Fletcher Henderson: Sugarfoot Stomp

Fletcher Henderson was a jazz pianist and bandleader born in Cuthbert, Georgia, in 1897. Henderson was the leader of one of the best African-American jazz bands of the Twenties.

Henderson was born to a middle-class family that valued education, and Henderson would go on to earn a degree in chemistry from Atlanta University. When he moved to New York in 1920, he was rejected by employers in the chemistry field due to his skin colour. He went to work for W.C. Handy’s music publishing company and then became a manager at the Black Swan recording label.

In 1922, Henderson led a band at a club which would become the legendary Roseland Ballroom. Henderson and his band, which would later become known as the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, would stay on at the Roseland for ten years. Henderson’s Orchestra featured some of the best musicians in jazz and included at various times, Coleman Hawkins, Louis Armstrong, Joe Smith, and many other star soloists. With stellar members such as Hawkins and Armstrong, the Henderson Orchestra made some of the finest sides of jazz in the Twenties including, “Sugar Foot Stomp,” “Shanghai Shuffle,” “Jim Town Blues,” “Christopher Columbus,” “Stealin’ Apples,” “King Porter Stomp,” and “Stampede.”

The Fletcher Henderson Orchestra continued to tour and record until 1939 when Henderson joined the Benny Goodman Orchestra as the pianist and arranger. The hiring of Henderson by Goodman was a watershed moment in jazz, as it was the first time that a white band had hired a black musician as arranger. Henderson’s participation would help secure Goodman’s reputation as the “King of Swing,” a music which Henderson had pioneered with his work with his own orchestra years before.

Henderson died in 1952, following several years with heart problems. The classic sides of the Henderson Orchestra can be fairly easily found on several compilations of the band’s work, and on compilations of classic early jazz, including the series, “The Chronological Classics: Fletcher Henderson.” (1996).

A deal with the crossroads Urban Legend Grim Dark

Johnny Cash: The Man in Black

Johnny Cash, originally from the cotton country of Kingsland, Arkansas, began his career in music in Memphis, Tennessee as a rockabilly performer with Sam Phillip’s legendary Sun Records label which had among the musicians on its roster, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

Cash recorded his first single, “Cry, Cry, Cry,” in 1955, His first major hit, “I Walk the Line,” followed in 1956. These early singles would be collected with others on his debut album, “Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!” (1956). In the late Fifties, Cash would switch to country music and record a number of classic songs including, “Big River,” “Ring of Fire,” “Give My Love to Rose,” “A Boy Named Sue,” “Long Black Veil,” and “I Still Miss Someone.”

In the late Sixties, Cash recorded two live albums in prisons, “At Folsom Prison” (1968) and “At San Quentin” (1969). The tremendous popularity of these albums led to a successful TV variety show which was canceled after only two seasons. Both albums have been described as two of the best live albums of music recorded in the 20^th century.

In 1971, Cash recorded the album, “Man in Black.” The title track would later be attached to Cash as a title of sorts. Cash’s career was in decline, however, and the rest of the Seventies would be lean in terms of hit recordings. The mid-Eighties saw Cash return to prominence with the outlaw country group, “The Highwaymen,” but solo success continued to escape him. In 1986, Cash entered The Betty Ford Clinic for addiction to painkillers.

In 1994, Cash teamed up with producer Rick Rubin, and recorded an album of mostly cover songs, “American Recordings.” The album introduced Cash’s music to a whole new generation of fans. Three more critically acclaimed volumes of American Recordings would follow.

Cash had been sick with diabetes for several years, but he still managed to record the fourth American Recordings album which was released in 2002.Cash succumbed to diabetes the following year.

James P. Johnson: King of Stride Piano

James Price Johnson was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1894. He was a ragtime turned stride pianist whose composition, “The Charleston,” became one of the anthems of the “jazz age” of the Twenties. Johnson and Jelly Roll Morton were probably the two pianists most responsible for taking ragtime music and turning it into jazz via the piano.

Although he started out playing ragtime music in the tradition of Scott Joplin, Johnson became the innovator of a jazz sub-genre of piano playing that was dubbed, “stride.” This piano style got its name from the walking or “striding” sound produced by the pianist’s left hand. Stride piano incorporated elements of the blues and it allowed for on the spot improvisation which is an essential characteristic of jazz music. Ragtime was a rigidly composed form of music which stifled improvisation.

