King of the Jukebox
The week’s entry is about the legend Louis (pr. ‘Louie’) Jordan, dubbed “King of the Jukebox” in his breakout decade of the 1940’s when he scored 57 chart hits and 18 #1s in an 8-year span. In a time prior to the dominance of the electric guitar in American popular music, Louis Jordan’s saxophone and vocal style set the tone for contemporary jazz and early R&B and initiated the advent of what would become Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Jordan is a little-known legend these days, but was a huge influence on popular and art music of the 1940s and 1950s. Louis’ signature saxophone growl and his innovation of playing with a 5-piece band changed popular dance music and set up it’s raucous cousin Bebop. One could argue every Jazz and R&B saxophonist is inevitably influenced by Louis Jordan, and even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame called him “The Father of Rhythm and Blues” and “The Grandfather of Rock ‘n’ Roll“.
In the 1930s, Louis played and sang with Chick Webb’s popular band, where among many famous musicians of the day - like the young Ella Fitzgerald.
Later, Jordan was innovating with “Soundies” (a precursor to music videos) in 1942 Los Angeles while using a boogie woogie style that screams “Rock ‘n’ Roll” even if no one in the room would know what that meant. Here’s another big hit of his that really shows off his singing and playing styles and was popularly covered by many other musicians. There’s even the added bonus of hearing him on tenor saxophone, an unusual feature of this period of his work.
James Brown, when asked who his influences were, famously replied “Louis Jordan and Duke Ellington”. Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Elvis all share their influence from Louis Jordan, a musician whose career bridged the swing era of the 1930’s to the 1970’s, when his songs were old standards and covered by musicians the world over.
In studying his work more closely for this article, I was stunned to see all the ways I’ve emulated his style my whole life without realizing it. In this last clip, a truly amazing concert from 1974, we see a living legendary performer nearing 70 still sounding brilliant and bringing his signature showmanship with his voice, movements, and saxophone style. He plays a lot of his big hits like ‘Let the Good Times Roll’, ‘Is You is or Is You Aint My Baby’, and “Aint Nobody Here But Us Chickens’ with a tight, swinging band. A true common ancestor for many American musicians, and I am deeply grateful.
Enjoy this amazing performance, and let the good times roll.
for more reading on the great Louis Jordan:
Commentary Magazine - The Man That Jazz Forgot
NPR - Louis Jordan, Jukebox King
a couple more recorded gems pivotal in the history of American music
