RHYTHM AND BLUES MUSIC OF THE 1940’S
THROUGH 1950’S
The middle man between jazz and rock and roll…
JAZZ GOES POPULAR IN THE 1940’S
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In the early 1940’s a handful of jazz musicians began to transform the traditional 12-bar
blues.
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The blues was mutating according to the changing social and artistic landscape.
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White pop music, a dramatic emphasis on gospel singers, the heavy rhythm of jump
blues, the tight brassy riffs of swing orchestras, and the witty attitude of minstrel shows all
had a role in making blues music more malleable and entertaining.
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Transplanted in the dancehalls, the juke joints and the vaudeville theaters, blues music
became more energetic and exuberant.
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Form (arrangement, rhythm and vocal style) began to prevail over content (message and
emotion).
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While the lyrics were still repeating the traditional themes of segregation, the music began
to largely abandon its original traits.
LOUIS JORDAN
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Rhythm and Blues was fostered thanks
to New York saxophonist, vocalist and
bandleader Louis Jordan.
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Louis Jordan became one of the best
selling artists of his time.
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Jordan (who had inherited a band in
1938) shrank down the size of the
orchestra, emphasized the dance
rhythm (the "shuffle"), sharpened the
sax and trumpet counterpoint, and
sang of the hardship of black life in a
detached (almost ironic) tone.
MORE ON LOUIS JORDAN…..
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His Tympany Five, that ranged from five to nine members, penned At The Swing Cats Ball
(1939), Fore Day Blues (1939) and Somebody Done Hoodooed the Hoodoo Man (1940)
before becoming hit makers with Outskirts Of Town (1941), Five Guys Named Joe (1942),
Is You Is (1944), Caldonia (1945), Stone Cold Dead In The Market (1945), and a duet with
jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald entitled Choo Choo Ch'Boogie (1946)
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They struck it big with Beans and Cornbread (1947). This song became a big seller and it
changed the history of black music.
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These songs defined "jump Blues”, which is an uptempo, jazz-tinged style of blues.
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Jordan was the major link between blues, jazz and rock music.
THE RECORD INDUSTRY MOVES R&B FORWARD
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Early rhythm and blues was recorded largely in Los Angeles by small independent record
labels such as Modern, RPM, and Specialty.
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The founding of Atlantic Records in 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun, a jazz fan and the son of a
Turkish diplomat, and Herb Abramson, a music industry professional, shifted the industry's
center to New York City.
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Atlantic hired jazz musicians as studio players and, owing to its engineer, Tom Dowd, paid
particular attention to the sound quality of their recordings.
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It introduced some of the top names in rhythm and blues—most notably Ray Charles.
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King Records in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Chess and Vee Jay labels in Chicago, and Duke/
Peacock Records in Houston, Texas, also played pivotal roles in the spread of rhythm and
blues, as did Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee—before Sam Phillips turned his
attention to Elvis Presley and rockabilly music.
RAY CHARLES
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Ray Charles Robinson was born on
September 23, 1930 in Albany, Georgia.
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When Ray was an infant, his family
moved from Albany, Georgia to
Greenville, Florida.
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He started to lose his sight at the age of
five and went completely blind by the age
of seven due to glaucoma.
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He attended school at the Florida School
for the Deaf and the Blind from 1937 to
1945.
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It is during this time he developed his
musical talent.
EARLY CAREER
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After leaving school he moved to Orlando, and then to Tampa where he played with a
southern band called the Florida Playboys.
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It is at this point he began his habit of always wearing sunglasses, made by designer Billy
Stickles.
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In 1950, he played in a Miami hotel, impressing Henry Stone who recorded a record with
him that never became very popular.
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Soon after he joined Swing Time Records.
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He recorded two R&B hits, "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand" (No. 5) in 1951 and "Kissa Me
Baby" (No. 8) in 1952.
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Swing Time records folded and Ahmet Ertegun signed him to Atlantic Records.
W/ ATLANTIC
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“Mess Around” became his first Atlantic hit in 1953.
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He had hits the following year with ”It Should Have Been Me” and Don’t You Know.”
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Late in 1954, Charles recorded his own composition, ”I Got a Woman.” This song became his
first #1 hit in 1955 and brought him to national prominence.
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The elements of "I Got a Woman" included a mixture of gospel, jazz and blues elements that
would later prove to be seminal in the development of rock and roll and soul music.
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Charles also recorded instrumental jazz albums such as 1957's “The Great Ray Charles.”
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By 1958, Charles was not only headlining black venues such as The Apollo Theater and the
Uptown Theater but also bigger venues such as The Newport Jazz Festival. It was at the
Newport festival he cut his first live album.
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Charles reached the pinnacle of his success at Atlantic with the release of "What'd I Say", a
complex song that combined gospel, jazz, blues and Latin music and a song that Charles would
later say he composed spontaneously as he was performing in clubs and dances with his small
band.
IN A NUTSHELL….
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Ray Charles became one of the most
influential artists in American History.
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He was the key individual that linked
R&B to early Soul music.
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His incredible career continued until
his death in 2004.
REQUIRED LISTENING
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Louis Jordan/ Caldonia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR6pHtiNT_k
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Louis Jordan/ Choo Choo Ch’boogie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8uxrypkqv4
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Ray Charles/ Mess Around http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqz876VkwwY
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Ray Charles/ What I’d Say http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAjeSS3kktA