Louis Jordan was one of the innovators, and he was among the earliest musicians playing the early versions of what later became recognized as R & B and Rock n Roll. His music always revealed its roots in the Swing Band music of the 1930s, but he was ahead of his time. The R & B, and Rock n Roll of the late 1940s and early to mid 1950s would not have been the same without his influence. Jordan was an American Original of the first rank. There are some links, to 6 records and to a video about Jordan, at the bottom of this article.
~~ written by dmorista ~~
(Caption: Louis Jordan playing the Saxophone during the height of his powers and popularity.
Biographical Information
Born: July 8, 1908 Brinkley, Arkansas
Died: February 4, 1975 (aged 66) Los Angeles,California
Awards And Honors: Grammy Award Blues Hall of Fame (1983), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (1987)
Louis Jordan, in full Louis Thomas Jordan, (born July 8, 1908, Brinkley, Arkansas, U.S.—died February 4, 1975, Los Angeles, California), American saxophonist-singer prominent in the 1940s and ’50s who was a seminal figure in the development of both rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The bouncing, rhythmic vitality of his music, coupled with clever lyrics and an engaging stage presence, enabled Jordan to become one of the few African American artists of the 1940s to enjoy crossover popularity with a white audience.
Jordan’s father was a professional musician, and it was through him that Jordan absorbed the black musical traditions of the American South. As a teenager Jordan toured as a singer, dancer, comedian, and woodwind player with a variety of performing troupes including the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. He joined drummer-bandleader Chick Webb’s orchestra in 1936, remaining (alongside the young Ella Fitzgerald) for two years before forming his own band. Though Jordan had developed into an accomplished alto saxophonist in the mold of Benny Carter, he did not set out to form a jazz group. His goal, instead, was to create a music that would have a broader appeal.
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 a buoyant, boogie-based shuffle, and hits such as “Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens” and “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie” inspired countless “jump blues” combos. Though largely retaining the sound and subject matter of his African American roots, he enjoyed celebrity status among both Black and white audiences, starring in numerous Hollywood short films (notably Caldonia [1945]) and receiving equal billing on recorded collaborations with Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby.
Jordan’s musical style exerted a profound influence on a wide range of performers, most notably Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, and Bill Haley. Among many others who covered his material were Woody Herman, Muddy Waters, and Eric Clapton. Jordan’s popularity had faded considerably by the time of his death, but his music enjoyed a revival during the 1990s, when Five Guys Named Moe, a musical based on Jordan’s songs, played in London and New York City; subsequent stagings of the production continued well into the 21st century. Jordan was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame (1983) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987), and in 2018 he received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement.
(Source: “Louis Jordan: American musician”, The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopedia Brittanica, at < https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Jordan >)
Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five
Was an American popular music group which recorded from the 1930s until the 1970s. During the 1940s, they were the most popular recording band of the soon-to-be-called rhythm and blues music having eighteen No. 1 hits, which places them as the third most successful singles artist in Billboard R&B charts history. The 1946 recording of "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" was tied for first place for spending the most weeks (eighteen) at No. 1. in the charts.
(Source: “Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five”, Discogs, at https://www.discogs.com/artist/320597-Louis-Jordan-And-His-Tympany-Five )
From Wikipedia we have this entry
Tympany Five was a successful and influential American rhythm and blues and jazz dance band founded by Louis Jordan in 1938.[1] The group was composed of a horn section of three to five different pieces and also drums, double bass, guitar and piano.
Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five created many of the most influential songs of the early R&B and rock and roll era, including "Let The Good Times Roll", "Keep A-Knockin'", and "Caldonia". Carl Hogan's opening riff to "Ain't That Just Like A Woman" later became one of rock's most recognizable riffs in Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode".[citation needed]
Jordan first formed the band as "The Elks Rendezvous Band", named after the Elks Rendezvous jazz joint in Harlem. The original lineup of the sextet was Jordan (saxes, vocals), Courtney Williams (trumpet), Lem Johnson (tenor sax), Clarence Johnson (piano), Charlie Drayton (bass) and Walter Martin (drums). The various lineups of the Tympany Five (which often featured two or three extra players)[1] included Bill Jennings and Carl Hogan on guitar, renowned pianist-arrangers Wild Bill Davis and Bill Doggett, "Shadow" Wilson and Chris Columbus on drums and Dallas Bartley on bass. Jordan played alto, tenor and baritone saxophone and sang the lead vocal on most numbers. The band found fame after opening for The Mills Brothers at the Capitol Lounge in Chicago in 1941.
