Died On This Date (April 10, 1938) Joe “King” Oliver / Influential Jazz Musician

Joseph “King” Oliver
December 19, 1885 – April 10, 1938

king-oliverKing Oliver was a popular jazz cornetist, composer and bandleader at the turn of last century.   Louis Armstrong has cited him as being a major influence on his own playing.  Born in Louisiana, Oliver and his family settled in New Orleans when he was a child.  When he got older, he played in the local brass bands throughout the city’s famed red light district, Storyville.  He hooked up with Kid Ory and together they built a band that was one of the most popular and successful at the time.  Oliver was one of the few African-American musicians that could easily get work at both black joints, and white high society parties.   Unfortunately, Oliver’s business sense was not as strong as his musical skills, so he made some poor career decisions and lost money to some less-than-honest managers.  During the Great Depression, he lost everything when his bank collapsed.  He continued on as best he could, taking low paying gigs while working as a janitor.   Sadly, he was broke and living in a rooming house when he passed away on April 10, 1938.

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Died On This Date (March 28, 1958) W.C. Handy / Father Of The Blues

William Christopher Handy
November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958

wc-handyW.C. Handy was born in Florence, Alabama in a log cabin that was built by his grandfather.  By the time he was a teenager he was playing both trumpet and clarinet in a band. He would become a teacher by trade and was soon writing songs that would become blues standards.  His “St. Louis Blues” as recorded by Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong is considered one of the finest songs of the era.  Along with his autobiography, Handy wrote five books on the subject of music, blues and African-American life in the early 20th century.  In 1943, Handy was blinded as a result of a fall from a subway platform.  He passes away  at the age of 84 from pneumonia.  An estimated 25,000 people attended his funeral while an additional 125,000 gathered in nearby streets to pay their respects.



Died On This Date (February 14, 2009) Louie Bellson / Jazz Great

Louie Bellson (Born Luigi Belassoni)
July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009

louis-bellsonLouie Bellson was one of jazz’s greatest drummers.  If there were a Mt. Rushmore of jazz drummers, Bellson would likely sit there alongside Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich.  During a career that spanned over 70 years, he played with nearly every jazz icon of the 20th century.  That list includes Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington and Pearl Bailey, to whom he was married for nearly 40 years.  Their adopted daughter, Dee Dee Bellson, a successful jazz singer in her own right, also passed away in 2009.  Bellson’s most significant contribution to jazz was perhaps his use of two bass drums, which became standard practice to future generations.   Louis Bellson was 84 when he passed away from complications of a broken hip and Parkinson’s Disease on February 14, 2009.

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Died On This Date (February 4, 1975) Louis Jordan / Jazz Pioneer

Louis Jordan
July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975

louis-jordan 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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Died On This Date (January 23, 1973) Kid Ory / New Orleans Jazz Pioneer

Edward “Kid” Ory
December 25, 1886 – January 23, 1973

Kid Ory was one of Dixieland jazz’s most influential trombonists.  His was one of the most popular New Orleans jazz bands during the first decade of the 20th century.  It was the one-time home to such greats as King Oliver and Louis Armstrong.  Ory moved to Los Angeles in 1919 and quickly became the premier New Orleans jazz band there.  It was in Los Angeles that he began making records.  He moved to Chicago during the mid ’20s and retired from the business during the Depression years.  He came back in 1944 and for the better part of the next twenty years, he was the top New Orleans jazz band in the country.  Ory retired completely in 1966 and passed away on January 23, 1973 at the age of 86.

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Kid Ory