People, Locations, Episodes

Dorothy Maynor, Singer, and Educator born

*Dorothy Leigh Maynor was born on this date in 1910. She was an African American opera singer and educator.

John H. Hammond II, Music Critic, born

*On this date in 1910, John Hammond II was born.  He was a white-American record producer, civil rights activist, and music critic from the 1930s to the early 1980s.   John Henry Hammond II was born in New York and christened John Henry Hammond Jr., the youngest child and only son of John Henry Hammond and Emily Vanderbilt Sloane.  Hammond showed interest in music from […]

Sy Oliver, Jazz Bandleader born

Sy Oliver was born on this date in 1910. He was an African American jazz trumpeter, composer, band leader, and one of the leading musical arrangers of the 1930s and 1940s.

Slim Gaillard, Musician born

Slim Gaillard, was born on this date in 1911. He was an African American singer, guitarist, pianist, vibist, tenor saxophonist, and composer.

He made a name for himself as one-half of the famous Slim & Slam, with bassist Slam Stewart. Gaillard, born in Detroit, emerged in a big way in the mid-1930s as part of a variety act, tap dancing and playing his guitar. From 1938-43, he did the Slim & Slam act with Stewart, heard on a WNEW radio show. Gaillard’s routines centered around humor, alliteration, and much wordplay, as he entertained on such subjects as food, machinery, and nonsense.

Truck Parham, Musician born

*Truck Parham was born on this date in 1911. He was an African American jazz bassist and drummer.

A longtime fixture in the Chicago music scene, Charles “Truck” Parham played in a countless number of settings during his long career. A fine athlete in his early days (including spending time playing professional football with the Chicago Negro All Stars and as a boxer), Parham was originally a drummer before switching to bass picking up early experience with Zack Whyte’s band in Cincinnati from 1932-34.

Roy Eldridge, Musician born

*On this date Roy Eldridge was born in 1911. He was an African American jazz musician.

A fiery trumpet player and a key figure in the instrument’s lineage, Roy Eldridge was an outstanding improvisational stylist. Eldridge was born in Pittsburgh, and after paying his dues with regional bands in the Midwest, moved to New York in 1930. In 1935 he joined Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra, then led his own group before joining Gene Krupa in 1941. Through extensive tours and recordings, the Krupa engagement brought him to prominence.

Robert Johnson, Blues Musician born

On this date in 1911, Robert Johnson was born. He was an African American singer, guitarist, and was among the most famous of the blues musicians.

Johnson was born in Hazelhurst, MS, but it is not known how he learned music. Like many blues singers, he moved frequently, playing on street corners and at parties in various towns. Eventually, his style came to Chicago and New York City. His southern roots enabled him to record 29 songs in Texas during 1936 and 1937.

Maxine Sullivan, Vocalist born

*Maxine Sullivan was born on this date in 1911.  She was a Black jazz vocalist and performer.   Born Marietta Williams in Homestead, Pennsylvania as a vocalist, she was active for half a century.  Throughout her career, Sullivan also appeared as a performer on film and on stage and is considered one of the best jazz vocalists of the 1930s.  Singer Peggy Lee named Sullivan as a key […]

Big Joe Turner, Blues Singer born

On this date, we celebrate the birth of Big Joe Turner in 1911. He was an African American blues singer, or “shouter,” whose records were imitated by White musicians in the early days of rock and roll.

Muriel Rahn, Vocalist born

*Muriel Rahn was born on this date in 1911.  She was a Black vocalist and actress.   Muriel Ellen Rahn was born in Boston in 1911, the daughter of Willie and Elizabeth “Bessie” Smith.  After her father died, she moved with her mother to New York City, where Bessie met and married Cornelius M. Battey, who […]

Jo Jones, Jazz Drummer born

*Jo Jones was born on this date in 1911. He was a Black drummer, one of the most influential in jazz history. Born Jonathan Jones in Chicago, Illinois, he moved to Alabama, where he learned to play the saxophone, piano, and drums. He worked as a drummer and tap dancer at carnival shows until joining […]

Sonny Terry, Bluesman born

This date marks the birth of Sonny Terry, born in 1911. He was an African American blues singer and harmonica player who became the touring and recording partner of guitarist Brownie McGhee in 1941.

Buck Clayton, Trumpeter born

On this date in 1911, Buck Clayton was born. He was an African American jazz musician.

Lightnin Hopkins, Texas Blues Musician born

*On this date, in 1912, we remember the birth of Lightnin Hopkins. He was a Black blues artist.

Sam Hopkins (his real name) was a Texas country blues-man, whose sixty-year career began in the 1920s. Along the way, Hopkins watched the blues change and grow remarkably, but he never significantly altered his mournful Lone Star Texas sound, which converted onto both acoustic and electric guitar. Hopkins’s two brothers, John Henry and Joel, were also talented blues-men, but it was Lightnin that became a star.

Marshal Royal, Musician born

*Marshal Royal was born on this date in 1912. He was an African American jazz musician.

From Sapulpa, Oklahoma he was raised in Los Angeles. His mother, his father and his uncle had a pre-World War I group called the Royal Family Orchestra. His father was a Music teacher and bandleader, his mother played piano, and his brother Ernie is a well-known jazz trumpeter. In 1925, young Marshal joined up on violin. From the 1930’s through the seventies he performed with Lionel Hampton, Earl Hines, and Duke Ellington besides his time with Basie.