People, Locations, Episodes

Harry “Sweets” Edison, Jazz Artist born

Harry Edison, an African American musician, was born on this date in 1915 born in Columbus, Ohio.

Harry “Sweets” Edison was a trumpeter who was inspired by Louis Armstrong. He gained valuable early experience with a number of bands, including the Jeter-Pillars Orchestra. After a short spell with Lucky Millinder, Edison joined the Count Basie band in 1938, where he remained until Basie folded his big band in 1950. Edison then began a long career as leader of small groups, a solo artist, and studio musician; he also worked occasionally with band leaders such as Buddy Rich.

Lawrence Winters, Opera Vocalist born

*Lawrence Winters was born on this date in 1915.  He was a Black opera singer with an active international career from the mid-1940s through the mid-1960s.   Lawrence Lafayette Whisonant was from King’s Creek, South Carolina.  He began to study singing privately before entering Howard University in 1941, where he studied singing with Todd Duncan. After […]

Conrad Johnson, Teacher, and Musician born

*On this date in 1915, Conrad Johnson was born.  He was an African American jazz saxophonist and music teacher.

From Victoria, Texas Conrad O. Johnson was nine when his family moved to Houston. Following studies at Yates High School, he attended Houston College for Negroes and graduated from Wiley College. He was a active member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

Billy Strayhorn, Composer born

On this date in 1915, Billy Strayhorn was born. He was an African American composer and jazz pianist.

Brownie McGhee, Blues Musician born

On this date, Brownie McGhee was born in 1915. He was an African American blues singer, guitarist, pianist, songwriter, and longtime partner of the vocalist and harmonica player Sonny Terry.

Edward Heywood Jr., Bandleader born

*Edward Heywood was born on this date in 1915. He was a Black jazz pianist and bandleader. Edward Heywood Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His father, Eddie Heywood Sr., was a strong jazz pianist of the 1920s who often accompanied Butterbeans and Susie. He provided his son with training from 12 as an accompanist playing in […]

Una Mae Carlisle, Pianist, and Singer born

On this date in 1915, Una Mae Carlisle was born. She was an African American pianist and singer.

Born the day after Christmas in Xenia, Ohio, her parents were American Indian and black. Carlisle started singing at the age of three and by the age of seventeen (1932), she was working at a local radio station. Fats Waller heard her play and asked her to join his band, where she stayed until 1934. It is her voice with Waller on the recording “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love.”

Jay McShann, Kansas City Musician born

This date marks the birth of Jay McShann in 1916. He was an African American jazz pianist and composer.

McShann, from Muskogee, OK, began working for Don Byas at the age of 15, and attended the Tuskegee Institute. He started performing in Kansas City in 1936, and formed his own sextet the following year. In 1939, his big band performed at such famous Kansas City clubs as the Century Room and Fairyland Park. The band started recording for Decca in 1941 with Parker in the alto section.

Charlie Christian, Jazz Guitarist born

On this date in 1916, Charlie Christian was born. He was an African American musician who gave birth to modern jazz guitar style.

Christian was born in Dallas, and he and his family moved to Oklahoma City, where he began playing the guitar at age 12, By the time he turned 15, he had advanced to professional gigs. Equally adept at stand-up bass, he worked in bands led by his brother, Alphonso Trent, and by Anna Mae Winburn, as well as running his own jump band in Oklahoma City.

Hadda Brooks, Pianist, and Singer born

Hadda Brooks was born on this date in 1916. She was an African American pianist and singer.

She was born in Los Angeles, and at the age of four, at her request, her parents gave her piano lessons. After she attended public schools, she later studied classical music. In 1941, she married Earl “Shug” Morrison of the Harlem Globetrotters. He died within the first year of their marriage and Brooks never remarried. In the mid- to late 1940s, black popular music began to change from swing jazz and boogie-woogie into the sort of rhythm & blues that helped lay the foundation for rock & roll.

Dena Epstein, Music Librarian born

*Dena Epstein was born on this date in 1916. She was a white Jewish-American music librarian, author, and musicologist. Dena Julia Polacheck was born in Milwaukee to William Polacheck and Hilda Satt. She studied music at the University of Chicago and library science at the University of Illinois, graduating in 1943. She worked as a […]

Big Joe Duskin, Blues Musician born

*Big Joe Duskin was born on this date in 1921. He was a Black blues and boogie-woogie pianist. He is best known for his debut album, Cincinnati Stomp (1978), and the tracks “Well, Well Baby” and “I Met a Girl Named Martha.” He was born Joseph L. Duskin in Birmingham, Alabama. By the age of seven, he […]

Tadd Dameron, Jazz Pianist born

*Tadd Dameron was born on this date in 1917 in Cleveland, Ohio. He was an African American jazz pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader, especially noted during the bop era for the melodic beauty and warmth of the songs he composed.

Rufus Thomas, Singer born

*On this date Rufus Thomas was born in 1917. He was a Black singer and songwriter.

Mongo Santamaria, Percussionist born

*Mongo” Santamaria was born on this date in 1917.  He was an Afro Cuban percussionist and bandleader.   Ramón “Mongo” Santamaria Rodríguez was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. He learned the rumba as a kid in the streets of Havana’s Jesús María barrio.   He then learned the bongos from Clemente “Chicho” Piquero and […]