Louis Jordan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Louis Jordan
Jordan in New York City, 1946
Background information
Birth name	Louis Thomas Jordan
Born	(1908-07-08)July 8, 1908 Brinkley, Arkansas, U.S.
Died	February 4, 1975(1975-02-04) (aged 66) Los Angeles, California
Genres	Jazz swing jump blues R&B
Occupation(s)	Musician bandleader songwriter singer
Instruments	Saxophones vocals
Years active	1932–1974
Labels	Decca V-Disc Mercury Aladdin

Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American musician. He was a saxophonist, songwriter, and bandleader. He was very popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. People called him "the King of the Jukebox".

Jordan played many instruments, especially the alto sax. He also played other saxophones, piano, and clarinet. He was a great singer with a fun, comedic style. He led his own band for over twenty years. He sang with famous stars like Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong.

He was also an actor and appeared in films. He made 14 short films called "Soundies" for movie jukeboxes. These were like early music videos. He also acted in Hollywood movies such as Follow the Boys. His musical short film Caldonia (1945) was very successful. This led to three more movies starring Jordan and his band.

Jordan started his career playing big-band swing jazz in the 1930s. But he became famous for jump blues. This was a fast, dance-focused mix of jazz, blues, and boogie-woogie. Jump blues bands were usually small, with five or six musicians. They had strong rhythms and funny lyrics about city life. Jordan's band also was one of the first to use the electronic organ.

With his band, the Tympany Five, Jordan helped create the sound of classic R&B and early rock-and-roll. His recordings for Decca Records were very important. They influenced many top musicians in these music styles. Many of his songs were produced by Milt Gabler. Gabler later worked with Bill Haley on hits like "Rock Around the Clock".

Jordan was one of the most successful African-American recording artists. He was the most popular rhythm and blues artist before rock and roll. He had at least four songs that sold over a million copies. Jordan's songs often reached number one on the R&B charts. He had 18 number one hits and spent 113 weeks at the top. He was also one of the first black artists to become popular with white audiences. He had songs that were hits on both the R&B and pop charts.

Life and Music Career

Jordan was born on July 8, 1908, in Brinkley, Arkansas. His father was a music teacher and bandleader. Louis started learning clarinet at age seven. Then he learned saxophone. As a teenager, he played professionally. In the early 1930s, he played in Philadelphia and New York City. He also recorded with other musicians. In 1938, he started his own band, the Tympany Five.

Louis Jordan's Tympany Five

Jordan's first band had nine members. He later made it a smaller group of six. This was when he got a regular job at the Elks Rendezvous club in Harlem. The band included Jordan on saxes and vocals. His name was spelled "Louie" at first. This was so people would say it correctly.

Jordan in New York, July 1946

In 1942, Jordan and his band moved to Los Angeles. There, he started making "soundies," which were like music videos. He also performed on many radio shows for American troops overseas. Jordan's music career was not stopped by the war. He was not drafted into the army due to a health condition.

During the 1940s, Jordan and his band became very popular. They had hits like "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" and "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby". He recorded with famous singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Bing Crosby. He also appeared in movies. His band's performance fee quickly grew from $350 to $2,000 per night. Jordan's success showed that smaller bands could be just as popular as big bands. This also made music more affordable to produce.

Jordan's lively songs often told fun stories. A good example is "Saturday Night Fish Fry" from 1950. This song was one of the first to use the word "rocking" in the chorus. It also featured a distorted electric guitar sound. Many people call this song "jump blues" because it made listeners want to jump and dance. The song had a strong rhythm and a call-and-response style. It also had guitar parts that Chuck Berry later said he copied.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame calls Jordan "The Father of Rhythm & Blues". They also call him "The Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll". They say "Saturday Night Fish Fry" is an early example of rap. Some even say it might be the first rock and roll recording. However, not all music critics agree on how much he influenced rock and roll. Some say his songs were for adults as much as for teens.

Jordan's jump blues style combined funny lyrics with a fast beat. His bluesy saxophone and playful tunes made his music unique. He often used words with double meanings.

During this time, Jordan had many songs on the national charts. He dominated the R&B charts in the 1940s. He had eighteen number 1 singles and fifty-four songs in the Top Ten. From July 1946 to May 1947, he had five number one songs in a row. These songs stayed at the top for 44 weeks.

Jordan's popularity grew not only from his hit records. He also recorded for the Armed Forces Radio and the V-Disc program. This helped him become popular with both white and black audiences. He starred in short musical films and made "soundies" for his hit songs.

Jordan was very important in the history of rhythm and blues. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame says he helped create R&B in the 1940s. He made many swinging rhythm & blues masterpieces. In the early 1950s, Jordan tried to start a big band, but it was not successful. He also had health problems in the 1950s.

In 1952 and 1954, Jordan performed at the Cavalcade of Jazz concerts in Los Angeles.

In 1954, Jordan signed with Aladdin. He recorded 21 songs for them. In 1955, he recorded with "X" Records. He tried to make his sound stronger to compete with rock and roll. In 1956, Mercury signed Jordan. They released two albums and several singles. His first album for Mercury, Somebody Up There Digs Me (1956), had rock-and-roll versions of his old hits. Mercury hoped this would be a comeback for Jordan. But it was not very successful, and they let him go in 1958. Jordan later said he did not like rock 'n' roll. He said he did not want to change his style. He recorded music off and on in the 1960s and early 1970s.

