BOOKLET

Louis Jordan – Complete 1950-1952 Decca Recordings

Definitive DRCD-11226

Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 February 4, 1975) was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as “The King of the Jukebox”, he was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the later years of the swing era. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him no. 59 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Jordan was one of the most successful African-American musicians of the 20th century, ranking fifth in the list of the all-time most successful black recording artists according to Billboard magazine’s chart methodology. Though comprehensive sales figures are not available, he scored at least four million-selling hits during his career. Jordan regularly topped the R&B “race” charts, and was one of the first black recording artists to achieve a significant “crossover” in popularity into the mainstream (predominantly white) American audience, scoring simultaneous Top Ten hits on the white pop charts on several occasions. After Duke Ellington and Count Basie, Louis Jordan was probably the most popular and successful African-American bandleader of his day.

Jordan was a talented singer with great comedic flair, and he fronted his own band for more than twenty years. He duetted with some of the biggest solo singing stars of his day, including Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Jordan was also an actor and a major black film personalityhe appeared in dozens of “soundies” (promotional film clips), made numerous cameos in mainstream features and short films, and starred in two musical feature films made especially for him. He was an instrumentalist who specialized in the alto saxophone but played all forms of the instrument, as well as piano and clarinet. A productive songwriter, he wrote or co-wrote many songs that became influential classics of 20th-century popular music.

Although Jordan began his career in big-band swing jazz in the 1930s, he became famous as one of the leading practitioners, innovators and popularizers of “jump blues”, a swinging, up-tempo, dance-oriented hybrid of jazz, blues and boogie-woogie. Typically performed by smaller bands consisting of five or six players, jump music featured shouted, highly syncopated vocals and earthy, comedic lyrics on contemporary urban themes. It strongly emphasized the rhythm section of piano, bass and drums; after the mid-1940s, this mix was often augmented by electric guitar. Jordan’s band also pioneered the use of electric organ.

With his dynamic Tympany Five bands, Jordan mapped out the main parameters of the classic R&B, urban blues and early rock’n’roll genres with a series of hugely influential 78 rpm discs for the Decca label. These recordings presaged many of the styles of black popular music in the 1950s and 1960s, and exerted a huge influence on many leading performers in these genres. Many of his records were produced by Milt Gabler, who went on to refine and develop the qualities of Jordan’s recordings in his later production work with Bill Haley, including “Rock Around The Clock”.

reviewby Thom Jurek

This reissue captures a particularly creative period for Louis Jordan and his band, and these two discs contain no less than 48 tracks of pure, mad Jordan genius. All of these tunes are necessary Jordan faves, and the best of them, “Lay Something on the Bar,” “Fat Sam From Birmingham,” “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was,” “A Man’s Best Friend Is a Bed,” “You Rascal You,” “Blue Light Boogie,” and a truly endearing read of “All of Me,” are among the greatest jump jazz tunes of all time.

LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS TYMPANY FIVE / LOUIS JOTDAN AND TRIO

Aaron Izenhall (tp), Louis Jordan (as, vo), Josh Jackson (ts), Bill Doggett (p), Bill Jennings (g), Bob Bushnell (sb), Chris Columbus (dm).

Chicago, June 26, 1950.

1-01. 76540 I Want A Roof Over My Head [Decca 27129]

1-02. 76541 Show Me How (You Milk The Cow) [Decca 27129]

X-XX. 76542 Blue Light Boogie, Part 1 [Decca 27714]

1-03. 76543 Blue Light Boogie, Part 2 [Decca 27714]

ELLA FITZGERALD with LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS TYMPANY FIVE

Aaron Izenhall (tp), Louis Jordan (as, vo), Josh Jackson (ts), Bill Doggett (p), Bill Jennings (g), Bob Bushnell (sb), Chris Columbus (dm).

New York City, August 15, 1950.

1-04. 76731 ‘Ain’t Nobody’s Business But My Own [Decca 27200]

ELLA FITZGERALD AND LOUIS JORDAN

poss. Hank Jones (p), John Collins (g), Ray Brown (sb), Charlie Smith (dm).

1-05. 76732 I’ll Never Be Free [Decca 27200]

LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS TYMPANY FIVE

Aaron Izenhall (tp), Louis Jordan (as, vo), Josh Jackson (ts), Bill Doggett (p), Bill Davis (org), Bill Jennings (g), Bob Bushnell (sb), Chris Columbus (dm), unknown (perc).

New York City, August 18, 1950.

1-06. 76736 Tamburitza Boogie [Decca 27203]

1-07. 76737 Chartreuse [Decca 27324]

1-08. 76738 Lemonade [Decca 27324]

1-09. 76739 It’s A Great, Great Pleasure [Decca 27428]

1-10. 76740-1 You Will Always Have A Friend [Decca 27620]

LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS TYMPANY FIVE

Aaron Izenhall (tp), Louis Jordan (as, vo), Josh Jackson (ts), Bill Doggett (p), Bill Jennings (g), Bob Bushnell (sb), Chris Columbus (dm).

New York City, August 21, 1950.

X-XX. 76741 Louisville Lodge Meeting

1-11. 76742 Trouble Then Satisfaction [Decca 27203]

2-25. 76743 Crazy Baby

LOUIS ARMSTRONG with LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS TYMPANY FIVE

Aaron Izenhall (tp), Louis Jordan (as, vo), Josh Jackson (ts), Bill Doggett (p), Bill Jennings (g), Bob Bushnell (sb), Chris Columbus (dm), Louis Armstrong (vo).

New York City, August 23, 1950.

