Louis Jordan

I have been listening to a lot of Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five lately.

Without a doubt, most of you just asked in unison, "Who?"

It doesn't surprise me that most people have never heard of Louis Jordan, but I think it is a crime that he is not as well known as the thousands of artists he has influenced over the past 65 years.  My goal is to change that in my own little way by giving my blog readers a little music history lesson.  (And if you don't like music or history, then I really don't know what the hell is wrong with you.) 

Who knows, maybe after reading this you'll be inspired to check out this fantastic and incredibly influential musician.

(I should add that the following was written by me, using various sources from the internet... it wasn't just copied from some web site.  That would be pretty lame.)

Louis Jordan was a band leader, lead vocalist and saxophone virtuoso, whose popularity grew in the early 1940s, where he proved to be extremely popular among American GI's (both black and white alike).  His fame peaked in the late 1940s.  In fact, at the height of his popularity, only two other "colored" musicians were better known than Louis Jordan:  Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.

His contemporaries, including Louis Armstrong, called him the "Father of Rhythm and Blues."  His nickname was "King of the Jukebox." 

But perhaps most importantly, many have proclaimed him "The Forefather of Rock and Roll."  In fact, Chuck Berry has said, "The first rock and roll I ever heard was played by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five."

Jordan started in the 1930s as a big band leader.  His music developed over the next decade into "jump blues," "be-bop," "boogie woogie," and finally became what can only be called "rock and roll," even though the term had not yet been coined.

He was also one of the first "crossover" artists -- a black musician with a hit record on the white charts.  As hard as it is to believe today, music was segregated in the 1940s.  There were "race records," and "race charts," recordings made by black musicians, which were segregated on black charts.  Then there was the "mainstream" charts.  Recordings made by white artists segregated on white charts.

Louis Jordan played a major role in breaking down that racial barrier.

His music was melodic and swingin'.  His live performances were well known for excellent showmanship.  His lyrics were clever, humorous and often highly suggestive.  In his first crossover hit, "Ration Blues," Jordan sang to a grinding, blues riff:  "Rubber's disappearing fast, so you can't ride no mo' with poppa..."  This seems so risque that it is amazing the record was even issued, much less played publicly on a jukebox.

Jordan's songs always told a story, which was highly influential on a young guitarist from St. Louis named Charles Edward Berry, better known as "Chuck."

Louis Jordan's first #1 hit on the white mainstream charts was "GI Jive," which was massively popular among servicemen.

The crossover hits continued, with "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't (My Baby)," "Caldonia," "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" (later covered by Ray Charles), and the delightful "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (a duet with Ella Fitzgerald).   In all, he scored 19 Top Twenty hits on the white mainstream charts.  On the race charts, 57 of his songs hit the Top Ten, including 18 singles which hit #1.  

His music heavily influenced the pioneers of rock and roll, including Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Bill Haley.  He was also a huge influence on R&B legend B. B. King.

Just listen to Jordan's 1945  hit "Caldonia."  Little Richard made an entire career off Jordan's vocal styling on this song.  (and check out the showmanship in this clip -- remember this is 1945!)

Chuck Berry lifted the electric guitar intro to Jordan's 1946 hit "Ain't That Just Like a Woman," which, 12 years later, became the famous guitar introduction to "Johnny B. Goode."   Just take a listen.

It was Louis Jordan who popularized the term "chick" as a reference to a woman, heard in his suggestive 1946 hit, "That Chick's Too Young to Fry."  He also pioneered the used of the electric organ into his recordings and live performances.

Many musicologists have proclaimed Jordan's 1949 hit "Saturday Night Fish Fry" as the first true rock-and-roll record, even though rock and roll hadn't been "invented" yet.  It was the first big hit to feature a distorted electric guitar and it was the first popular song to use the word "rocking"  in the chorus.

So I invite you to check out this great musician who should not be forgotten to history.  His music has provided me hours and hours of listening pleasure; it will do the same for you.

The sign in front of Jordan's boyhood home.  It seems such an influential artist deserves better than this, doesn't it?

Jordan's very modest grave site, located in St. Louis, MO.