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83-589: Boogie-woogie waned in popularity in the 1930s, but enjoyed a resurgence and its greatest acclaim in the 1940s, reaching audiences around the world. Among its most famous acts was the "Boogie Woogie Trio" of Pete Johnson , Albert Ammons , and Meade "Lux" Lewis . Other famous boogie woogie pianists of this peak era were Maurice Rocco and Freddie Slack . There were also many very notable women boogie woogie pianists during this time, including Hadda Brooks , Winifred Atwell , Martha Davis , and Hazel Scott , as well as in later years, such as Katie Webster . Boogie-woogie

166-615: A vaudeville act before living in Chicago for three years. By 1914, he was putting his compositions on paper. In 1915 "Jelly Roll Blues" was one of the first jazz compositions to be published. Jelly Roll Morton was employed by Ben Shook Jr. around 1916. Shook was associated with a Jubilee club led by Mabel Lewis, a contralto singer and former member of the original Fisk University Jubilee Singers . In 1917 he went to California with bandleader William Manuel Johnson and Johnson's sister Anita Gonzalez, born Bessie Julia Johnson. Morton's tango "The Crave"

249-588: A 1964 issue of Blues Unlimited detailing Johnson's difficulty in receiving royalty payments other than from Blue Note and Victor, in June, Johnson was accepted as a member of ASCAP , which finally ensured that some of the royalties would be received on a regular basis. His final live appearance was the Spirituals to Swing concert at Carnegie Hall in January 1967, his eighth and final appearance at this event. A review of

332-572: A church, where he was working as a water boy for a construction company. From 1926 to 1938, he worked as a pianist, often working with Big Joe Turner . An encounter with record producer John Hammond in 1936 led to an engagement at the Famous Door in New York City. In 1938, Johnson and Turner appeared in the From Spirituals to Swing concert at Carnegie Hall . After this show the popularity of

415-547: A command of piano blues and boogie-woogie, which he had absorbed at first hand in the 1940s from Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson. The trickle of what was initially called hillbilly boogie, or Okie boogie (later to be renamed country boogie), became a flood beginning around late 1945. One notable country boogie song from this period was the Delmore Brothers' "Freight Train Boogie". More representative examples can be found in some of

498-539: A few stories, jumping off the train, getting into another logging camp, and playing again for eight hours, barrel house. In this way the music got around—all through Texas—and eventually, of course, out of Texas. Now when this new form of piano music came from Texas, it moved out towards Louisiana. It was brought by people like George W. Thomas , an early pianist who was already living in New Orleans by about 1910 and writing New Orleans Hop Scop Blues", which really has some of

581-518: A finger in an accident and being partially paralyzed by a stroke. Between January and October 1953, he was employed by an ice cream company washing trucks, but supplemented his income by performing in a trio which played at the Bamboo Room in Buffalo on weekends. Johnson experienced more of the same the following year. He washed cars at a mortuary for $ 25 a week. In July, however, an engagement came his way at

664-406: A moment the two middle-aged men looked touchingly like little boys. Turner dedicated 'Roll 'Em Pete' to his old friend, as Lieberson and Johnson were about to leave the stage. Instead, they stopped and the pianist seated himself next to [Ray] Bryant at the piano and began to play the treble part of his old showpiece, Bryant handling the bass. Johnson was a bit shaky but game, gaining in confidence as

747-601: A number of these left hand bass lines for Tennison in 1986. From the primitive to the complex, those identifications indicate that the most primitive form of the music was associated with Marshall, Texas—and that the left-hand bass lines grew more complex as the distance from Marshall increased. The most primitive of these left hand bass lines is the one that was called "the Marshall". It is a simple, four-beats-to-the-bar figure. The second-most primitive bass-line, called "the Jefferson",

830-558: A physical examination in August, which revealed a heart condition as well as diabetes. Several strokes followed, resulting in complete loss of mobility in both hands. Four years after the series of strokes he was still disabled and was beginning to lose his eyesight. Jazz Report magazine ran a series of record auctions to raise money for Johnson. In 1964, a longtime correspondent of his, Hans Maurer , published The Pete Johnson Story . All sales proceeds went to Johnson. After an article appeared in

