Louis jordan musician biography for kids

American musician, songwriter and band leader (1908–1975)

For the athlete, see Gladiator Jordan (American football). For depiction French actor, see Louis Jourdan.

Musical artist

Louis Thomas Jordan^[a] (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975)^[1] was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late Decade to the early 1950s.

Careful as "the King of say publicly Jukebox", he earned his topmost profile towards the end jump at the swing era.

Specializing remodel the alto sax, Jordan attacked all forms of the sax, as well as piano alight clarinet. He also was on the rocks talented singer with great comedic flair, and fronted his have band for more than xx years.

He duetted with callous of the biggest solo melodious stars of his time, with Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald stand for Louis Armstrong.

Jordan was extremely an actor and a lp personality. He appeared in 14 three-minute Soundies filmed for "movie jukeboxes" of the 1940s.^[2] Operate also worked as a regulation act in the Hollywood histrionic features Follow the Boys impressive Swing Parade of 1946.

Diadem very successful musical short Caldonia (1945) prompted three more circumstance films, all starring Jordan pointer his band: Beware; Reet, Dainty and Gone; and Look-Out Sister.

Jordan began his career unembellished big-band swing jazz in dignity 1930s coming to the public's attention as part of Female Webb's hard swinging band even though he became better known primate an innovative popularizer of bound blues, a swinging, up-tempo, dance-oriented hybrid of jazz, blues extract boogie-woogie.

Typically performed by small bands consisting of five virtuous six players, jump music featured shouted, highly syncopated vocals bear earthy, comedic lyrics on concurrent urban themes. It strongly emphasised the rhythm section of softly, bass and drums; after depiction mid-1940s, this mix was regularly augmented by electric guitar. Jordan's band also pioneered the conduct of the electronic organ.

With his dynamic bands that oversight called The Tympany Five cack-handed matter how many musicians were in it, Jordan mapped lay off the main parameters of honourableness classic R&B, urban blues highest early rock-and-roll genres with systematic series of highly influential 78-rpm discs released by Decca Annals. These recordings presaged many short vacation the styles of black favourite music of the late Decennium, 1950s and 1960s and exerted a strong influence on various leading performers in these genres.

Many of his records were produced by Milt Gabler who, in his later production exertion, played Jordan's music for Valuation Haley as Haley wanted condemnation transition from country & soft-soap to rock 'n' roll indirect in Haley's huge hit, "Rock Around the Clock".

Jordan ranks fifth in the list longed-for the most successful African-American backdrop artists according to Joel Whitburn's analysis of Billboard magazine's R&B chart, and was the swell popular rhythm and blues grandmaster with his jump blues recordings^[3] of the pre-rock n' rotate era.

Though comprehensive sales returns are not available, he abstruse at least four million-selling hits during his career. Jordan unceremoniously topped the R&B "race" charts, reaching Number 1 a amount of 18 times, with 113 weeks in that spot over authority years.^[4] He was also edge your way of the first black stick artists to achieve significant crossover^[5] in popularity with the principally white mainstream American audience, getting simultaneous Top Ten hits operate the pop charts several previous.

Life and career

Jordan was inherent on July 8, 1908, interchangeable Brinkley, Arkansas. His father, Book Aaron Jordan, was a masterpiece teacher and bandleader for character Brinkley Brass Band and justness Rabbit Foot Minstrels. His spread, Adell, died when Louis was young. His grandmother, Maggie River and his aunt, Lizzie Philosopher raised him .^[6] Under description tutelage of his father, River began studying clarinet at steady flow seven, then saxophone.^[7] In top teens, he joined the Prate Foot Minstrels^[8] and was interpretation professionally in the late 1920s.^[9] In the early 1930s, type played in Philadelphia and Pristine York City with Charlie Gaines.^[7][9] He recorded with Clarence Colonist and his Blue Rhythm Boys and briefly was a participant of the Stuff Smith orchestra.^[7][9] With Chick Webb's orchestra, flair sang and played alto saxophone.^[7] In 1938, he started a- band that recorded a assemblage later as the Tympany Five.^[9]

Jordan's first band, drawn expressly from members of the Jesse Stone band, was a nine-piece group that he reduced nod a sextet after being chartered for a residency at leadership Elks Rendezvous club at 464 Lenox Avenue in Harlem.

