Mel Waiters wasn’t a music industry household name – but for cities rooted in the blues, like St. Louis, hearts were heavy on Thursday, May 28, 2015, when he passed away after a short battle with cancer.
At 58, Waiters was just a baby within the unofficial fraternity of beloved bluesmen who make their living on the road while attempting to work their way towards crossover commercial success. He was among the likes of Big George Brock, Bobby Rush, Willie Clayton and several other seasoned performers who are relatively unknown outside of the blues community.
The San Antonio, Texas native got his start in his hometown’s radio scene as a DJ and worked for several years in the market before stepping over into the performance side.
And much like on-air and guest appearances in his radio days, Waiters would turn the party out every time his feet touched the ground on stage – to the constant delight of the small, but especially faithful, blues fan base.
His recording career began in the mid-1990s. After modest debut and sophomore releases with the Serious Sounds label, Waiters joined famed blues and soul label Malaco Records. The Jackson, Mississippi based label housed such artists as Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, Z. Z. Hill, Denise LaSalle, Little Milton, Marvin Sease and Metro East native Shirley Brown and help propel Waiters into the national blues spotlight. He recorded seven studio albums for Malaco.
Although he was often categorized as part of the Southern Soul genre, Waiters was a fixture on the traveling blues circuit, making stops in St. Louis at least once a year.
Waiters, with his bleached hair, matching beard and outlandishly bold suits, would steal the show every time. If he didn’t close the show, promoters wished he had. He was a tough act to follow, thanks to a handful of hits with lyrical content that urged audiences to enjoy themselves.
As soon as the opening music dropped for Waiters’ most famous signature hit “Hole in the Wall,” the audience would erupt. And by the time he sang the chorus – “let’s go down to the hole in the wall” – the audience would have gathered in pockets that looked like makeshift juke joints, with each group trying to outdo the other as Waiters welcomed them to join the party.
“The Smaller The Club (The Bigger The Party)” and “Got My Whiskey” could compel anybody to relish in the most humble of party settings.
St. Louis embraced him like he was a born and bred member of the St. Louis blues community. He sold out the Ambassador on several occasions and was a favorite performer for the now-defunct FoxyFest that was presented by Foxy 95.5 FM before the station transitioned to Old School 95.5.
Waiters was also a mainstay on the annual St. Louis Blues Festival that came to Chaifetz Arena the past five years – which now has credit for hosting Waiters final visit to St. Louis in March of this year.
In a fitted gold paisley blazer with gold slacks, it was business as usual as Waiters had the audience on its feet from start to finish of his set in a show that included Rush, Brown, Sir Charles Jones and several others.
In a show where he could have easily been lost in the shuffle among the notable acts, Waiters gave the audience a most unforgettable moment and continued his streak of performing every show like it was his last. Considering that not long after the performance Waiters’ website posted that all shows would be canceled while he was in recovery, perhaps he had a hint that it would be.