913-597: A radio show in 1934, then toured in a burlesque band. In 1935, his 30-year-old composition " King Porter Stomp ", arranged by Fletcher Henderson , became Benny Goodman 's first hit and a swing standard, but Morton received no royalties from the recordings. In 1935, Morton moved to Washington, D.C., to become the manager and piano player at a bar called, at various times, the Music Box, Blue Moon Inn, and Jungle Inn, at 1211 U Street NW in Shaw , an African-American neighborhood . Morton

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996-471: A song whose lyrics contain dance instructions to "boogie-woogie". The earliest documented inquiries into the geographical origin of boogie-woogie occurred in the late 1930s when oral histories from the oldest living Americans of both African and European descent revealed a broad consensus that boogie-woogie piano was first played in Texas in the early 1870s. Additional citations place the origins of boogie-woogie in

1079-590: A young singer, Etta Jones . Each has a solo cut backed by Johnson, and then the whole group plays a jam session together. On this album Johnson shows his considerable command of stride piano and his ability to work with a group. It was later re-released as Pete's Blues . At a nightclub in Niagara Falls , the piano was on a platform above the bar, and Johnson had to climb a ladder to get there. In 1950, he moved to Buffalo . He encountered some health and financial problems in this period, including losing part of

1162-531: Is "no proof to the contrary" and that Morton's "considerable accomplishments in themselves provide reasonable substantiation.” Morton was born Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (or Lemott), into the Creole community in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans around 1890; he claimed to have been born in 1884 on his WWI draft registration card in 1918. Both parents traced their Creole ancestry four generations to

1245-630: Is also four-beats-to-the-bar, but goes down in pitch on the last note in each four-note cycle. It has been suggested that this downturn in pitch reveals a possible New Orleans influence. Jefferson, Texas , about 17 miles north of Marshall, was the westernmost port of a steamboat route that connected to New Orleans via Caddo Lake, the Red River, and the Mississippi River. The remaining bass lines rise in complexity with distance from Marshall, Texas as one would expect variations and innovations would occur as

1328-581: Is characterized by a regular left-hand bass figure , which is transposed following the chord changes. Boogie-woogie is not strictly a solo piano style; it can accompany singers and be featured in orchestras and small combos. It is sometimes called "eight to the bar ", as much of it is written in common time ( 4 ) time using eighth notes ( quavers ) (see time signature ). The chord progressions are typically based on I – IV – V – I (with many formal variations of it, such as I / i – IV / iv – v / I , as well as chords that lead into these ones). For

1411-520: Is most probable that boogie-woogie spread from Northeast to Southeast Texas, rather than from Southeast to Northeast Texas, or by having developed diffusely with an even density over all of the Piney Woods of East Texas. It would not be surprising if there was as yet undiscovered evidence of the earliest boogie-woogie performances buried (metaphorically or literally) in Northeast Texas. On May 13, 2010,

1494-574: Is now considered to be an early rock and roll song. These three pianists, with Turner, took up residence in the Café Society night club in New York City where they were popular with the sophisticated set. They often played in combinations of two and even three pianos, creating a richly textured piano performance. After the Carnegie Hall concert, it was only natural for swing bands to incorporate

1577-513: The Piney Woods of northeast Texas. The first Negroes who played what is called boogie-woogie, or house-rent music, and attracted attention in city slums where other Negroes held jam sessions, were from Texas. And all the Old-time Texans, black or white, are agreed that boogie piano players were first heard in the lumber and turpentine camps, where nobody was at home at all. The style dates from

1660-399: The big-band era, his "King Porter Stomp", which Morton had written decades earlier, was a big hit for Fletcher Henderson and Benny Goodman ; it became a standard covered by most other swing bands of that time. Morton claimed to have written some tunes that were copyrighted by others, including " Alabama Bound " and " Tiger Rag ". "Sweet Peter", which Morton recorded in 1926, appears to be