A future jazz star, Fats Waller, would become Johnson’s protégé’, adopt his stride style, and later expose it to the masses.

Johnson was a prolific composer, and he wrote some of the most familiar compositions of the roaring Twenties. Aside from the Charleston, he penned, “You’ve Got to Be Modernistic,” “If I Could Be with You One Hour Tonight,” “Carolina Shout,” “Keep Off The Grass,” and “Old Fashioned Love,” among others. In addition to jazz and pop tunes, Johnson wrote waltzes, ballets and symphonic pieces.

Johnson’s finest recordings can be found on a number of compilation albums including the multi-volume “Chronological Classics: James P. Johnson” (1996) series and “Snowy Morning Blues” (1991), “Harlem Stride Piano” (1992), and “Father of Stride Piano” (2001).

The Carter Family: The First Family of Country Music

The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers are the two artists most responsible for the early development of the country music industry. Before them, the folk music of the Appalachian region of the United States was folk music played by locals for their own amusement, and it remained a regional art form. The music was casually referred to as just “Hillbilly Music.” The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers were not the first country artists to record, Charlie Poole, Ernest Stoneman, Eck Robertson and others had made recordings before them, but Rodgers and the Carters turned hillbilly music into pop music.

The original Carter F

amily consisted of the sisters, guitarist Maybelle, and lead singer Sara, and occasional back-up singer A.P., Sara’s husband. The family hailed from Clinch Mountain, Virginia.

The Carter Family first recorded in Bristol, Tennessee for record producer, Ralph Peer, in 1927. They were paid 50 dollars for each song they recorded. Among those songs were “Wandering Boy” and “Poor Orphan Child” which Victor released as a single in the fall of 1927.

The next year, 1928, saw the Carter Family in the Victor studios in Camden, New Jersey, where they recorded their classics, “Keep on the Sunny Side,” “Can the Circle be Unbroken,” “Wildwood Flower,” “River of Jordan,” and many others. They were not paid for these recordings, but were promised royalties based on sales. By 1930, the Carter Family had sold over 300, 000 records in the United States.

Not only are these recordings historically significant, they are aesthetically pleasing, too. The Carters were a great string band that displayed technical brilliance and perfectly sung harmonies. Mother Maybelle was a brilliant guitarist who invented a guitar picking technique that was adopted by scads of country guitarists in subsequent years.

The Carter Family is one of the most important artists of the 20th century, and they must be heard by anyone who wishes to understand the development of American popular music. The best compilations of the Carter Family’s classic sides include the following releases: The Original and Great Carter Family” (1962), “In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain” (2000), “Wildwood Flower” (2000), and “1927-1934” (2002).

The Flying Burrito Brothers: Burrito Deluxe

Flying Burrito Brothers (The)

In 1968, Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman were members of the Byrds and with their band had recorded the classic album, “Sweetheart of the Rodeo,” the first official “country-rock” album. Parsons and Hillman left the Byrds shortly after and with Chris Ethridge, a bassist, and “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow, a steel guitar player, formed the Flying Burrito Brothers, the band that would spread the gospel of this new genre.

The band would produce a brilliant debut album, a decent sophomore album and then Parsons would be gone to pursue a solo career leaving Hillman to continue the band without him.

In 1969, that brilliant debut, “The Gilded Palace of Sin,” was released. The album was a soulful synthesis of rock and country featuring aching vocal harmonies and atmospheric pedal steel work by Pete Kleinow. The album contained the unforgettable tracks “Christine’s Tune,” “Sin City,” “My Uncle,” and an utterly original take on the soul classic, “Dark End of The Street.”

The next year, 1970, saw the release of the follow-up, “Burrito Deluxe,” a solid offering with standout tracks, “Wild Horses,” “God’s Own Singer,” and “Older Guys.” In 1971, the Burrito Brothers, minus Parsons, released a fine album, “The Flying Burrito Brothers” featuring a fine version of “White Line Fever”.

The band continued to release albums throughout the Seventies with Hillman as the sole original member, but nothing they did even came close to their great debut.

Black Sabbath: Masters of Reality

Black Sabbath is a seminal band in the history of rock music. The band played a brand of hard rock that would tragically spawn much of the regrettable heavy metal/death metal music of recent years. Black Sabbath’s music in their early years, however, was majestic hard rock rooted in the blues and played with skill and precision.

