A lot of people have recorded the songs of the so-called 鈥淜ing of the Jukebox鈥� Louis Jordan and with good reason. His songs are so darned much fun to play and listen to.
People as diverse as B. B. King and Joe Jackson have recorded full tribute albums to Jordan. I could rattle off a list of his best known pieces, but I wouldn鈥檛 know where to quit.
But I will repeat that a lot people have recorded songs Jordan made famous, many of which he wrote. Even Flip Wilson got in on the act when he performed 鈥淎in鈥檛 Nobody Here but Us Chickens鈥�. Many artists start their performances with 鈥淟et the Good Times Roll鈥�. Personally, I think 鈥淭he King of the Jukebox鈥� should also be known as 鈥淭he King of the Party鈥�.
http://youtu.be/jd9gklkIUR0
Louis Jordan was born in Brinkley, Arkansas in 1908 and passed away in 1975. He enjoyed his greatest popularity from the 1930s through the 1950s. At times he fronted a big band and at other times a small combo with his Tympany Five being among his most successful groups and the one that did the most to map out the Rhythm and Blues idioms that dominate the genre to this day.
鈥淭he King of the Jukebox鈥� got his first big break in the mid-1930s when he joined the Chick Webb Band, best known as the house band at the Savoy Ballroom in New York, at the same time Ella Fitzgerald was getting her start with the band. Jordan also performed with Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong and many others.
Along with his music career, Louis, who was known for a great sense of humor, was an actor and a major black film personality. He found a great deal of success in 鈥榮oundies鈥�, films that played in 鈥淪oundies鈥� machines, which were the film equivalent of jukeboxes. The films were also sometimes used as 鈥榮hort subjects鈥� at the movies. 鈥淜ing of the Soundies鈥� too?
After Duke Ellington and Count Basie, King of the Jukebox Louis Jordan, with his many Top Ten crossover hits on the white pop charts, rates as the top band leader of his era. He also stands as a major linchpin between Blues and Jazz and is a true pioneer of Rhythm and Blues.
This week on The Nine O鈥檆lock Blues we鈥檒l 鈥淟et the Good Times Roll鈥� and have a 鈥淪aturday Night Fish Fry鈥� as I indulge myself by browsing through several of the genre that Louis Jordan dominated over a period of about thirty years.
http://youtu.be/Zkiq2d01JiM
An artist missing from the Chicago Blues scene for nearly a decade is Rockin鈥� Johnny, but now he鈥檚 back with a new CD called 鈥淕rim Reaper鈥�. Rockin鈥� Johnny Band is a quintessential Chicago club band and that comes as no surprise since they record on the Delmark Records label and that鈥檚 what Delmark does.
This week on The Nine O鈥檆lock Blues we鈥檒l check out the title track from 鈥淕rim Reaper鈥� which is a deep, dark blues that features an ominous tone, a tolling bell of a guitar and a backwards guitar solo that harkens back to the late 1960s psychedelic music era.
Also on the show we鈥檒l listen to a 1980 track from Ry Cooder, a man who has played in about every genre there is, and the ladies are represented by South Side Cindy, who I only just discovered in my in-box and The Informants, who I discovered a couple of years ago when they played The Greeley Blues Jam.
