Blase' Michael Lizzmore

Michael Lizzmore left his family and friends in Jacksonville, Florida at the tender age of 17 to pursue his lifelong dream as a recording artist/entertainer. Destination: The bright lights of New York City. So, with a one-way ticket he landed at Kennedy Airport and hit the ground running, straight to 125th street in Harlem. As he stood there staring at the glittering marquee of the Apollo Theater, with the magic words, “Jackie Wilson - Mr. Excitement” a light went off in his head. He recalled how a couple of years earlier Jackie was performing at the Coliseum in Jacksonville, FL when he stopped his show to dedicate a special song specifically to him. The song’s title was No Pity in the Naked City (New York City).

He never forgot those haunting words of wisdom. Other words of wisdom came from another soul brother. As he was entering the airport in Jacksonville on his way to the Big Apple, he ran into Joe Tex. They slapped hands and he told Joe he was headed to N.Y.C. to pursue his dreams. They kicked it for awhile and as they parted Joe left him with these words; “Shoot your best shot and never take anything for granted.” He lives by that wisdom to this very day. Shortly after arriving in New York, he changed his name to Blasé. Like a true Capricorn he went after his dreams relentlessly doing open mikes at club after club, honing his craft and testing crowd reaction, all the while building a fan base.

He landed his first gig at the Tip Top Nite Club in Brooklyn. At the suggestion of Jackie Wilson, his idol and the man who had the greatest influence on his musical life, he entered and won first prize at the world famous Apollo Theater 4 weeks in a row. He, also, wrote some songs for Jackie. He signed with Capitol Records under the management/production team of Phil and Marion Colbert (a.k.a. Phi-mar Productions). That collaboration led to him record Skip Jackson’s “Promise that You’ll Wait.” You can still hear this song often being played by Felix Hernandez on New York’s 98.7 Kiss F.M. On the flip side of the record was the classic, “Try a Little Tenderness,” made famous by “The Big O” Otis Redding. Sam Cooke...