Louis Jordan The Best of Louis Jordan FLAC

Louis Jordan
The Best of Louis Jordan
1977
FLAc

Song Title Artist
1. Choo Choo Ch\'Boogie Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
2. Let The Good Times Roll Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
3. Ain\'t Nobody Here But Us Chickens Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
4. Saturday Night Fish Fry Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
5. Beware Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
6. Caldonia Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
7. Knock Me A Kiss Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
8. Run Joe Louis Jordan
9. School Days Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
10. Blue Light Boogie Louis Jordan
11. Five Guys Named Moe Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
12. What\'s The Use Of Getting Sober (When You\'re Gonna Get Drunk Again)

Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
13. Buzz Me Blues Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
14. Beans And Cornbread Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
15. Don\'t Let The Sun Catch You Cryin\' Louis Jordan
16. Somebody Done Changed The Lock On My Door Louis Jordan
17. Barnyard Boogie Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
18. Early In The Mornin\' Louis Jordan
19. I Want You To Be My Baby Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
20. Nobody Knows You When You Are Down And Out Louis Jordan

Thank you. Enjoy!

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--
Effervescent saxophonist Louis Jordan was one of the chief architects and

prime progenitors of the R&B idiom. His pioneering use of jumping shuffle

rhythms in a small combo context was copied far and wide during the

1940s.

Jordan\'s sensational hit-laden run with Decca Records contained a raft of

seminal performances, featuring inevitably infectious backing by his

band, the Tympany Five, and Jordan\'s own searing alto sax and street

corner jive-loaded sense of humor. Jordan was one of the first black

entertainers to sell appreciably in the pop sector; his Decca duet mates

included Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald.

The son of a musician, Jordan spent time as a youth with the Rabbit Foot

Minstrels and majored in music later on at Arkansas Baptist College.

After moving with his family to Philadelphia in 1932, Jordan hooked up

with pianist Clarence Williams. He joined the orchestra of drummer Chick

Webb in 1936 and remained there until 1938. Having polished up his

singing abilities with Webb\'s outfit, Jordan was ready to strike out on

his own.

The saxist\'s first 78 for Decca in 1938, \"Honey in the Bee Ball,\" billed

his combo as the Elks Rendezvous Band (after the Harlem nightspot that he

frequently played at). From 1939 on, though, Jordan fronted the Tympany

Five, a sturdy little aggregation often expanding over quintet status

that featured some well-known musicians over the years: pianists Wild

Bill Davis and Bill Doggett, guitarists Carl Hogan and Bill Jennings,

bassist Dallas Bartley, and drummer Chris Columbus all passed through the

ranks.

From 1942 to 1951, Jordan scored an astonishing 57 R&B chart hits (all on

Decca), beginning with the humorous blues \"I\'m Gonna Leave You on the

Outskirts of Town\" and finishing with \"Weak Minded Blues.\" In between, he

drew up what amounted to an easily followed blueprint for the development

of R&B (and for that matter, rock & roll -- the accessibly swinging

shuffles of Bill Haley & the Comets were directly descended from Jordan;

Haley often pointed to his Decca labelmate as profoundly influencing his

approach).

\"G.I. Jive,\" \"Caldonia,\" \"Buzz Me,\" \"Choo Choo Ch\' Boogie,\" \"Ain\'t That

Just like a Woman,\" \"Ain\'t Nobody Here but Us Chickens,\" \"Boogie Woogie

Blue Plate,\" \"Beans and Cornbread,\" \"Saturday Night Fish Fry,\" and \"Blue

Light Boogie\" -- every one of those classics topped the R&B lists, and

there were plenty more that did precisely the same thing. Black audiences

coast-to-coast were breathlessly jitterbugging to Jordan\'s jumping jive

(and one suspects, more than a few whites kicked up their heels to those

same platters as well).

The saxist was particularly popular during World War II. He recorded

prolifically for the Armed Forces Radio Service and the V-Disc program.

Jordan\'s massive popularity also translated on to the silver screen -- he

filmed a series of wonderful short musicals during the late \'40s that

were decidedly short on plot but long on visual versions of his hits

(Caldonia, Reet Petite & Gone, Look Out Sister, and Beware, along with

countless soundies) that give us an enlightening peek at just what made

him such a beloved entertainer. Jordan also cameoed in a big-budget

Hollywood wartime musical, Follow the Boys.

A brief attempt at fronting a big band in 1951 proved an ill-fated

venture, but it didn\'t dim his ebullience. In 1952, tongue firmly planted

in cheek, he offered himself as a candidate for the highest office in the

land on the amusing Decca outing \"Jordan for President.\" Even though his

singles were still eminently solid, they weren\'t selling like they used

to by 1954. So after an incredible run of more than a decade-and-a-half,

Jordan moved over to Eddie Mesner\'s Los Angeles-based Aladdin logo at the

start of the year. Alas, time had passed the great pioneer by -- \"Dad Gum

Ya Hide Boy,\" \"Messy Bessy,\" \"If I Had Any Sense,\" and the rest of his

Aladdin output sounds great in retrospect, but it wasn\'t what young R&B

fans were searching for at the time. In 1955, he switched to RCA\'s

short-lived \"X\" imprint, where he tried to remain up-to-date by issuing

\"Rock \'N\' Roll Call.\"

A blistering Quincy Jones-arranged date for Mercury in 1956 deftly

updated Jordan \'s classics for the rock & roll crowd, with hellfire

renditions of \"Let the Good Times Roll,\" \"Salt Pork, West Virginia,\" and

\"Beware\" benefiting from the blasting lead guitar of Mickey Baker and Sam

\"The Man\" Taylor\'s muscular tenor sax. There was even time to indulge in

a little torrid jazz at Mercury; \"The JAMF,\" from a 1957 LP called Man,

We\'re Wailin\', was a sizzling indication of what a fine saxist Jordan

was.

Ray Charles had long cited Jordan as a primary influence (he lovingly

covered Jordan\'s \"Don\'t Let the Sun Catch You Crying\" and \"Early in the

Morning\"), and paid him back by signing Jordan to the Genius\' Tangerine

label. Once again, the fickle public largely ignored his worthwhile

1962-64 offerings.

Lounge gigs still offered the saxman a steady income, though, and he

adjusted his on-stage play list accordingly. A 1973 album for the French

Black & Blue logo found Jordan covering Mac Davis\' \"I Believe in Music\"

(can\'t get much loungier than that!). A heart attack silenced this

visionary in 1975, but not before he acted as the bridge between the big

band era and the rise of R&B.

His profile continues to rise posthumously, in large part due to the

recent acclaimed Broadway musical Five Guys Named Moe, based on Jordan\'s

bubbly, romping repertoire and charismatic persona. ~ Bill Dahl, All

Music Guide