The band, comprised of singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tommy Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward came out of Birmingham, England, in 1968. The band’s first four albums were outstanding efforts and all remain classics of the hard rock genre. The band’s eponymous debut, “Black Sabbath” (1970), was a showcase for the fine guitarist Iommi, and the haunted, intense vocals of Osbourne. The album is spellbinding from start to finish, especially on the title track, “Black Sabbath” and “The Wizard.”

The band’s sophomore release, “Paranoid” (1970), was the equal to the impressive debut and features some progressive rock influences such as the track, “Electric Funeral.” The album’s best known track, “Iron Man,” is probably the weakest track on the album. “Master of Reality” (1971), another classic of the genre, followed next. It contains the classic marijuana anthem, “Sweet Leaf.”

Sabbath next released “Volume 4” (1972), an album that is much more experimental and includes frequent use of synthesizers. The best track here is the ballad, “Changes,” featuring an unforgettable vocal performance by Osbourne.

Black Sabbath would release another decent album, “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” (1973), before their descent to heavy metal mediocrity and the eventual departure of Ozzy Osbourne.

Louis Armstrong: Stompin' at the Savoy-classic traditional jazz

Louis Armstrong: The Bach of Jazz

Louis Armstrong is one of the most important figures in the history of Western popular music, and likely the most important figure in the history of jazz music. He is not only the most famous jazz musician, but he is considered by many to be the most brilliant musician who ever played the music. It was Armstrong’s innate genius as a cornet soloist during the Twenties that helped transform jazz from disposable dance music to the art form that it has become. 

Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1901. His father abandoned the family shortly thereafter, leaving little Louis to live with his mother and sister. Armstrong and his mother lived in a section of New Orleans which was so violent, that it was referred to as “The Battlefield.”

By the time Armstrong was around five-years-old, he was already performing on New Orleans street corners, and he later landed a job hauling a junk wagon. Sometimes, Armstrong would fetch coal, which could be used for warmth on cold nights, for local prostitutes. His employer, the Karnofsky family, provided him with the money to buy his first cornet, and Armstrong took the instrument home and taught himself to play.

On New Years’s Day, 1912; Armstrong was arrested for firing a pistol into the air on New Years’s Eve. Armstrong was known to local police for his often colourful behavior, and he was removed from his home and sent to the “Colored Waif's Home for Boys.”

At the waif’s home Armstrong received music lessons on the cornet from musician Peter Davis, and eventually became the leader of the Waif's Home Band. He was released in 1914, and during a coal delivery to the Storyville district, met Joe “King” Oliver, the best-known cornet player in the New Orleans. Oliver became Armstrong’s mentor, and helped him get work with a number of local bands.

By 1918, Armstrong was a member of the Kid Ory band with Oliver as its leader. When Oliver moved to Chicago, Armstrong took over the leadership of the band. The next year Armstrong was hired by Fate Marable to play in his band aboard Mississippi River steamboats.

In 1922, Armstrong was lured to Chicago by Oliver to join his band, “King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band,” which featured a stellar lineup of musicians including Oliver on cornet, Kid Ory on trombone, Johnny Dodds on clarinet, Baby Dodds on drums, Charlie Jackson on banjo, and Lil Hardin on piano. Armstrong became the second cornetist and with Oliver, created a sensation at the city’s Lincoln Gardens with the brilliance of their cornet duets.

Armstrong made his first recordings with the Creole Jazz Band for the Gennett label in 1923. The first recording Armstrong appeared on was “Chimes Blues” which featured a brilliant Armstrong solo. With Armstrong on second cornet, The Creole Jazz Band made some of the best and most influential recordings of early jazz including, “Mandy Lee Blues,” “Dippermouth Blues,” “Just Gone,” and “Canal Street Blues.”

Armstrong married the band’s pianist, Lil Hardin, in 1924. Later that year, he moved to New York City and joined Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra and continued to perform and record superb solos for Henderson. During this period, Armstrong established himself as the premier blues sideman on recordings with Bessie Smith, Bertha “Chippie” Hill, and others. Perhaps the most famous of Armstrong’s blues collaborations is the session with Bessie Smith that produced “St. Louis Blues” and “Reckless Blues.”

Despite achieving much in New York, Armstrong quit Fletcher Henderson’s band and returned to Chicago in 1925 to make his first recordings for Okeh with his recording group, “Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five.”

