Louis Jordan
July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975
Louis Jordan was a jazz pioneer who achieved great fame during the 1940s. He was one of a few black musicians of the era that was equally popular with both black and white audiences. According to Billboard magazine, Jordan ranked fifth on their list of the most successful African-American recording artists of all time. That figure is based solely on record sales and chart history. A talented singer as well and dynamic musician and bandleader, Jordan recorded duets with some of the era’s biggest stars. That list includes Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald. He and his band, the Tympany Five popularized an upbeat musical style called jump blues which helped pave the way for R&B and rock ‘n roll to follow. Over the course of his career, Jordan dominated the top of the R&B charts. With all his records combined, he sat at the #1 slot for a remarkable 113 weeks. The next closest artist to this day is Stevie Wonder with 70 weeks. By the mid ’50s however, Jordan’s popularity dwindled as kids moved on to rock ‘n roll while he had a hard time adapting to its sound. He all but retired in the early ’60s. On February 4, 1975, Louis Jordan died of a heart attack at the age of 66.
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