In all the history of music, there are only a few luminaries that shine so brightly that they alter the course of pop culture and create new genres all on there own. Or they take what was there before, repackage it and remake it into a wonder for the ears and performances that are feasts for the eyes. For some, the world takes them and builds shrines to them (Glenn Miller, Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey, Cab Calloway, Elvis). For others, they are quickly forgotten about by the main stream. One of those is actually a personal favorite performer of mine (and my partner in crime Bobby Marlette, musical director here at the Meridian Nightclub and Lounge). I wanted to dedicate this weeks show to the memory of the man who invented Jump Blues, the Small Group, and by extension, Rock n' Roll - Louis Jordan.
Rolling Stone magazine listed Jordan as #59 out of the Top 100 performers, and Billboard has him at a record 113 weeks with a song at the number 1 chart spot, the most #1's by an African-American artist. Stevie Wonder comes in at a far outstripped second place with only 70 weeks worth of #1 hits.
As a teenager Jordan toured as an all around performer - singing, dancing, clarinet and saxophone-playing - with a variety of troupes. In 1929 under the guidance of drummer-bandleader Chick Webb he turned professional and on May 14th went into Brunswick Studios to record Dog Bottom & Jungle Mama. He joined Webb's orchestra in 1936, remaining (alongside the young Ella Fitzgerald) for two years before forming his own band. After Chicks death in 1938, Louis formed the 9-piece Elks Rendez-vous Band which was subsequently reduced to become the now legendary Tympany Five.
Jordan and his Tympany Five (a name chosen despite the fact that he was normally accompanied by six musicians, none of whom played tympani) became by 1942 one of the most popular recording acts in the country. They often combined Count Basie-style riffs with boogie woogie, and hits such as “Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens” and “Choo Choo Ch'Boogie” inspired countless “jump blues” combos. He enjoyed celebrity status among both blacks and whites, starring in numerous Hollywood short films and receiving equal billing on collaborations with Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby. Louis Jordan's many V-disc recordings, his radio popularity and high energy, cross-cultural style took him to the height of fame during and just after the war years.
His music has been copied, re-imagined, expanded upon, but never equaled although major artists have lovingly paid tribute to him by reprising his tunes. So in his honor, I chose several songs by Louis Jordan and by those artists either re-doing one of Jordan's hits or doing originals in his specific style.
Here is the playlist for our Tribute to Louis Jordan:
- Caldonia – Louis Jordan and His Tympani Five
- Five Guys Named Moe - Joe Spinaci and his Brookolino Orchestra featuring Miriam Aida on vocals
- Choo-Choo Ch'boogie – Stu and The Bouncing Balls (Germany)
- Let The Good Times Roll – B.B. King
- Someone Hoodoo’d the Hoodoo Man – Louis Jordan
- June Teenth Jamboree - Gladys “Fatso” Bently
- Work, Baby, Work - Lily Wilde with her Jumpin Jubilee Orchestra
- Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby? - Dinah Washington
- Is That Train Ever Comin’? – Ray Gelato
- Saturday Night Fish Fry - Buster Poindexter and Swoozie Tyrell
- Flat Foot Floogie - Yalloppin' Hounds
- Swing Cat’s Ball - Louis Jordan
Our IT'S MARTINI TIME segment this week is courtesy of
JB Stubenberg of Jimmy Macks Jazz Lounge in Portland, Oregon with his version of the Lemon Drop. If you have a drink or a bartender you want highlighted on the show, drop me an email - TommyCage[at]SwingShiftRadio[dot]com.
If you have a song request or an artist you'd like us to highlight, drop me an e-mail to the same address as above, TommyCage[at]SwingShiftRadio[dot]com.
See you next week on The Future of Retro-Radio,
Tommy Cage - host of The Swing Shift Radio Show
Listen to us Saturdays @ 1 pm, or a new episode on Sundays @ 7pm on WGUN 1010 Am Atlanta, or join us on TuneIn.com, and search for WGUN. You can also find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @ SwingShiftRadio!!
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