Louis Jordan
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 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "the King of the Jukebox", he earned his highest profile towards the end of the swing era. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "early influence" in 1987.[2]
Not to be confused with Louis Jourdan or Louis Jordan (American football).
Louis Jordan
Louis Thomas Jordan
July 8, 1908
Brinkley, Arkansas, U.S.
February 4, 1975 (aged 66)
Los Angeles, California
- Musician
- bandleader
- songwriter
- singer
- Saxophones
- vocals
1932–1974
Specializing in the alto sax, Jordan played all forms of the saxophone, as well as piano and clarinet. He also was a talented singer with great comedic flair, and fronted his own band for more than twenty years. He duetted with some of the biggest solo singing stars of his time, including Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.
Jordan was also an actor and a film personality. He appeared in 14 three-minute Soundies filmed for "movie jukeboxes" of the 1940s.[3] He also worked as a specialty act in the Hollywood theatrical features Follow the Boys and Swing Parade of 1946. His very successful musical short Caldonia (1945) prompted three more feature films, all starring Jordan and his band: Beware; Reet, Petite and Gone; and Look-Out Sister.
Jordan began his career in big-band swing jazz in the 1930s, but he became known as an innovative popularizer of jump blues, a swinging, up-tempo, dance-oriented hybrid of jazz, blues and boogie-woogie. Typically performed by smaller bands consisting of five or six players, jump music featured shouted, highly syncopated vocals and earthy, comedic lyrics on contemporary urban themes. It strongly emphasized the rhythm section of piano, bass and drums; after the mid-1940s, this mix was often augmented by electric guitar. Jordan's band also pioneered the use of the electronic organ.
With his dynamic Tympany Five bands, Jordan mapped out the main parameters of the classic R&B, urban blues and early rock-and-roll genres with a series of highly influential 78-rpm discs released by Decca Records. These recordings presaged many of the styles of black popular music of the late 1940s, 1950s and 1960s and exerted a strong influence on many leading performers in these genres. Many of his records were produced by Milt Gabler, who went on to refine and develop the qualities of Jordan's recordings in his later production work with Bill Haley, including "Rock Around the Clock".
Jordan ranks fifth in the list of the most successful African-American recording artists according to Joel Whitburn's analysis of Billboard magazine's R&B chart, and was the most popular rhythm and blues artist with his "jump blues" recordings[4] of the pre-rock n' roll era. Though comprehensive sales figures are not available, he had at least four million-selling hits during his career. Jordan regularly topped the R&B "race" charts, achieving the Number 1 slot eighteen times, with 113 weeks in that spot over the years.[5] He was also one of the first black recording artists to achieve significant crossover[6] in popularity with the predominantly white mainstream American audience, having simultaneous Top Ten hits on the pop charts on several occasions.
Personal life[edit]
Marriages[edit]
Jordan was married five times. His first wife Julia (also called Julie) was from Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Soon after their wedding Julia gave birth to a daughter, Patty, who turned out to be another man's child.[7] In 1932, Jordan met Ida Fields, a Texas-born singer and dancer, in Hot Springs. They married that year. Ida was six years his senior and a member of a traveling dance troupe 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 reduced to $30,000.[27] She began billing herself as "Mrs. Louis Jordan, Queen of the Blues, and her Orchestra" before Jordan stopped it by stalling payments. In another court case, Ida was awarded a settlement of $50,000.[7] In 1942, Jordan married his childhood sweetheart, Fleecie Moore; they were later divorced. In 1947, Fleecie discovered Jordan was having an affair with dancer Florence "Vicky" Hayes and attacked him with a knife. She was arrested and charged with assault.[27] Jordan married Vicky on November 14, 1951, in Providence, Rhode Island;[7] they separated in 1960.
