August 9, 1944, Louis Jordans Is You Is, Or Is You Aint (my baby) hits #1 on the charts. Jordan (1908–1975) 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, Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the later years of the swing era. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #59 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, & ranking fifth in the list of the all-time most successful black recording artists according to Billboard magazines 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 black bandleader of his day. From 1942-1950, Jordan scored a staggering eighteen #1 singles and fifty-four Top Ten placings. To this day Louis Jordan still ranks as the top black recording artist of all time in terms of the total number of weeks at #1—his records scored an incredible total of 113 weeks in the #1 position (the runner-up being Stevie Wonder with 70 weeks). From July 1946 through May 1947, Jordan scored five consecutive #1 songs, holding the top slot for 44 consecutive weeks. Even though Louis Jordan was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall-of-Fame in 1987, I still consider him under-appreciated. As important as he was, hardly anyone knows or remembers who he was. His music was a transition between the Big Band/Swing era & Rock n Roll, & his influence can be heard in the music of Chuck Berry, Little Richard, & Bill Haley. Hall of Famer Louis Jordan is buried at Mt. Olive Cemetery, 1215 Lemay Ferry, near Telegraph.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 17:12:22 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015