Although it didn’t seem possible for Armstrong to outdo his work with Oliver, he did just that with a set of recordings of unparalleled brilliance, “The Hot Fives and Hot Sevens.” With support from former Creole Jazz Band members, Johnny Dodds, Baby Dodds, Lil Hardin, and Kid Ory, plus banjo player Johnny St. Cyr, Armstrong redefined jazz music on colourful recordings with equally colourful titles such as “Struttin’ with Some Barbeque,” Skid-Dat-De-Dat,” “Cornet Chop Suey,” “Big Butter and Egg Man,” and “Yes! I’m in the Barrel.”

Armstrong would be heard singing for the first time on these recordings and revealed that in addition to being the best jazz instrumentalist, he was also a vocalist of exceptional ability. Armstrong was credited with creating the wordless singing style of “scat” during a Hot Five recording session for “Heebie Jeebies” when he dropped the paper which contained the words to the song. Instead of stopping, Armstrong improvised some wordless vocalization.

By the late Twenties, The Hot Five had expanded to the Hot Seven with the addition of the great Earl Hines on piano and some shuffling of the original Hot Five lineup. This new outfit continued to produce sides of jazz genius such as, “Willie the Weeper,” “Potato Head Blues,” “Wild Man Blues,” “Alligator Crawl,” and the recording which has been cited by many jazz critics as the single most brilliant recording of jazz music, “West End Blues.”

While recording with the Hot Five, Armstrong worked with Erskine Tate and the Carroll Dickerson Orchestra. Armstrong moved with Dickerson to New York City in 1929, and appeared the same year in the Broadway musical; “Hot Chocolates.” In 1931, Armstrong appeared in his first film, “Ex-Flame.”

Armstrong was gradually becoming a nationally-known music star, and his fame began to spread abroad largely due to the success of the Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings. He toured the United States and Europe throughout the Thirties. During the Forties, his appearances in films and exposure via radio solidified and magnified his star status. He would perform at Carnegie Hall, in New York City, in 1947.

Armstrong continued to be an extremely popular figure in jazz throughout the evolutions of the music through swing, bebop, and the avant-garde. While many of the musicians who were with him during the creation of the music had been forgotten, Armstrong never ceased to have a viable career. He continued to tour the world, including visits to Eastern Europe and Africa. He also continued to record with his fellow jazz musicians. His health began to deteriorate in 1959, however, when he was hospitalized following a heart attack in Italy.

In 1964, Armstrong’s single “Hello, Dolly!” became the number one hit on Billboard’s pop charts, just as the Beatles were first experiencing “Beatlemania” in America. Armstrong’s hit with Hello Dolly was the last time a jazz recording would top the pop charts before rock and roll took full control of them.

Armstrong continued making movie and television appearances, in addition to performing live, despite continuing heart problems, hospital stays and advice from his doctors to rest. Armstrong’s rendition of the song, “What a Wonderful World,” became a hit in 1968. The song would become a hit again in 1988, when it was included in the film, “Good Morning Vietnam.” In 1971, after performing at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, Armstrong died in his sleep at his home.

Armstrong’s best recorded works are from the Twenties, but fortunately, these recordings are quite well-preserved. Even his first recordings with King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band are quite high-fidelity considering they were recorded before the use of microphones. Several excellent compilations of the Hot Fives and Hot Sevens and Armstrong’s later Twenties work are available from Columbia, and they all feature excellent sound quality. Good compilations can also be found of Armstrong’s recordings with King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band.

Armstrong started recording full-length albums in the Fifties, and his best albums include, “Louis Armstrong Plays WC Handy” (1954), “Satch Plays Fats” (1955), “Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson” (1959), and “Satchmo Plays King Oliver” (1960).

Bill Monroe: The Father of Bluegrass Music

Bill Monroe is among the most important figures in the history of country music, and it was Monroe who almost single-handedly invented bluegrass music. He is known as the “Father of Bluegrass,” and the music bears the nickname of his home state, Kentucky, the “Bluegrass State.” Monroe was born in Rosine, Kentucky, in 1913.

Bill Monroe was one of the finest mandolin players in country music, and it was his mastery of that instrument that has made the mandolin a mandatory part of every bluegrass band. Monroe’s love of the blues and gospel music and his high-pitched singing became signature elements of the bluegrass genre and would later become a requirement of the genre.