He married Martha Weaver, a singer and dancer from St. Louis, in 1966.[9] Weaver being a Catholic, Jordan sometimes attended Mass with her on Sundays, though he was raised a Baptist.[27]
Financial problems[edit]
Jordan's popularity and success had waned by 1953. By that time, "rock 'n' roll had captured the world's attention, and Jordan's jumping R&B became a thing of the past". While he continued performing, this did not generate the level of income that million selling recordings had provided.[4][35]
In 1961, the Internal Revenue Service filed an income tax lien against Jordan. As a result, he sold property well below its worth to pay off debts.[36] Musician Ike Turner stated in his autobiography, Takin' Back My Name, that he heard about his tax problems and contacted Jordan's booking agency in Chicago. Turner convinced the president of the company to send Jordan a check for $20,000. Jordan was unaware of this deed.[37]
Jordan wrote or co-wrote many of the songs he performed, but he did not benefit financially from them. Many of the hit songs he wrote, including "Caldonia", were credited to his wife Fleecie Moore to avoid an existing publishing arrangement. Their marriage was acrimonious and short-lived. After their divorce she retained ownership of the songs. However, Jordan may have taken credit for some songs written by others—he is credited as the co-writer of "Saturday Night Fish Fry", but the Tympany Five pianist Bill Doggett claimed he wrote it.[38]
Death[edit]
Jordan died of a heart attack on February 4, 1975, in Los Angeles.[39] He is buried at Mt. Olive Catholic Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, the hometown of his wife Martha.[40]
Awards and legacy[edit]
On June 23, 2008, the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution introduced by Arkansas Representative Vic Snyder honoring Jordan on the centenary of his birth.[41]
The United States Postal Service featured Jordan and his film for Caldonia in 2008 as part of its tribute to Vintage Black Cinema. "Vivid reminders of a bygone era will be celebrated in June through Vintage Black Cinema stamps based on five vintage movie posters. Whether spotlighting the talents of entertainment icons or documenting changing social attitudes and expectations, these posters now serve a greater purpose than publicity and promotion. They are invaluable pieces of history, preserving memories of cultural phenomena that otherwise might have been forgotten. The stamp pane was designed by Carl Herrman of Carlsbad, California."[42]
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame states that two of the most important originators of Rhythm and blues were Joe Turner and Louis Jordan, with his Tympany Five. The two artists helped to lay "the foundation for R&B in the 1940s, cutting one swinging rhythm & blues masterpiece after another".[22] The Hall also describes Jordan as "the Father of Rhythm & Blues," "the Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll" and "King of the Juke Boxes".[43][16] Another source states that with Caldonia (1945), Jordan was "already crafting the classic rock ‘n’ roll sound".[44] The Hall of Fame considers "his classic “Saturday Night Fish Fry” (1949) as an early example of rap and possibly the first rock and roll recording".[17]
The Blues Foundation hints that Jordan was a precursor to R&B: "Louis Jordan was the biggest African-American star of his era and that his "Caldonia" reached "the top of the Race Records chart, as it was known prior to the introduction of term Rhythm & Blues in 1949".[45]
Some have suggested that Chuck Berry modeled his musical approach on Jordan's.[46] Berry changed the lyric content from black life to teenage life, and substituted cars and girls for Jordan's primary motifs of food, drink, money and girls. Berry's iconic opening riff on "Johnny B. Goode"[47] bears a striking similarity to the intro played by the guitarist Carl Hogan on the 1946 hit "Ain't That Just Like a Woman"; Berry has acknowledged the debt in interviews.[48][49][50] Other sources also indicate that Little Richard was influenced by Jordan. In fact, the artist said Caldonia was the first non-gospel song he learned; and the shriek (or "whoop")[47] on the Jordan record "sounds eerily like the vocal tone Little Richard would adopt", in addition to the "Jordan-style pencil-thin moustache".[51][52] James Brown and Ray Charles also said that Jordan's style had an influence on their work.[52]
B.B. King recorded an album called Let the Good Times Roll: The Music of Louis Jordan. The band included Earl Palmer, drums, Dr. John, piano, Hank Crawford, alto sax, David "Fathead" Newman, tenor sax, and Marcus Belgrave, trumpet.[53]
Jordan was inducted into both the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame;[6] and in 2018 he posthumously received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement.[54] The Academy believes that he "led the way for rock and roll in the 50’s. His recordings in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame include: 'Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens', 'Caldonia Boogie', 'Choo Choo Ch'Boogie', and 'Let The Good Times Roll’".[55]
According to Cleveland.com, "Louis Jordan had a profound impact on several African-American music genres that evolved during the first half of the 20th century ... He helped make jump blues, jazz and boogie-woogie mainstream forces. Jordan’s legendary work would serve as a precursor to modern blues, rock and roll and R&B music".[56]
In 1990, Five Guys Named Moe, a musical built around the songs of Louis Jordan, opened in London's West End and ran for over four years, winning a Laurence Olivier Award. It opened on Broadway in 1992 and received 2 Tony Award nominations. Tours and revivals have continued into the 2020s.