1743-437: The boogie-woogie style was on the upswing. Johnson worked locally and toured and recorded with Turner, Meade Lux Lewis, and Albert Ammons during this period. Ammons and Johnson appeared in the film short Boogie-Woogie Dream in 1941. The 1938 song " Roll 'Em Pete " (composed by Johnson and Turner), featuring Turner on vocals and Johnson on piano, was one of the first rock and roll records . Another self-referential title

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1826-514: The 'slow blues' of New Orleans and St. Louis . At these gatherings the ragtime and blues boys could easily tell from what section of the country a man came, even going so far as to name the town, by his interpretation of a piece." According to Tennison, when he interviewed Lee Ree Sullivan in Texarkana in 1986, Sullivan told him that he was familiar with "Fast Western" and "Fast Texas" as terms to refer to boogie-woogie in general, but not to denote

1909-464: The 18th century. Morton's birth date and year of birth are uncertain, given that no birth certificate was ever issued for him. The law requiring birth certificates for citizens was not enforced until 1914. His parents were Martin-Edouard Joseph Lamothe, also known as Edward Joseph Lamothe, a bricklayer and occasional trombonist, and Louise Hermance Monette, a domestic worker. His parents were never legally married and his father left his mother when Morton

1992-530: The African-American origin of the music. In sheet music literature prior to 1900, there are at least three examples of the word "boogie" in music titles in the archives of the Library of Congress . In 1901, "Hoogie Boogie" appeared in the title of published sheet music, the first known instance where a redoubling of the word "Boogie" occurs in the title of published music. (In 1880, "The Boogie Man" had occurred as

2075-783: The Berkshire Music Barn in Lenox, Massachusetts . But he continued to record, and toured Europe in 1958 with the Jazz at the Philharmonic ensemble, despite the fact that he was feeling unwell. While in Europe he received an invitation to appear at the Newport Jazz Festival , which he did upon his return to the States, accompanying Big Joe Turner, Chuck Berry and Big Maybelle . Johnson underwent

2158-438: The Carnegie Hall concert meant work for many of the fellow boogie players and also led to the adaptation of boogie-woogie sounds to many other forms of music. Tommy Dorsey 's band had a hit with "T.D.'s Boogie Woogie" as arranged by Sy Oliver , and soon there were boogie-woogie songs, recorded and printed, of many different stripes. These included most famously, in the big-band genre, the ubiquitous "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", which

2241-933: The District, she told me that I had disgraced the family and forbade me to live at the house. She told me that devil music would surely bring about my downfall..." The cornetist Rex Stewart recalled that Morton had chosen "the nom de plume 'Morton' to protect his family from disgrace if he was identified as a whorehouse 'professor'." Around 1904, Morton started touring in the US South, working in minstrel shows such as Will Benbow 's Chocolate Drops, gambling, and composing. His songs " Jelly Roll Blues ", "New Orleans Blues", "Frog-I-More Rag", "Animule Dance", and " King Porter Stomp " were composed during this period. Stride pianists James P. Johnson and Willie "The Lion" Smith saw him perform in Chicago in 1910 and New York City in 1911. In 1912–14, Morton toured with his girlfriend Rosa Brown as

2324-459: The Fannin Street district of Shreveport, Louisiana . Some of the players he heard were Dave Alexander, who recorded for Decca in 1937 as " Black Ivory King ", and a piano player called Pine Top (not Pine Top Smith, who was not born until 1904, but possibly Pine Top Williams or Pine Top Hill). Lead Belly was among the first guitar-players to adapt the rolling bass of boogie-woogie piano. Texas, as

2407-733: The Library of Congress, but the sessions expanded to over eight hours, with Morton talking and playing piano. Lomax conducted longer interviews, taking notes but not recording. Lomax was interested in Morton's days in Storyville , New Orleans, and the ribald songs of the time. Although reluctant to record these, Morton obliged Lomax. Because of the suggestive nature of the songs, some of the Library of Congress recordings were not released until 2005. In these interviews, Morton claimed to have been born in 1885. Morton scholars, such as Lawrence Gushee, say that Morton

