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Louis Jordan is another of the key figures
in the development of rock and roll and R&B. He was a talented and colourful
figure who was a saxophonist, songwriter, and bandleader. He has been credited
with creating a style of music called “jump blues," which is the direct
forerunner of R&B, the music that would later morph into rock and roll.
Jordan was born in Brinkley, Arkansas,
in 1908. He studied clarinet and saxophone while still in his teens, and in
his thirties, he was invited to join Chick Webb’s orchestra at New York’s Savoy
ballroom. As Webb was physically disabled, Jordan took over the leader’s usual
role of MC at shows. In 1938, Webb fired Jordan
after he suspected Jordan
of trying to take over control of the orchestra.
Jordan soon had a new band and a recording deal
with Decca Records. The first recording session for his new band, which would
later be dubbed “The Tympany Five,” was in late 1938. His band contained an
ever-changing lineup of sidemen that would accompany Jordan’s singing and
saxophone on his Forties hits, “Five Guys Named Moe,” “Knock Me A Kiss,”
“Caledonia,” and a song that some claim to be the first rock and roll
recording, “Saturday Night Fish Fry.” Jordan’s recordings were raucous
and often humorous, with a solid narrative structure. His songs celebrated good
times, food, drinking, parties, and women.
Jordan became the most successful
African-American bandleader in the country, save Duke Ellington and Count Basie.
He was one of the first African-American “crossover” artists as well. Unlike
other African-American artists who were known only to African-American
audiences, Jordan
was very popular with white audiences, too.
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