In 1941, they were transferred from Decca's "race" label to its Sepia Series, featuring artists thought to have the crossover potential to appeal to both black and white audiences. Jordan was always proud of the fact that the Tympany Five's music was just as popular with white as it was with black people.[2]
Jordan's last recordings were made for the French Black & Blue label in 1973 and issued as I Believe in Music. The session included Irv Cox tenor in saxophone, Dave Burrell on piano, bassist John Duke and drummer Archie Taylor.[3][4]
(Source: “Tympany Five”, Wikipedia, at < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tympany_Five >)
Links to 4 Recordings and to a 45 and 1/2 minute video are posted below
1). 1946 HITS ARCHIVE: Choo Choo Ch’Boogie - Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1EG__jgefA
2). 1944 HITS ARCHIVE: Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t (Ma’ Baby) - Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g27XLCBQmYE
3). It's So Easy - Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five (Decca)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-mw-qcgn1g
4). Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five: Doug The Jitterbug. Recorded 1939 From the album Jazz Cafe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0ina3D59GE
5). Louis Jordan & His Tympani Five - Deacon Jones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9BL--_L65w
6A). 1945 HITS ARCHIVE: Caldonia (aka Caldonia Boogie) - Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five (2:40)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBl7iP55Jsw
6B). Caldonia Boogie - Louis Jordan (1946) [RESTORED in STEREO and COLOR] from "Swing Parade of 1946" (4:29)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1COmzMMwD_k
This is an oddball Youtube, of a different and slightly longer recording of a rendition of Jordan's band performing "Caldonia"; in which the Tympany Five are accompanied by the Will Osborne Orchestra. It includes the augmentation of the original black and white film to a color tinted format. The notes presented some interesting text about the song, that is posted here below:
1,074 views Sep 15, 2021 "Caledonia", "Caldonia", "Caldonia Boogie"... whatever you call it, Louis Jordan recorded it in 1945 and gave his then-wife publishing credit in a bad deal. This appearance with neon-lighted instruments cannot be appreciated in the original mono black and white, so it is now stereo-imaged and color-tinted (not colorized, a totally different process) to give it some depth and feel like you might be in that nightclub seeing Louis 'perform'. (Yeah, the drummer can't quite hit much with glass neon sticks!!! I love the electrical wire from Jordan's sax (no it's not an early microphone). You'll notice on the intro pic, the band kept the neon around the bass drum after the movie completed filming.
A special attraction is the additional backing of Will Osborne and his Orchestra, who performs the big band arrangement when Louis joins the dancers and starts his hoofing routine (the dancer on the right is on point! - the left one needs another rehearsal)...
Tech heads: Using Avid Media Composer with current Gen Arts Boris FX and Sapphire FX version, creating multiple video layers (like the audio) of the B/W film to create the color-toned effect: multi-color correction, full-tint layers, S_Glow, S_Film Effect, S_DuoTone are the EFX predominantly used (and abused). Please note this project is all experimental and used as a learning canvas to see how to utilize these effects to achieve what you see - WITH A FINITE AMOUNT OF TIME. Sure, if I spend a month with original material... But this is YouTube, people...
So... Caldonia is a blues standard and was known as one of the first songs Little Richard learned (and he performed it plenty). The same goes with the song being a standard 'show-stopper' in the catalogs of B.B. King and James Brown, to name a few, not to mention the numerous bands from 1945 which performed their versions of Louis Jordan's original. (Emphasis added)
"Caldonia" is a jump blues song, first recorded in 1945 by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five. A version by Erskine Hawkins, also in 1945, was described by Billboard magazine as "right rhythmic rock and roll music".
The Blues Foundation states that "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".
Louis Jordan recording:
In 1942, Jordan had started on an unparalleled run of success on the Billboard Harlem Hit Parade (forerunner of the R&B chart), which by 1945 had included four number-one hits, and eventually made Jordan by far the most successful R&B chart act of the 1940s. "Caldonia" became his fifth number one on "Race Records" chart. It debuted on the chart in May 1945 and reached number one in June, where it stayed for seven weeks. On the pop chart, the song peaked at number six with the title "Caldonia Boogie".[
The writing of the song is credited to Jordan's wife of the time, Fleecie Moore. However, it was written by Jordan, who used his wife's name to enable him to work with an additional music publisher. Jordan later commented, "Fleecie Moore's name is on it, but she didn't have anything to do with it. That was my wife at the time, and we put it in her name. She didn't know nothin' about no music at all. Her name is on this song and that song, and she's still getting money." However, by the time of that quote, Jordan and Moore had divorced after a number of arguments in which she had stabbed him with a knife. (Emphasis added) The lyrics include Jordan's trademark use of comedy:
Walkin' with my baby she's got great big feet
She's long, lean, and lanky and ain't had nothing to eat
She's my baby and I love her just the same
Crazy 'bout that woman 'cause Caldonia is her name
The verses conclude with the refrain:
Caldonia! Caldonia!
What makes your big head so hard?
I love her, I love her just the same
Crazy 'bout that woman 'cause Caldonia is her name
The song was a very big hit at the time, and was first performed by Louis Jordan in December 1945 on a recorded performance on the AFRS Jubilee! Old Time Radio show on disc - aimed at African-American servicemen overseas.
This may be the only time I've seen neon-lighted musical instruments on film! But NOW you can REALLY see it - and hear it!
Everything you hear came from the one, noisy, distorted mono film track as played at the end of this video.
Portions of this commentary came from Wikipedia and was previously recorded ;-)u
6). Louis Jordan and The Tympany Five, (a 45 and 1/2 minute video about Jordan)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6icjf2Bv-c
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