2490-467: The Marshall City Commission enacted an official declaration naming Marshall as the "birthplace" of boogie-woogie music, and embarked on a program to encourage additional historical research and to stimulate interest in and appreciation for the early African-American culture in northeast Texas that played a vital role in creating boogie-woogie music. "Birthplace of Boogie Woogie" was registered by

2573-682: The Marshall Convention and Visitors on June 21, 2011. A song titled " Tin Roof Blues " was published in 1923 by the Clarence Williams Publishing Company. Compositional credit is given to Richard M. Jones . The Jones composition uses a boogie bass in the introduction with some variation throughout. In February 1923, Joseph Samuels ' Tampa Blue Jazz Band recorded the George W. Thomas number "The Fives" for Okeh Records , considered

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2656-584: The St. Louis Forest Park Hotel, a six-week residency as the pianist at the Circus Snack Bar. Some broadcasts were made on Saturday afternoons in a program called Saturday at the Chase . Johnson was also privately recorded on July 20 and August 1, 1954, at a pair of house parties arranged at the home of Bill Atkinson, a close friend. Things remained somewhat bleak for the next four years, except for three appearances in 1955 at

2739-467: The Texas and Pacific Railway Company. Although the neighboring states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Missouri would also produce boogie-woogie players and their boogie-woogie tunes, and despite the fact that Chicago would become known as the center for this music through such pianists as Jimmy Yancey , Albert Ammons , and Meade "Lux" Lewis , Texas was home to an environment that fostered creation of boogie-style:

2822-677: The account of Elliot Paul, and given that Lead Belly witnessed boogie-woogie in 1899 in the Arklatex; and given the North to South migration of the Thomas family; and given the Texas & Pacific headquarters in Marshall in the early 1870s; and given that Harrison County had the largest slave population in the state of Texas; and given the fact that the best-documented and largest-scale turpentine camps in Texas did not occur until after 1900 in Southeast Texas, it

2905-457: The age of 12, he sought out work to ease some of the financial burden at home. He worked various jobs; in a factory, a print shop, and as a shoe-shiner. He dropped out of school in the fifth grade as a result of his efforts. Johnson began his musical career in 1922 as a drummer in Kansas City. He began piano about the same time he was learning the drums. His early piano practices took place in

2988-541: The basis for George Thomas's "Hop Scop Blues". Brothers George Thomas and Hersal Thomas migrated from Texas to Chicago and brought boogie-woogie with them, influencing a number of pianists, including Jimmy Yancey, Meade Lux Lewis, and Albert Ammons. Many elements now recognized as foundational elements of boogie-woogie are present in their 1922 song "The Fives". Early generation boogie-woogie players recognized basic boogie-woogie bass lines by geographical locations with which they associated them. Lee Ree Sullivan identified

3071-446: The boogie-woogie beat into some of their music. Tommy Dorsey 's band recorded an updated version of " Pine Top's Boogie Woogie " in 1938, which (as "Boogie Woogie") became a hit in 1943 and 1945, and was to become the swing era 's second best seller, only second to Glenn Miller 's " In the Mood ". In 1939, at the suggestion of Columbia Records producer John Hammond , Harry James recorded

3154-482: The characteristics of the music that we came to know as Boogie. Paul Oliver also wrote that George W. Thomas "composed the theme of the New Orleans Hop Scop Blues—in spite of its title—based on the blues he had heard played by the pianists of East Texas." On February 12, 2007, Oliver confirmed to John Tennison that it was Sippie Wallace who told Oliver that performances by East Texas pianists had formed

3237-458: The concert by Dan Morgenstern of DownBeat : "Then for the concert's most moving moment, Lieberson (the MC) escorted Pete Johnson on stage and introduced him as one of the participants in the original Spirituals to Swing and the greatest boogie-woogie pianist. Johnson had suffered a series of paralytic strokes and had not played piano for many years. His old buddy, Turner, took him by the hand, and for