Bill Monroe and his long time backing band, the “Bluegrass Boys,” recorded songs that are now bluegrass and country music standards such as “New Mule Skinner Blues,” “Heavy Traffic Ahead,” “Uncle Pen,” “In the Pines,” “Working on a Building,” and “I Saw the Light.”

Monroe wrote and was the first to record the classic song, “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” which would later become one of Elvis Presley’s first hits with Sun records during the emergence of rock and roll. In recognition of his influence on early rockers, Monroe was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

Monroe died in Springfield, Kentucky in 1996.

Monroe’s best recordings include the albums, “Knee Deep in Bluegrass” (1958), “Bean Blossom” (1973), “The Essential Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys 1945-1949” (1992), and “The Music of Bill Monroe from 1936 to 1994” (1994).

The Rolling Stones: Midnight Ramblers

The Rolling Stones are, save the Beatles, the most famous rock band of all time. The Stones emerged from London around the same time that the Beatles were breaking out from their hometown, Liverpool. While the Beatles have long ago parted, The Rolling Stones are still a functioning rock band, although with its members now in their seventies, the band is now only occasionally productive.

The Stones current lineup consists of Mick Jagger on lead vocals; Keith Richards on guitar; Charlie Watts on drums; and Ron Wood on guitar. All the current members except Wood have been with the band from the beginning, and the band has seen limited personnel changes despite its long run of 50 years.

The Stones started out in the early Sixties as one of the finest white blues bands of the day, led at that time, by the late blues guitarist, Brian Jones. In the band’s earliest incarnation, they were a blues and R&B band, and Jones was the driving force and resident blues expert. The band’s name came from the Muddy Waters song, “Rollin’ Stone.” The band played their first gig at London’s Marquee Club before landing a regular gig at the Crawdaddy Club. Former Beatles publicist, Andrew Loog Oldham became the Stones manager around this time.

Oldham’s first act was to secure a lucrative recording deal for his new band. Decca Records, which was still reeling from their failure to sign the Beatles, offered Oldham a sweet deal for the Stones. Oldham, then began to publicize the Stones as the anti-Beatles, a band of louts who were the polar opposite of the clean and decent Beatles. In spring 1963, Decca released the first Stones’ single, a cover of Chuck Berry’s, “Come On.”

The Stones recorded their debut album, “The Rolling Stones,” in 1964. The album only contained one song written by Jagger and Richards, with the rest of the songs being blues cover songs. Oldham encouraged Jagger and Richards to work on their songwriting, as he believed that the band would have limited appeal if it continued to just perform songs by “middle-aged blacks.” Two more albums relying heavily on covers of R&B and blues, “The Rolling Stones Number 2” and “The Rolling Stones Now,” were released in 1965. The songwriting team of Jagger and Richards were beginning to produce results with their first self-written hit, “Heart of Stone,” appearing in 1964.

The Stones first album with a significant amount of original material, “Out of Our Heads,” was released in 1965. This album contained the Stones first big international hit single, “Satisfaction,” and the single turned the band into bona-fide pop stars. The album contained several other excellent tracks such as, “Play with Fire” and “The Last Time.”

The Stones would continue to improve on their next release, “Aftermath” (1966), an album of mostly original songs that includes the early classic songs, “Mother’s Little Helper,” “Lady Jane,” and “Under My Thumb.” The latter track riled feminists and helped to solidify the band’s “bad boy” image.

In early 1967, the band’s next album, “Between the Buttons,” was released. This album saw the band moving away from the blues and R&B they had long focused on, and further into the realm of rock and the psychedelia that was so pervasive at the time. Later in 1967, the band would dive headlong into psychedelia with “Their Satanic Majesties Request,” a full-blown psychedelic freak out which was panned by many critics, but is still an interesting offering with the excellent tracks, “She’s A Rainbow” and “2000 Light Years from Home.”

Between 1968 and 1972, the band would enjoy a golden period that would see the band record an outstanding string of albums which are all now considered among the very best albums of 20^th century popular music.

The first, “Beggar’s Banquet,” appeared in 1968, and featured some of the best rock and blues tracks ever recorded by a rock band. “Sympathy for the Devil” is the most famous track on the album, followed closely by ”Street Fighting Man.” The blues chops of the band, especially in the case of Brian Jones, are on full display on tracks such as “No Expectations” which features fine slide blues guitar by Jones. “Prodigal Son” is a fine country blues cover. Brian Jones would die tragically from drowning in his swimming pool shortly after the release of the album.