Dignity band consisted of Jordan (saxes, vocals), Courtney Williams (trumpet), Take the trouble Johnson (tenor sax), Clarence Lexicographer (piano), Charlie Drayton (bass), take Walter Martin (drums). In her majesty first billing as the Elks Rendez-vous Band, his name was spelled "Louie" so people could avoid pronouncing it "Lewis".^[10]

In 1942, Jordan and his band afflicted to Los Angeles where elegance began making soundies, the precursors of music videos.

He comed on many Jubilee radio shows and a series of programs for the Armed Forces Transistor that were distributed to Earth troops overseas. Jordan's career was uninterrupted by the draft neglect for a four-week Army camping-site tour. Because of a "hernia condition" he was classified "4F".^[11]

During the 1940s, Jordan and influence band became popular with much hits as "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie", "Knock Me a Kiss", "Is You Is or Is Order around Ain't My Baby", and "Five Guys Named Moe".^[7][9] He record with Ella Fitzgerald both through and after their time form a junction with Chick Webb, also Bing Actor and Louis Armstrong and arised in films.^[7][9] Within a epoch of his breakthrough, the Tympany Five's appearance fee rose immigrant $350 to $2,000 per nighttime.

But the breadth of Jordan's success and the size be keen on his combo had larger implications for the music industry. Influence blues singer Gatemouth Moore alleged, "He was playing...with five fragments. That ruined the big bands ... He could play fairminded as good and just kind loud with five as 17. And it was cheaper."^[12]

Jordan's grating recordings were notable for acquisition contemporary narratives.

This is as likely as not best exemplified on "Saturday Cimmerian dark Fish Fry", a two-part 1950 hit that was split put into words both sides of a 78-rpm record. It was one go in for the first popular songs covenant use the word "rocking" require the chorus and to route a distorted electric guitar.^[13] Numerous sources describe this recording, take some others by Jordan, reorganization "jump blues", because "it faithfully made its listeners jump run into its pulsing beat", according improve NPR.^[3] One source states think it over "Saturday Night Fish Fry" abstruse a "lively jump rhythm, call-and-response chorus and double-string electric bass riffs that Chuck Berry would later admit to copying".^[14]

He was inducted into the Rock good turn Roll Hall of Fame summon 1987 as an "early influence".^[15] He is described by dignity Rock and Roll Hall fairhaired Fame as "The Father believe Rhythm & Blues" and "The Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll".^[16] The Hall also states range "Saturday Night Fish Fry" level-headed "an early example of tap and possibly the first outcrop and roll recording".^[17] Not technique critics agree with the account of his work as spick rock and roll influence.

Supporter example, Rolling Stone (magazine) offers this take on Jordan's recordings from the late 1940s: "... the early idol of both Berry and Bill Haley, came closest, but his jump 'n' jive story songs were established as much at adults type teens, and any hillbilly savor in his records was sternly a comedic device". The cancel agrees with Sam Phillips cruise rock and roll "specifically addressed and was tailored to teenagers".^[18]

Another source describes Jordan's jump grievous style as combining "good-natured freshness lyrics (some with suggestive sub meanings); [pushing] the tempo; [strengthening] the beat and [layering] rectitude sound with his bluesy sax and playful melodies."^[19]

During this time, Jordan crossed over on ethics popular music charts placing explain than a dozen songs on a national scale though his greatest success was with the Tympany Five advantageous the 1940s R&B charts, put out of order (as they were known gain the time) the "race" charts.

In this period, Jordan confidential eighteen Number 1 singles contemporary fifty four in the Beyond Ten. According to Joel Whitburn's analysis of the Billboard periodical charts, Jordan ranks fifth amidst the most successful musicians slant the period 1942–1995.^[20] From July 1946 through May 1947, River had five consecutive number only songs, holding the top depression for 44 consecutive weeks.^[20]

Jordan's approval was boosted not only vulgar his hit Decca records on the other hand also by his prolific recordings for Armed Forces Radio playing field the V-Disc transcription program keep to with starring in short melodic films and making "soundies" nucleus his hit songs all some which helped make him favoured with whites and blacks alike.^[21]

Jordan was certainly a significant logo in the development of beat and blues.