1-12. 76744 Life Is So Peculiar [Decca 27212]

1-13. 76745 You Rascal You [Decca 27212]

LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS TYMPANY FIVE

Aaron Izenhall (tp), Louis Jordan (as, vo), Josh Jackson (ts), unknown (bar), Wild Bill Davis (org), Bill Jennings (g), Bob Bushnell (sb), Chris Columbus (dm).

New York City, December 21, 1950.

1-14. 80299 Tear Drops From My Eyes [Decca 27428]

X-XX. 80300 If You’ve Got Some Place To Go

LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS TYMPANY FIVE

Aaron Izenhall (tp), Louis Jordan (as, vo), Josh Jackson (ts), unknown (bar), Wild Bill Davis (p), Bill Jennings (g), Bob Bushnell (sb), Chris Columbus (dm).

New York City, March 1, 1951.

1-15. 80633 Weak Minded Blues [Decca 27547]

1-16. 80634 Is My Pop In There [Decca 27547]

1-17. 80635 I Can’t Give You Anything But Love [Decca 27620]

LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA

Aaron Izenhall, Emmett Perry, Bob Mitchell (tp), Leon Comegys, Bob Burgess (tb), Louis Jordan (as, vo), Oliver Nelson (as), Josh Jackson, Reuben Phillis (ts), Marty Flax (bar), Jimmy Peterson (p), Bill Jennings (g), Bob Bushnell (sb), Chris Columbus (dm).

New York City, June 5, 1951.

1-18. 81121-T4 If You’re So Smart How Come You Ain’t Rich? [Decca 27648]

1-19. 81122 Trust In Me [Decca 27784]

1-20. 81123 Louisville Lodge Meeting [Decca 27969]

1-21. 81124-T2 How Blue Can You Get? [Decca 27648]

X-XX. 81125 Happy Birthday Boogie

LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA

Aaron Izenhall, Emmett Perry, Bob Mitchell (tp), Leon Comegys, Bob Burgess (tb), Louis Jordan (as, vo), Oliver Nelson (as), Josh Jackson, Reuben Phillis (ts), Marty Flax (bar), Jimmy Peterson (p), Wild Bill Davis (org, vo), Bill Jennings (g), Bob Bushnell (sb), Chris Columbus (dm).

New York City, June 13, 1951.

1-22. 81148 May Every Day Be Christmas [Decca 27806]

1-23. 81149 Please Don’t Leave Me [Decca 27694]

2-01. 81150 Bone Dry [Decca 27806]

X-XX. 81151 I Love That Kinda Carryin’ On

2-02. 81152 Three Hundred Women [Decca 27694]

2-03. 81153-A Fat Sam From Birmingham [Decca 28983]

LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA

New York City, July 30, 1951.

2-04. 81321 Cock-A-Doodle-Doo [Decca 27784]

X-XX. 81322 Garmoochie

2-05. 81323 There Must Be A Way [Decca 28820]

LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS ORCHESTRA

Aaron Izenhall, Harold “Money” Johnson, Emmett Perry, Bob Mitchell (tp), Alfred Cobbs, Bob Burgess (tb), Louis Jordan (as, vo), Oliver Nelson (as), Josh Jackson, Irving “Skinny” Brown (ts), Numa “Pee Wee” Moore (bar), Bill Doggett (org), John Malachi (p), Bill Jennings (g), Bob Bushnell (sb), Chris Columbus (dm).

New York City, November 28, 1951.

2-06. 81908 Come And Get It [instrumental] [Decca 29655]

X-XX. 81909 Stop Makin’ Music

2-07. 81910 Slow Down [Decca 28088]

2-08. 81911 Work Baby, Work [Decca 27969]

2-09. 81912 Never Trust A Woman [Decca 28088]

2-10. 81913-A All Of Me – vVF [Decca 28335]

2-11. 81914 There Goes My Heart [Decca 28335]

2-12. 81915 Lay Something On The Bar (Besides Your Elbow) [Decca 27898]

LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS TYMPANY FIVE

Bob Mitchell (tp), Louis Jordan (as, vo), Jimmy Peterson (p), Bert Payne (g), Bob Bushnell (sb), Charlie Rice (dm).

New York City, April 30, 1952.

X-XX. 82793 Gimme Gimmie Blues

2-13. 82794 Junco Partner [Decca 28211]

2-14. 82795 Time Marches On [Decca 28820]

2-15. 82796 Azure-Te (Paris Blues) [Decca 28211]

2-16. 82797 Oil Well, Texas [Decca 28225]

82798 There’s Nothing Else That I Can Do

LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS TYMPANY FIVE

Bob Mitchell (tp), Louis Jordan (as, vo), Jimmy Peterson (p), Bert Payne (g), Bob Bushnell (sb), Charlie Rice (dm).

Washington, May 8, 1952.

2-17. 82834 Jordan For President [Decca 28225]

X-XX. 82835 The Soon-A-Baby

LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS TYMPANY FIVE

Bob Mitchell (tp), Louis Jordan (as, vo), Jimmy Peterson (p), Bert Payne (g), Bob Bushnell (sb), Charlie Rice (dm).

New York City, December 3, 1952.

X-XX. 83681 There’s Nothing Else That I Can Do

2-18. 83682-A The Soon-A-Baby [Decca 28983]

2-19. 83683 You Didn’t Want Me Baby [Decca 28543]

2-20. 83684 A Man’s Best Friend Is A Bed [Decca 28543]

LOUIS JORDAN

Vocal acc. orchestra under the direction of Nelson Riddle.

Los Angeles, February 23, 1952.

2-21. L 7059 I Didn’t Know What Time It Was [Decca 29166]

2-22. L 7060 It’s Better To Wait For Love [Decca 28664]

2-23. L 7061 Only Yesterday [Decca 29166]

2-24. L 7062 Just Like a Butterfly (That’s Caught in the Rain) [Decca 28664]