3320-498: The early 1870s. Max Harrison (in the book Jazz edited by Hentoff and McCarthy in 1959) and Mack McCormick (in the liner notes to his Treasury of Field Recordings, Vol. 2) concluded that "Fast Western" was the first term by which boogie-woogie was known. He stated that "in Houston , Dallas , and Galveston —all Negro piano players played that way. This style was often referred to as a 'fast western' or 'fast blues' as differentiated from

3403-512: The end of the 20th century. The Charlie Daniels Band (whose earlier tune "The South's Gonna Do It Again" uses boogie-woogie influences) released "Boogie Woogie Fiddle Country Blues" in 1988, and three years later in 1991 Brooks & Dunn had a huge hit with " Boot Scootin' Boogie ". In addition, some tradition-minded country artists, such as Asleep at the Wheel , Merle Haggard , and George Strait , incorporated boogie-woogie in their recordings. In

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3486-424: The first example of jazz band boogie-woogie. Jimmy Blythe 's recording of "Chicago Stomps" from April 1924 is sometimes called the first complete boogie-woogie piano solo record. The first boogie-woogie hit was "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie" by Pinetop Smith , recorded in 1928 and first released in 1929. Smith's record was the first boogie-woogie recording to be a commercial hit, and helped establish "boogie-woogie" as

3569-945: The first of his commercial recordings, first as piano rolls, then on record, both as a piano soloist and with jazz bands. In 1926, Morton signed a contract with the Victor Talking Machine Company , giving him the opportunity to bring a well-rehearsed band to play his arrangements in the Victor recording studios in Chicago. These recordings by Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers included Kid Ory , Omer Simeon , George Mitchell , Johnny St. Cyr , Barney Bigard , Johnny Dodds , Baby Dodds , and Andrew Hilaire . After Morton moved to New York City, he continued to record for Victor. Although he had trouble finding musicians who wanted to play his style of jazz, he recorded with Omer Simeon , George Baquet , Albert Nicholas , Barney Bigard , Russell Procope , Lorenzo Tio and Artie Shaw ,

3652-441: The geographical area in which boogie-woogie originated is understanding the relationship of boogie-woogie music with the steam railroad, both in the sense of how the music might have been influenced by sounds associated with the arrival of steam locomotives as well as the cultural impact the sudden emergence of the railroad might have had. The railroad did not arrive in northeast Texas as an extension of track from existing lines from

3735-454: The last being a tribute to New Orleans musicians from the turn of the 20th century. Morton's claim to have invented jazz in 1902 was criticized. Music critic Scott Yanow wrote, "Jelly Roll Morton did himself a lot of harm posthumously by exaggerating his worth ... Morton's accomplishments as an early innovator are so vast that he did not really need to stretch the truth." Gunther Schuller says of Morton's "hyperbolic assertions" that there

3818-467: The latter taking both his name and signature tune from Pinetop Smith. In Western classical music , the composer Conlon Nancarrow was also deeply influenced by boogie-woogie, as many of his early works for player piano demonstrate. "A Wonderful Time Up There" is a boogie-woogie gospel song. In 1943, Morton Gould composed "Boogie-Woogie Etude" for classical pianist José Iturbi , who premiered and recorded it that year. Povel Ramel 's first hit in 1944

3901-507: The lumber, cattle, turpentine, and oil industries, all served by an expanding railway system from the northern corner of East Texas to the Gulf Coast and from the Louisiana border to Dallas and West Texas. Alan Lomax wrote: Anonymous black musicians, longing to grab a train and ride away from their troubles, incorporated the rhythms of the steam locomotive and the moan of their whistles into

3984-404: The many styles of blues, especially Chicago blues and (more recently) West Coast blues , some pianists and guitarists were influenced by, and employed, the traditional boogie-woogie styles. Some of the earliest and most influential were Big Maceo Merriweather and Sunnyland Slim . Otis Spann and Pinetop Perkins , two of the best-known blues pianists, are heavily boogie-woogie influenced, with

