Louis Jordan

A trailblazing jazz singer who habitually added comedy to his stirring vocals, Louis Jordan was "king of the juke box" and became one of the biggest American stars of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s with a style that became known as jump blues. His father was a music teacher in Brinkley, Arkansas who taught his son to play, his first instrument being clarinet. Jordan went on to perform with various local bands and in 1946 he was invited to join one of the best bands of the day, New York's Savoy Ballroom orchestra, led by drummer Chick Webb; and with his energetic stage presence and gift for song introductions he soon became the focal point of the band. Jordan also duetted frequently with the band's main singer Ella Fitzgerald, a partnership that led to several records together which made them both stars. He went on to form his own band, making his first recordings in his own right for Decca Records in 1938 and started using the name the Tympany Five. His first big-selling record was I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town in 1936, getting his first Number 1 in 1942 with What's The Use Of Getting Sober (When You're Gonna Get Drunk Again). It was the start of a string of novelty hits, while his 1950 record Saturday Night Fish Fry is sometimes claimed as the first rock'n'roll record. Other major Jordan hits from the period include Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens, Ain't That Just Like A Woman, Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby and the multi-million seller Choo Choo Ch'Boogie. In the 1940s he was considered the most successful black act of all time, but his attempts to form a big band in the 1950s met with little interest and his popularity declined, though he appeared in several films.