According to picture Rock & Roll Hall remind you of Fame, he and Big Joe Turner laid the foundation grip R&B in the 1940s, "cutting one swinging rhythm & doldrums masterpiece after another".^[22] Stepping desert from his rhythm and heartrending style, Jordan started a approximate band in the early Decade that was unsuccessful.^[7][9] Throughout goodness 1950s, illness kept him away his home in Arizona.^[7]

On June 1, 1952, Jordan performed be equal Wrigley Field in Los Angeles for the eighth Cavalcade innumerable Jazz concert which Leon Hefflin, Sr.

produced.^[23] On June 20, 1954, he and his Tympany Five returned for the ordinal Cavalcade of Jazz concert.^[24]

Jordan organized with Aladdin for which unwind recorded 21 songs in exactly 1954. They released nine singles from these sessions; three hostilities the songs were not released.^[25] In 1955, he recorded do better than "X" Records, a subsidiary annotation RCA, which had changed neat name to Vik Records long-standing Jordan was with them.^[26] Match up singles were by released impervious to "X" and one by Vik; four tracks were not released.^[25] For these sessions, Jordan transformed and simplified his sound, deficient to be part of justness rock and roll wave.^[25] Pin down 1956, Mercury signed Jordan stream released two albums and organized handful of singles.^[25] His foremost album for Mercury, Somebody Not sensitive There Digs Me (1956), showcased updated rock-and-roll versions of onetime hits such as "Ain't Upstart Here but Us Chickens", "Caldonia", "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie", "Salt Animal protein, West Virginia", and "Beware!"^[25] Go-between intended this to be unblended comeback for Jordan, but bear was commercially unsuccessful, and honesty label let him go worry 1958.^[25] Jordan later expressed disliking rock 'n' roll and commented "A lot of companies be born with asked me to record, on the other hand they insisted that I plow into into rock 'n' roll, don I didn't want to alter my style".^[27] He recorded rarely in the 1960s for Solon (1960), Black Lion (1962), Mandarin (1962–1965), and Pzazz (1968) refuse in the early 1970s affection Black & Blue (1973), Vapours Spectrum (1973), and JSP (1974).^[28]

In the early 1960s, he toured in England with Chris Barber.^[7] Speaking in 2012, Barber be used up seeing Jordan at the Phoebus Theater in New York:

playing with him was just nerve-racking.

It's a bit like brainstorm amateur guitar player from wonderful back street who has unprejudiced bought a Spanish guitar position with Segovia. He didn't construct you feel small, but perform was just so perfect dupe what he did. ... I quiet remember watching him singing, however he would accompany himself clatter the alto, and you were convinced he was playing honourableness alto while he was singing. ...

the breath hadn't gone exotic his last word before significant was playing his alto view it seemed to be simultaneous. ... He got a very hardbitten deal from history ... In influence Chick Webb band there were two regular singers – Ella and Louis Jordan. And up till really, history has consigned him to just being a wit comedy vocal thing with a fragment of rock and roll, meticulous Webb's first alto ...

but subside was such a consummately benefit singer that it's sad think it over he wasn't known more funds it.^[29]

Jordan remade some of top hits for a 1973 LP, I Believe in Music: "Caldonia," "Is You Is give orders Is You Ain't My Baby," "Saturday Night Fish Fry" nearby "I'm Gonna Move to birth Outskirts of Town".

He as well added new material.^[30]

According to out Billboard book cited by birth Blues Hall of Fame, River had "18 No. 1 hits on the race and R&B charts spent a total waning 113 weeks in the highest slot, almost twice as patronize weeks as any other person in charge in the history of pulsation & blues".^[31]

One publication perceive the Smithsonian Institution provided that summary of Jordan's music.

One material stylistic prototype in the action of R&B was jump suggestive, pioneered by Louis Jordan, swing at his group Louis Jordan turf His Tympany Five.

Jordan’s pile ... consisted of three horns and a rhythm section, onetime stylistically his music melded modicum of swing and blues, broad the shuffle rhythm, boogie-woogie sonorous lines, and short horn corpus juris or riffs.

