Rosco Gordon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rosco Gordon
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Rosco N. Gordon III |
| Born | April 10, 1928 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | July 11, 2002 (aged 74) Queens, New York City |
| Genres | |
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| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1950–2002 |
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Rosco N. Gordon III (born April 10, 1928 – died July 11, 2002) was an American singer, piano player, and songwriter. He was also known as Roscoe Gordon. He became famous for his hit songs like "Booted" (1952), "No More Doggin'" (1952), and "Just a Little Bit" (1960). Rosco Gordon was a pioneer of the Memphis blues style of music. He played the piano in a special way called the "Rosco rhythm." This rhythm focused on the "off-beat" in music. This unique style later influenced other music types, like Jamaican ska and reggae.
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Rosco Gordon's Early Life
Rosco Gordon was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 10, 1928. He was the youngest of eight children. He learned to play the piano from his sister, who took lessons. Rosco became friends with other musicians like Johnny Ace, Bobby Bland, and B.B. King. They were sometimes called the Beale Streeters.
In 1946, Gordon moved to Chicago. He returned to Memphis in 1949. In 1950, he won first place at a talent show at the Palace Theatre on Beale Street. The host of the show, Rufus Thomas, invited Gordon to play on his radio show at WDIA. Soon after, Gordon got his own radio show too.
Music Career and Hit Songs
In 1951, David Mattis, the manager of WDIA, introduced Gordon to music producer Sam Phillips. Around this time, Ike Turner also noticed Gordon. Ike Turner was a talent scout for the Bihari brothers, who owned Modern Records. Gordon's first hit song, "Saddled the Cow (and Milk the Horse)," was released on RPM Records. This record company was part of Modern Records. The song reached number 9 on the Billboard R&B music chart.
Gordon's next song, "Booted," was recorded at Phillips' Sun Studio in Memphis. Phillips then allowed Chess Records to release the song in December 1951. Gordon also recorded a version for RPM Records, which came out in January 1952. The RPM version became a number-one hit on the Billboard R&B chart in March 1952. The record companies later worked out their disagreement. The Bihari brothers got the rights to Gordon's music, and Chess Records signed Howlin' Wolf. For many years, Gordon did not receive extra payments, called royalties, for his songs. He once said, "Sam Phillips gave me one hundred dollars. One hundred. No royalties. No nothin'. But, I did it for the Biharis, now they gave me six hundred dollars. No royalties. No nothin'. But like I say, I didn't know any better."
Gordon had another successful song called "No More Doggin'" in 1952, which reached number 2 on the R&B chart. Between 1952 and 1959, he released many more songs on different record labels like Duke, Sun, Flip, and Vee-Jay Records. His last song to appear on the music charts was "Just a Little Bit" in 1960. This song reached number 2 on the R&B chart and number 64 on the Pop chart. He was paid $250 for the song. "Just a Little Bit" became a very popular R&B song. Many famous artists, including the Beatles, Etta James, Elvis Presley, and Jerry Butler, recorded their own versions of it. Gordon did not receive royalties from the millions of copies sold of these cover versions. This was because a producer at King Records copyrighted the song before him.
In the late 1950s, Gordon traveled and performed around the world. He visited South America and the Caribbean. His unique off-beat rhythm style influenced the sound of early ska and reggae music in those regions.
Later Years and Legacy
In 1962, Rosco Gordon decided to leave the music business. He moved to Queens, New York, with his new wife. He bought a share in a laundry business after winning a poker game. In 1969, Gordon started his own record label called Bab-Roc, which he ran from his home. However, he did not perform music again until 1981. In 1983, he released an album called Rosco Rocks Again. This album was recorded live at the 100 Club in London. After his wife passed away in 1984, he started touring again.
In 2000, Gordon worked with blues guitarist Duke Robillard to release the album Memphis Tennessee. In 2002, filmmaker Richard Pearce invited Gordon to be part of a documentary film. The film was about several blues musicians returning to Memphis for a tribute to Sam Phillips. This was connected to the May 2002 W.C. Handy Awards. The documentary, called The Road to Memphis, was shown on PBS television.
Six weeks after the filming ended, Rosco Gordon died at age 74. He passed away from a heart attack at his apartment in Rego Park, Queens, on July 11, 2002. He was buried in the Rosedale Cemetery in Linden, New Jersey.
Discography
Albums
- 1983: Rosco Rocks Again (JSP Records)
- 2000: Memphis Tennessee (Stony Plain Records)
- 2004: No Dark in America (Dualtone Records)
Compilations
- 1977: The Legendary Sun Performers: Rosco Gordon (Charly Records)
- 1980: The Best of Rosco Gordon Volume One (Ace Records)
- 1982: Volume 2: The Memphis Sessions (Ace Records)
- 1993: Just a Little Bit (Vee-Jay Records)
- 1996: Rosco's Rhythm (Charly Records)
- 1998: Bootin' (The Best of the RPM Years) (Ace Records)
- 2004: A Proper Introduction to Rosco Gordon - No More Doggin' (Proper Records)
- 2009: Let's Get High: The Man About Music From Memphis (JSP Records)
- 2016: Just A Little Bit (Jasmine Records)
