People, Locations, Episodes

Jimmy Whitherspoon, Blues Singer born

*Jimmy Witherspoon was born on this date in 1923. He was a Black blues singer. From Gurdon, Ark., he got his start while traveling the world as a merchant seaman during World War II; he had an opportunity to sing with the big band of Teddy Weatherford, who encouraged him to pursue a music career. […]

The Oklahoma City Blue Devils Band is formed.

*The Oklahoma City Blue Devils are celebrated on this date in 1923. They were the premier Black Southwest territory jazz band in the 1920s. Originally called Billy King’s Road Show, the name Blue Devils came from the name of a gang of fence cutters operating during the early days of the American West. The personnel included some of the […]

Fats Navarro, Trumpeter born

On this date in 1923, Fats Navarro was born. He was an African American jazz trumpet virtuoso, one of the founders of bebop.

Navarro was from Key West, FL. He first performed as a tenor saxophonist in Miami, and went on to play trumpet in big bands, most notably Andy Kirk’s in 1943-44 and the avant-garde Billy Eckstine band of 1945-46. He then worked and recorded with other well-known leaders, including Illinois Jacquet and Coleman Hawkins, before making the most important association of his career with composer-band leader Tadd Dameron in 1948-49.

Sam Rivers, Jazz Saxophonist born.

*Sam Rivers was born on this date in 1923. He was a Black jazz musician and composer. Samuel Carthorne Rivers was born in El Reno, Oklahoma, United States. His father was a gospel musician who had sung with the Fisk Jubilee Singers and the Silverstone Quartet, exposing Rivers to music from an early age. His grandfather was Marshall W. […]

Helen Jones Woods, Musician born

*On this date, in 1923, Helen Jones Woods was born.  She was a retired jazz and swing trombone player.   Helen Jones was born near Jackson, Mississippi.  She started playing with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm group when she was only 11 years old when it was still the “school band” of Piney Woods Country Life […]

Doris Hines, Singer born

*Doris Hines was born on this date in 1923. She was an African American singer and impersonator.

The Cotton Club (NYC) Opens

*The Cotton Club opened on this date in 1923.  This popular segregated New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940 exemplified how American racial intersectionality and inequity lived together.  It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923 to 1935), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1935-1940).   In 1920, heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson rented the upper floor of the building on the corner […]

Max Roach, Drummer, and Composer born

Max Roach was born on this date in 1924. He was an African American bebop/hard bop percussionist, drummer, and composer.

Sonny Stitt, Saxophonist born

*On this date in 1924, Edward “Sonny” Stitt was born. He was an African American jazz saxophonist, one of the most consistently important reed musicians in the history of jazz.

The Earle Theatre, (Philadelphia) Opens

*This date, in 1924, marks the opening of the Earle Theatre.  This venue was a 2768-seat theatre in Philadelphia, PA.  It was located at 1046 Market Street, southeast of South 11th Street. It was a thriving venue for big-band jazz music in the 1930s and 1940s.  At the time of construction in 1923, the theatre […]

Sarah Vaughn, Singer born

*Sarah Vaughan was born on this date in 1924. She was an African American vocalist and the singer of choice among boppers in the early 1940s.

From Newark, New Jersey, Vaughan grew up singing in the Mt. Zion Baptist Church and took piano and organ lessons. In 1943, after winning an amateur contest at the Apollo Theatre, Earl Hines hired her as a singer and pianist. Vaughn worked a short stint with John Kirby and then went solo. Her early recordings, such as If You Could See Me Now and Tenderly (her first hit), were among the hippest records of their day.

Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Musician born

Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown was born on this date in 1924. He was an African American musician.

Born in Vinton, Louisiana and raised in Orange, Texas Brown learned the value of musical versatility while growing up. He played an impressive array of instruments such as guitar, fiddle, mandolin, viola as well as harmonica and drums. His dad was a popular musician who specialized in country, Cajun, and bluegrass. Later, young Brown was influenced by the big bands of Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, and Duke Ellington.

Clara Ward, Gospel Singer born

On this date in 1924, Clara Ward was born. She was an African American gospel singer and composer.

Ward was from Philadelphia, PA where she began her singing and piano career at the age of six. In 1934 she was an accompanist for the Ward Trio, a family group that included her mother, Gertrude and her sister Willa. The group received national attention in 1943 when it sang at the National Baptist Convention. Afterwards they toured throughout the country.

Big Maybelle, Singer born

On this date in 1924, Big Maybelle was born. She was an African American singer with a powerful voice and a stage presence to match.

Born Maybelle Louis Smith in Jackson, TN, to Frank Smith and Alice Easley, she grew up singing in the local Sanctified Church choir in Jackson. Full-figured and commanding, “Big” Maybelle sang the blues with controlled abandon and a flair for style. In 1932, she won first prize at the Cotton Carnival singing cabaret in Memphis, then toured with an all-female band called the Sweethearts of Rhythm. They played at dances from Mississippi to Indiana.

Johnnie Johnson, Rock & Roll Composer born

*The birth of Johnnie Johnson on this date in 1924 is marked on this date. He was an African American musician and composer.