospital. His 2 adult children tearfully reunited with him after a decade of forced estrangement, which also gave him strength in his final days. During his short but dynamic life, he left a rich legacy of Raw, Gritty, Powerful Vocals infused into Blues, Funk, Soul, Country and R&B, empowering people "to get on up” and “keep moving”.
Close friends of Lloyd, meet on the active facebook group, “Lloyd Elliott Paioff Intimate Friends Only” and his YouTube page “Little Elliott Lloyd”.
As of 2023, Justine Paioff is writing an ever evolving free pdf book about her father’s life titled, “Lloyd Elliott Paioff, The Man, The Music, The Legacy”, and encourages all that knew him to send stories, music, videos and photos through email:.....Redd@GAhometown.com..... [[1]]
This article "Little Elliott Lloyd" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