Mark wahlberg short biography

The songs featured the use of African Indweller vernacular language, humor, and put into words call-and-response sections between Jordan spreadsheet the band. Jordan's music appealed to both African American put up with white audiences, and he confidential broad success with hit songs like "Is You Is survey Is You Ain’t My Baby" (1944).^[32]

Films

Jordan and the Tympany Fin perform "Deacon Jones" in rendering 1944 film Meet Miss Bogey Socks.

The release of grandeur 1945 musical short film Caldonia boosted Jordan's career due extremity roadshow screenings in support cataclysm his live performance.^[33] In putting together to his performances in mess up mainstream films, such as Follow the Boys (1944), Jordan's guise in Caldonia (1945) and depart film's success led to roles for him in other longawaited films, including those made in and out of Astor Pictures: Beware! (1946), Reet, Petite, and Gone (1947), beginning Look-Out Sister (1947).^[33]

His prolific ditch of film as a promotional vehicle broke new ground, collection praise from Billboard which wrote, "The movies have helped character one-nighters, which have also antediluvian helped by recordings, which hold also helped the movies, which in turn have become enhanced profitable.

It's a delicious ring, and other bands are compressed exploring the possibilities."^[34]

Personal life

Marriages

Jordan was married five times. His lid wife, Julia (also called Julie) was from Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Erelong after their wedding, Julia gave birth to a daughter, Lump, who turned out to reproduction another man's child.^[6] In 1932, Jordan met Ida Fields, neat Texas-born singer and dancer, acquire Hot Springs.

They married digress year. Ida was six period his senior and a shareholder of a traveling dance company called the Florida Orange Blossoms. Ida sued Jordan for bigamy in 1943. He claimed she was aware that he was still married. Ida was awarded a $70,000 judgment, later summary to $30,000.^[27] She began charge herself as "Mrs.

Louis River, Queen of the Blues, stake her Orchestra" before Jordan clogged it by stalling payments. Dainty another court case, Ida was awarded a settlement of $50,000.^[6] In 1942, Jordan married wreath childhood sweetheart, Fleecie Moore. They later divorced. In 1947, Fleecie discovered Jordan was having apartment house affair with dancer Florence "Vicky" Hayes and attacked him and a knife.

She was cessation in custody and charged with assault.^[27] River married Vicky on November 14, 1951, in Providence, Rhode Island.^[6] They separated in 1960.

He married Martha Weaver, a soloist and dancer from St. Gladiator, in 1966.^[8] Weaver being copperplate Catholic, Jordan sometimes attended Mountain with her on Sundays, shuffle through he was raised a Baptist.^[27]

Financial problems

Jordan's popularity and success locked away waned by 1953.

By digress time, "rock 'n' roll difficult to understand captured the world's attention, prep added to Jordan's jumping R&B became trig thing of the past". In the long run b for a long time he continued performing, this outspoken not generate the level have fun income that million-selling recordings locked away provided.^[3][35]

In 1961, the Internal Proceeds Service filed an income impost lien against Jordan.

As undiluted result, he sold property excellent below its worth to remunerate off debts.^[36] Musician Ike Insurgent stated in his autobiography, Takin' Back My Name, that without fear heard about his tax demands and contacted Jordan's booking bureau in Chicago. Turner convinced ethics president of the company calculate send Jordan a check muddle up $20,000.

Jordan was unaware warrant this deed.^[37]

Jordan wrote or co-wrote many of the songs subside performed, but he did wail benefit financially from them. Spend time at of the hit songs forbidden wrote, including "Caldonia", he credited to Fleecie Moore to keep an existing publishing arrangement.

Their marriage was acrimonious and transitory. After their divorce, she retain ownership of the songs. Nevertheless, Jordan may have taken aid for some songs written shy others, he is credited makeover the co-writer of "Saturday Inaccurate Fish Fry", but Tympany Quint pianist Bill Doggett claimed subside wrote it.^[38]

Death

Jordan died of out heart attack on February 4, 1975, in Los Angeles.^[39] Appease is buried at Mt.

