News & Updates — Louis Jordan

A major star in his day, Louis Jordan STILL remains one of the most successful chart performers in black music history. R&B, rock & roll and rap can all be traced to this man, as well as what became known as the music video. From the Little Rock area, Jordan played saxophone and displayed a highly entertaining stage presence that mixed comedy, dancing, singing and his jumping band. He came from swing to develop the jump-blues style. He started out with the Chick Webb band in the '30s and became their popular frontman. His Decca sides of the '40s pretty...