In 1969, “Let it Bleed” appeared, and like its predecessor, it contained excellent tracks of rock and blues. Several of the band’s most famous songs are found here such as, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” “Gimme Shelter,” and the title track. The cover of Robert Johnson’s “Love in Vain” is one of the highlights of the band’s recording career.

After a two-year hiatus from the studio, during which time the excellent live album, “Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out” (1970) appeared, another classic album, “Sticky Fingers” (1971), was released. The album was the hardest rocking Stones album yet, and featured new guitarist, Mick Taylor, who was brought in to replace the deceased Brian Jones. Taylor’s presence on the album gave the band a fuller rock sound that was exploited on the numbers, “Bitch,” “Can’t You Hear Me knocking,” and “Brown Sugar.” A fine country-rock moment can be heard with “Wild Horses,” a song that Keith Richards wrote with Gram Parsons of the Flying Burrito Brothers.

In 1972, the comprehensive and outstanding double album, “Exile on Main Street,” was released, and it is considered by many as the band’s definitive work. A slew of blues, R&B, and even gospel tunes populate the album along side rock songs such as the hits, “Happy” and “Tumbling Dice.” 

The Stones’ work started to slide in the mid-Seventies, with the band recording several albums which were several notches below the superb work of the past. Keith Richard’s drug use would become an issue, especially following his arrest at a Toronto hotel. It was not until 1978 that the band would finally make an album worthy of their reputation. That album was “Some Girls” (1978), featuring the stellar tracks, “Shattered” and “Beast of Burdon.”

The band’s work from the Eighties to present has been spotty, but there have always been fine moments such as the album releases, “Tattoo You” (1981), “Stripped” (1995), “The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus” (1996), and “Shine a Light” (2008).

The band is still a touring unit and they have ventured into new territory, playing concerts in Shanghai, China, in 2009.

Howlin’ Wolf: Smokestack Lightning

Of all the Chicago Bluesman who recorded for Chess Records in the Fifties and Sixties, Howlin’ Wolf may have produced the most affecting music. Howlin Wolf was a 300-pound powerhouse of a man who was known to wield his size and mean streak when he deemed it necessary. This intimidating image coupled with a ferocious, otherworldly voice is what earned him the name, “Howlin’ Wolf.”

He was born Chester Arthur Burnett in West Point, Mississippi, in 1910. He was born as one of the poorest of the Southern poor, son of a Mississippi sharecropper, who in his early adult life seemed destined for a life of sharecropping himself. In 1930, Burnett met the Mississippi Delta blues singer Charley Patton, and Patton instructed Burnett on guitar for a time. In addition to Patton, Burnett admired and drew influence from Jimmie Rodgers, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Ma Rainey, Lonnie Johnson, and Blind Blake. What would become Howlin’ Wolf’s famous howl, started as the singer’s attempt to replicate the yodeling of country singer, Rodgers.

During the Thirties, Burnett traveled through The South often in the company of other blues singers. When he was 30-years-old in 1940, he was drafted into the US Army. He stayed in the army for three years before being discharged in 1943, without having seen action. After his discharge, he returned home for a time to help with farming. He formed a band with guitarists Willie Johnson and Matt “Guitar” Murphy and began performing on the West Memphis, Arkansas, radio station, KWEM. Burnett’s performances on the station brought him to the attention of Sam Phillips of The Memphis Recording Service (later called Sun Records), the same man who would discover Elvis Presley years later.

In 1951, Burnett, now dubbed, “Howlin’ Wolf,” recorded the singles, “Moanin after Midnight” and “How Many More Years” for Chess records, and he relocated to Chicago. Wolf convinced the brilliant blues guitarist, Hubert Sumlin, to join his band in Chicago, and with Sumlin on board, Wolf would enter his classic period with terrific singles such as “Smokestack Lightning,” “Little Red Rooster,” “Wang Dang Doodle,” “300 Pounds of Joy,” and “Killing Floor.”

In 1962, Howlin’ Wolf recorded his famous self-titled, “rocking chair” album, “Howlin’ Wolf,” a seminal and brilliant recording of Chicago blues. The album was recorded for Chess and included his tight band led by guitarist Sumlin.

