Gayten was born in
Kentwood, Louisiana, the nephew of blues pianist
Little Brother Montgomery. There, Gayten wrote the number 1 R&B hit "
For You My Love" for
Larry Darnell, and recorded "
I'll Never Be Free" again with Annie Laurie. His orchestra toured widely, for a period adding saxophonist
Hank Mobley and singer
Little Jimmy Scott, and appearing on double bills with both
Dizzy Gillespie and
Charlie Parker. In 1951, he moved to
Okeh Records. In 1956, he decided to quit as a touring bandleader and joined
Chess Records as a talent scout, producer, promotion man, songwriter and part-time musician and recording artist. He discovered
Clarence "Frogman" Henry and produced his first hit, "
Ain't Got No Home", in 1956, later going on to co-write and produce his biggest hit, "
But I Do", in 1961. At Chess, Gayten produced
Bobby Charles' "
Later Alligator" and played the piano on
Chuck Berry's "
Carol", "Beautiful Delilah", and "Vacation Time". In 1956, he also had one of the biggest hits of his own career with "The Music Goes Round and Round", followed up by "Nervous Boogie" in 1957, "Windy" in 1958, and "The Hunch" in 1959. In 1960, he moved to
Los Angeles with his wife, Odile, to run the Chess operations there. In 1968, he set up his own label, Pzazz, which recorded
Louis Jordan, among others. He continued to live in Los Angeles with Odile after retiring in 1978, and died there aged 71 in March 1991. ==Selected discography (compilations)==