In the early 1960s, he toured in England with Chris Barber.

Jordan re-recorded some of his top hits for a 1973 album, I Believe in Music. These included "Caldonia" and "Saturday Night Fish Fry". He also added new songs.

According to a Billboard book, Jordan had 18 number 1 hits on the R&B charts. He spent a total of 113 weeks at the top. This was almost twice as many weeks as any other artist in rhythm & blues history.

The Smithsonian Institution described Jordan's music. They said he was a pioneer of jump blues. His group had three horns and a rhythm section. His music mixed swing and blues. It used a shuffle rhythm and boogie-woogie bass lines. His songs often used African American everyday language and humor. They also had call-and-response parts between Jordan and his band. Jordan's music was popular with both African American and white audiences. He had big hits like "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" (1944).

Films and Movies

Jordan and the Tympany Five performed "Deacon Jones" in the 1944 film Meet Miss Bobby Socks.

The musical short film Caldonia (1945) helped Jordan's career. It was shown in theaters before his live performances. Besides his roles in mainstream films, Jordan also appeared in "race films." These were movies made for black audiences. They included Beware! (1946) and Reet, Petite, and Gone (1947).

He used films a lot to promote his music. Billboard magazine praised this new way of promotion. They said movies helped his live shows and recordings. It was a good cycle that other bands started to use too.

Personal Life

Marriages

Jordan was married five times. His first wife was Julia. His second wife was Ida Fields, a singer and dancer. They married in 1932. Ida later sued Jordan for bigamy, saying he was still married to Julia. She won a settlement. In 1942, Jordan married his childhood sweetheart, Fleecie Moore. They later divorced. In 1947, Fleecie attacked Jordan with a knife. This was after she found out he was with another dancer, Florence "Vicky" Hayes. Jordan married Vicky in 1951, but they separated in 1960.

He married Martha Weaver, a singer and dancer, in 1966. Martha was Catholic, and Jordan sometimes went to church with her. He was raised a Baptist.

Financial Challenges

Jordan's popularity started to decline around 1953. Rock and roll became very popular then. Jordan's jump R&B music became less common. He kept performing, but he did not earn as much money as before.

In 1961, the government filed a tax lien against Jordan. This meant he owed money for taxes. He had to sell some of his property to pay off his debts.

Jordan wrote or co-wrote many of his hit songs. But he did not always make money from them. Many songs, like "Caldonia," were credited to his wife Fleecie Moore. This was done to avoid an old publishing agreement. After their divorce, she kept ownership of these songs. However, some people say Jordan took credit for songs written by others. For example, the Tympany Five pianist Bill Doggett claimed he wrote "Saturday Night Fish Fry."

Death

Louis Jordan died from a heart attack on February 4, 1975. He passed away in Los Angeles. He is buried in St. Louis, Missouri, which was his wife Martha's hometown.

Awards and Lasting Impact

On June 23, 2008, the United States House of Representatives honored Jordan. They passed a resolution for his 100th birthday.

The United States Postal Service featured Jordan and his film Caldonia in 2008. This was part of a tribute to Vintage Black Cinema stamps. These stamps celebrate old movie posters. They show important parts of history and culture.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame says that Joe Turner and Louis Jordan were key figures in creating Rhythm and blues. They helped build the foundation for R&B in the 1940s. The Hall also calls Jordan "the Father of Rhythm & Blues" and "the Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll." They also call him "King of the Juke Boxes." Some say that with Caldonia (1945), Jordan was already creating the classic rock ‘n’ roll sound. The Hall of Fame considers his song "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (1949) an early example of rap. They also say it might be the first rock and roll recording.

The Blues Foundation suggests Jordan was a very early influence on R&B. They say he was the biggest African-American star of his time. His song "Caldonia" reached the top of the "Race Records" chart. This chart was later called Rhythm & Blues in 1949.

Some people believe that Chuck Berry based his music style on Jordan's. Berry changed the song topics from black life to teenage life. He sang about cars and girls instead of Jordan's themes of food, money, and girls. Berry's famous guitar intro on "Johnny B. Goode" is very similar to the intro in Jordan's 1946 hit "Ain't That Just Like a Woman." Berry has said in interviews that he was influenced by this. Other sources say Little Richard was also influenced by Jordan. Little Richard said Caldonia was the first non-gospel song he learned. The "whoop" sound in Jordan's record sounds like Little Richard's vocal style. James Brown and Ray Charles also said Jordan's style influenced their work.

B.B. King recorded an album called Let the Good Times Roll: The Music of Louis Jordan.

Jordan was inducted into both the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame. In 2018, he received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement. The Grammy Academy believes he "led the way for rock and roll in the 50’s." His songs in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame include "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" and "Let The Good Times Roll."

According to Cleveland.com, Louis Jordan had a big impact on several African-American music styles. These styles developed in the first half of the 20th century. He helped make jump blues, jazz, and boogie-woogie popular. Jordan's work helped shape modern blues, rock and roll, and R&B music.

In 1990, a musical called Five Guys Named Moe opened in London. It was based on Louis Jordan's songs. It ran for over four years and won an award. It also opened on Broadway in 1992. The musical has continued to be performed in tours and revivals.

Charting Singles

See also

In Spanish: Louis Jordan para niños

Images for kids

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  Jordan in New York City, 1946