Other brilliant Howlin’ Wolf albums include “The London Howlin’ Wolf Sessions” (1971) and “Ridin’ in the Moonlight” (1982), and the compilations “Moanin’ in the Moonlight” (1959), “The Real Folk Blues” (1965), “Chester Burnett AKA Howlin’ Wolf’” (1972), “Change My Way” (1975), “His Greatest Sides Vol. 1” (1984), “The Chess Box” (1991), “His Best” (1997), and “The Geniune Article” (1997).

Sippie Wallace: I'm a Mighty Tight Woman

Sippie Wallace was another of the early female blues singers who started her recording career in the Twenties on the heels of Mamie Smith’s 1920 recording of “Crazy Blues,” the first-ever blues recording. Wallace was born Beulah Thomas in Houston, Texas, in 1898.

Wallace made her first recordings for the Okeh label in 1924 with “Leaving Me Daddy is Hard to Do.” She enjoyed a number of hits with Okeh during the Twenties with the songs, “I’m a Mighty Tight Woman,” “Jack O Diamonds Blues,” “Dead Drunk Blues,” and “Lazy Man Blues.” Wallace, like Alberta Hunter and Ida Cox, would enjoy a lengthy career and continue to perform well into old age. Wallace died in Detroit in 1986.

Her music is best heard via the compilations, “Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1923-1925)” (1995) and “Complete Recorded Works, Vol.2 (1925-1945)”

King Oliver: New Orleans Jazz Pioneer

Joe “King” Oliver is among the seminal figures in the history of jazz music. Oliver was an influential musician in the early days of jazz whose hot cornet playing influenced all those who followed in his footsteps including Louis Amstrong, Oliver’s student, charge and employee. It was Oliver who convinced Armstrong to leave New Orleans for Chicago, and play second cornet in Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band took the first steps on a journey that would see Armstrong revolutionize jazz and American popular music.

Oliver was born in New Orleans in 1885 and was blinded in one eye as a child. He often played cornet while wearing a derby hat in such a way as to obscure his bad eye. Oliver was one of the first cornetists to use a mute to alter the sound of his cornet. Using a mute, he was able to produce a wide variety of sounds including the whinnying of a horse.

Oliver started his professional career in New Orleans around 1908. He was a member of several marching bands, and he worked at various times in Kid Ory’s band. Ory began referring to him as “King” Oliver around 1917.

In 1919, Oliver moved to Chicago with Kid Ory and played in Bill Johnson’s band at the Dreamland Ballroom. Oliver formed “King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band” in 1922, and landed a residency at Chicago’s Lincoln Gardens. His new band featured some of the best jazz musicians of the time including clarinetist Johnny Dodds, trombonist Honore Dutrey, pianist Lil Hardin, drummer Baby Dodds, and Louis Armstrong on second cornet.

King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band 1923 recording sessions for the Gennet label produced some of the best-ever recordings of jazz with “Chimes Blues,” “Just Gone,” “Dippermouth Blues,” and “Snake Rag.” These recordings revealed the brilliant dual cornet playing of Armstrong and Oliver, and introduced Armstrong’s virtuosity to the world. Armstrong soon headed to New York City to join Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and the Creole Jazz Band would cease to be in 1924.

Oliver took over Dave Peyton’s band in 1925, renamed it the “Dixie Syncopators,”and moved the band to New York in 1927. Once in New York, Oliver passed up a chance to have the Dixie Syncopators become the house band at the Cotton Club. Duke Ellington took the job and went on to fame and riches. In 1929, Luis Russell took over the Dixie Syncopaters and changed their name to “Luis Russell and his Orchestra.”

Oliver recorded until 1931, but his New Orleans hot jazz style was falling out of fashion. Oliver finally settled down in Georgia, where he worked as a poolroom janitor until his death in 1938.

Oliver’s classic sides are available on the following compilations: “King Oliver’s Jazz Band 1923” (1975), “King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band: The Complete Set” (1997), and the series, “The Chronological Classics: King Oliver” (1991).

James Reese Europe and the Harlem Hellfighters 369th Infantry Regiment: ...

James Reese Europe: Harlem Hellfighter

James Reese Europe was one of the earliest figures of jazz music. He was a great bandleader and an inspiration to African-Americans in the early years of the last century. Europe was the leader of Europe’s Society Orchestra that first recorded in 1913. That orchestra ostensibly played ragtime music, the forerunner of jazz; however, Europe’s orchestra played a highly- improvised version of ragtime which could easily be classified as jazz. Europe took ragtime music and speeded it up considerably, making it a frenetic and highly infectious and danceable music.