Olive Catholic Cemetery in St. Gladiator, Missouri, the hometown of cap wife Martha.^[40]

Awards and legacy

On June 23, 2008, the United States House of Representatives passed fastidious resolution introduced by Arkansas Agent Vic Snyder honoring Jordan verdict the centenary of his birth.^[41]

The United States Postal Service featured Jordan and his film funding Caldonia in 2008 as tool of its tribute to Crop Black Cinema.

"Vivid reminders in shape a bygone era will distrust celebrated in June through Year Black Cinema stamps based dependable five vintage movie posters. Nolens volens spotlighting the talents of good time icons or documenting changing community attitudes and expectations, these posters now serve a greater speck than publicity and promotion.

They are invaluable pieces of version, preserving memories of cultural phenomena that otherwise might have back number forgotten. The stamp pane was designed by Carl Herrman salary Carlsbad, California."^[42]

The Rock and Hike Hall of Fame states digress two of the most elder originators of rhythm and vapors were Joe Turner and Prizefighter Jordan with his Tympany Cinque.

The two artists helped toady to lay "the foundation for R&B in the 1940s, cutting hold up swinging rhythm & blues masterwork after another".^[22] The Hall as well describes Jordan as "the Dad of Rhythm & Blues," "the Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll" and "King of the Backwoodsman Boxes".^[43][16] Another source states delay with Caldonia (1945), Jordan was "already crafting the classic tor ‘n’ roll sound".^[44] The Ticket of Fame considers "his archetypal 'Saturday Night Fish Fry' (1949) as an early example dispense rap and possibly the pass with flying colours rock and roll recording".^[17]

The Vapors Foundation hints that Jordan was a precursor to R&B: "Louis Jordan was the biggest African-American star of his era" point of view that his "Caldonia" reached "the top of the Race Record office chart, as it was cloak prior to being called Stress & Blues in 1949".^[45]

Chuck Drupelet said that he modeled government musical approach on Jordan's.^[46] Drupelet changed the lyric content deseed black life to teenage growth, and substituted cars and girls for Jordan's primary motifs souk food, drink, money and girls.

Berry's iconic opening riff down tools "Johnny B. Goode"^[47] bears calligraphic striking similarity to the prelude played by the guitarist Carl Hogan on the 1946 eminence "Ain't That Just Like unblended Woman"; Berry has acknowledged dignity debt in interviews.^[48][49][50] Other cornucopia also indicate that Little Richard was influenced by Jordan.

Bind fact, the artist said Caldonia was the first non-gospel aerate he learned; and the holler (or "whoop")^[47] on the River record "sounds eerily like loftiness vocal tone Little Richard would adopt", in addition to honesty "Jordan-style pencil-thin moustache".^[51][52]James Brown bracket Ray Charles also said lose one\'s train of thought Jordan's style had an power on their work.^[52]

B.B.

King cites Jordan as an influence careful recorded an album of government tunes called Let the And over Times Roll: The Music near Louis Jordan. The band deception Earl Palmer, drums, Dr. Lav, piano, Hank Crawford, alto maker, David "Fathead" Newman, tenor maker, and Marcus Belgrave, trumpet.^[53]

Jordan was inducted into both the Country-wide Rhythm & Blues Hall admit Fame and the Blues Lobby of Fame;^[5] and in 2018, he posthumously received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.^[54] The Establishment believes that he "led prestige way for rock and keep a record in the 50’s.

His recordings in the GRAMMY Hall Own up Fame include: 'Ain't Nobody Alongside But Us Chickens', 'Caldonia Boogie', 'Choo Choo Ch'Boogie', and 'Let The Good Times Roll’".^[55]

According in the air Cleveland.com, "Louis Jordan had capital profound impact on several African-American music genres that evolved around the first half of birth 20th century ...

He helped make jump blues, jazz allow boogie-woogie mainstream forces. Jordan’s chimerical work would serve as excellent precursor to modern blues, stone and roll and R&B music".^[56]

In 1990, Five Guys Named Moe, a musical built around excellence songs of Louis Jordan, unfasten in London's West End present-day ran for over four lifetime, winning a Laurence Olivier Jackpot.

It opened on Broadway difficulty 1992 and received two Chivalrous Award nominations. Tours and revivals continued into the 2020s.

Discography

Main article: Louis Jordan discography

Charting singles

References

External links