Louis Jordan
Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "the King of the Jukebox", he earned his highest profile towards the end of the swing era. He was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame as an "early influence" in 1987. Specializing in the alto sax, Jordan played all forms of the saxophone, as well as piano and clarinet. He also was a talented singer with great comedic flair, and fronted his own band for more than twenty years. He duetted with some of the biggest solo singing stars of his time, including Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Jordan was also an actor and a film personality. He appeared in 14 three-minute Soundies filmed for "movie jukeboxes" of the 1940s. He also worked as a specialty act in the Hollywood theatrical features Follow the Boys and Swing Parade of 1946. His very successful musical short Caldonia (1945) prompted three more feature films, all starring Jordan and his band: Beware; Reet, Petite and Gone; and Look-Out Sister. Jordan began his career in big-band swing jazz in the 1930s, but he became known as an innovative popularizer 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 the electronic organ. With his dynamic Tympany Five bands, Jordan mapped out the main parameters of the classic R&B, urban blues and early rock-and-roll genres with a series of highly influential 78-rpm discs released by Decca Records. These recordings presaged many of the styles of black popular music of the late 1940s, 1950s and 1960s and exerted a strong 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". Jordan ranks fifth in the list of the most successful African-American recording artists according to Joel Whitburn's analysis of Billboard magazine's R&B chart, and was the most popular rhythm and blues artist with his "jump blues" recordings of the pre-rock n' roll era. Though comprehensive sales figures are not available, he had at least four million-selling hits during his career. Jordan regularly topped the R&B "race" charts, achieving the Number 1 slot eighteen times, with 113 weeks in that spot over the years. He was also one of the first black recording artists to achieve significant crossover in popularity with the predominantly white mainstream American audience, having simultaneous Top Ten hits on the pop charts on several occasions.
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References
Title | Summary | |
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Early In The Morning {Demo} | ... Leo Hickman | Songwriter: Louis Jordan | Songwriter: ... | |
Early In The Morning | ... Leo Hickman | Songwriter: Louis Jordan | Songwriter: ... | |
Early In The Morning {Quadraphonic Mix} | ... Leo Hickman | Songwriter: Louis Jordan | Songwriter: ... |
Connection Chains
- From Louis Jordan to McCabe & Mrs. Miller in 13 Steps
- From Louis Jordan to Ian Anderson in 12 Steps
- From Louis Jordan to Leo Scott in 12 Steps
- From Andy Williams to Louis Jordan in 12 Steps
- From John Lennon to Louis Jordan in 12 Steps
- From Louis Jordan to Wally Bryson in 12 Steps
- From Louis Jordan to April 8 in 11 Steps
- From Louis Jordan to February 27 in 11 Steps
- From Louis Jordan to I Need You in 11 Steps
- From My Girl to Louis Jordan in 11 Steps
- From Rick Jarrard to Louis Jordan in 11 Steps
- From Richie Zito to Louis Jordan in 11 Steps
- From I've Got It to Louis Jordan in 11 Steps
- From Din' We to Louis Jordan in 11 Steps
- From March 5 to Louis Jordan in 11 Steps
- From Louis Jordan to Roger Moore in 11 Steps
- From Louis Jordan to Bernie Case in 10 Steps
- From Louis Jordan to Diana Ross in 10 Steps
- From Louis Jordan to Harold Orlob in 10 Steps
- From Louis Jordan to Kill Bill: Volume 1 in 10 Steps
- From Only You to Louis Jordan in 10 Steps
- From Thank Heaven for Kathy to Louis Jordan in 10 Steps
- From ...That's the Way It Is to Louis Jordan in 10 Steps
- From Save the Last Dance for Me to Louis Jordan in 10 Steps
- From Danny Kortchmar to Louis Jordan in 10 Steps
- From Pete Ham to Louis Jordan in 10 Steps
Connections
- Early In The Morning was written by Louis Jordan
- July 8 is the birthday of Louis Jordan
- Louis Jordan wrote Early In The Morning
- Louis Jordan was born on July 8