Europe was the first African-American bandleader to ever make a commercial recording and in 1914, Europe and the Society Orchestra recorded Castle’s Lame Duck” and “Castle House Rag” for the Victor label.

During World War One, Europe was enlisted in the U.S, army as a lieutenant with the African-American 369^th Infantry Regiment that was dubbed the “Harlem Hellcats.” Europe also directed the regimental band and with them made recordings for the Pathe brothers while stationed in France. Europe and the band also performed concerts, making a hit of the number, “Memphis Blues.”

Shortly after returning to America at the conclusion of the war, Europe was stabbed in the neck with a pen by one of his drummers during the intermission of a concert in Boston. Europe succumbed to the wound, and became the first African-American citizen to be honoured with a public funeral in New York City.

ROBERT JOHNSON THE FIRST BLUES SINGER IN HISTORY TO SELLOUT TO GOAT LUCIFER.

Roy Eldridge: Trumpet Virtuoso

Most jazz critics consider Roy Eldridge as the successor of Louis Armstrong in the evolution of jazz trumpet players. Armstrong is almost universally considered as the greatest jazz trumpeter in history; however, Eldridge is viewed as the musician who took the hot New Orleans style of Armstrong and turned it into something new.

Eldridge was notable for his rough and speedy technique, particularly when playing high notes on the trumpet. A now almost forgotten trumpeter, Jabbo Smith, who rivaled the virtuosity of Armstrong in the late Twenties, was a huge influence on Eldridge, as was Armstrong.

In terms of jazz cornet/trumpet greatness, the progression is loosely as follows: Buddy Bolden-Freddie Keppard-King Oliver-Louis Armstrong-Roy Eldridge-Dizzy Gillespie-Miles Davis-Clifford Brown.

Eldridge was born to a musical family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1911. As a child, Eldridge became a drummer in the band of his brother, Joe, before his brother convinced him to pick up the trumpet. By the age of 20, he had started his own band in Pittsburgh and then left that band to join the band of Horace Henderson, brother of the great New York bandleader, Fletcher Henderson. Shortly thereafter, in 1930, Eldridge moved to New York City.

In New York, Eldridge found work with a number of dance bands, and by 1935, while as a member of the Teddy Hill Orchestra, Eldridge made his first recordings. Eldridge would eventually land a gig with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra from 1935-36, becoming Henderson’s star soloist by lending his hot solos to the Henderson classics, “Christopher Columbus” and “Blue Lou.”

Eldridge later moved on to work with white bands led by Gene Kroupa, and later, Artie Shaw. The presence of an African-American musician in a white band was a rarity in the segregated America of the Thirties. In the post-war era, Eldridge became one of the leading musicians that toured under the banner of “Jazz at the Philharmonic.” He also freelanced with the bands of Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald and Benny Goodman.

Roy Orbison: In Dreams

Roy Orbison was one of the early greats of rock and roll music who is now best remembered for his hit song, “Pretty Woman.” In the Fifties and early Sixties, however, Orbison had a slew of hits and was one of the most successful of the early rockers.

Orbison was born in Vernon, Texas, in 1936. By the late Fifties, Orbison had become a member of Sun Records’ legendary roster of musicians which included Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins. Sun Records had just recently lost Elvis Presley. Like Cash and Perkins, Orbison was a rockabilly performer in his earliest incarnation, recording the rockabilly classics, “Ooby Dooby,” “Trying to Get to You,” and “Go! Go! Go!”

By the Sixties, Orbison was recording for Monument and added pop ballads to his repertoire with the hits, “Only the Lonely,” “Running Scared,” and “Crying.” In 1964, Orbison would record his biggest hit, “Pretty Woman.”

Orbison would continue to record singles for the remainder of the Sixties and Seventies, but would not score another major hit. Orbison would become a member of The Traveling Willburys in the early Eighties along with Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, George Harrison and Tom Petty.

Orbison’s best albums include, “Crying” (1962), “In Dreams” (1963), “Orbisongs” (1965), “Cry Softly Lonely One” (1967), “Roy Orbison’s Many Moods” (1969), and “Mystery Girl” (1989).