4067-403: The most part, boogie-woogie tunes are twelve-bar blues , although the style has been applied to popular songs such as " Swanee River " and hymns such as " Just a Closer Walk with Thee ". Typical boogie-woogie bassline: Several African terms have been suggested as having some interesting linguistic precursors to "boogie": Among them are the: The African origin of these terms is consistent with

4150-462: The musical elements that would identify them as boogie-woogie. The 1919 recordings (two takes) of " Weary Blues " by the Louisiana Five contained the same boogie-woogie bass figure as appears in the 1915 "Weary Blues" sheet music by Artie Matthews . Tennison has recognized these 1919 recordings as the earliest sound recordings which contain a boogie-woogie bass figure. Blind Lemon Jefferson used

4233-862: The name of the style. It was closely followed by another example of pure boogie-woogie, " Honky Tonk Train Blues " by Meade Lux Lewis, recorded by Paramount Records (1927), first released in March 1930. The performance emulated a railroad trip, perhaps lending credence to the "train theory". Boogie-woogie gained further public attention in 1938, thanks to the From Spirituals to Swing concert in Carnegie Hall promoted by record producer John Hammond . The concert featured Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson performing Turner's tribute to Johnson, " Roll 'Em Pete ", as well as Meade Lux Lewis performing "Honky Tonk Train Blues" and Albert Ammons playing "Swanee River Boogie". "Roll 'Em Pete"

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4316-427: The new dance music they were playing in jukes and dance halls. Boogie-woogie forever changed piano playing, as ham-handed black piano players transformed the instrument into a polyrhythmic railroad train. In the 1986 television broadcast of Britain's The South Bank Show about boogie-woogie, music historian Paul Oliver noted: Now the conductors were used to the logging camp pianists clamoring aboard, telling them

4399-671: The north or the east. Rather, the first railroad locomotives and iron rails were brought to northeast Texas via steamboats from New Orleans via the Mississippi and Red Rivers and Caddo Lake to Swanson's Landing, located on the Louisiana–Texas state line. Beginning with the formation of the Texas Western Railroad Company in Marshall, Texas, through the subsequent establishment in 1871 of the Texas and Pacific Railway company, which located its headquarters and shops there, Marshall

4482-502: The number built in intensity." Pete Johnson died two months later in Meyer Hospital, Buffalo, New York, in March 1967, two days before his 63rd birthday. Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe ( né Lemott , later Morton ; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton , was an American blues and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent. Morton

4565-462: The playing of a diminished 5th above the melody. This technique may still be recognized as belonging to New Orleans. Morton also walked in major and minor sixths in the bass, instead of tenths or octaves. He played basic swing rhythms with both the left and the right hand. Several of Morton's compositions were musical tributes to himself, including "Winin' Boy", "The Jelly Roll Blues" (subtitled "The Original Jelly-Roll"); and "Mr. Jelly Lord". In

4648-545: The singles Boo-Woo and Woo-Woo with Pete Johnson and Albert Ammons . Also from 1939, the Will Bradley orchestra had a string of boogie hits such as the original versions of " Beat Me Daddy (Eight To The Bar) " and " Down the Road a Piece ", both 1940, and "Scrub Me Mamma with a Boogie Beat", in 1941. That same year, The Andrews Sisters had a top 10 hit single with their recording of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy". The popularity of

4731-500: The songs of Western swing pioneer Bob Wills . The hillbilly boogie period lasted into the 1950s, the last recordings of this era were made by Tennessee Ernie Ford with Cliffie Stone and his orchestra with the guitar duo Jimmy Bryant and Speedy West . Bill Haley and the Saddlemen recorded "Sundown Boogie" in 1952, which once again featured the guitar playing the boogie-woogie rhythm. Boogie-woogie continued in country music through

4814-424: The source of the melody of the hit song " All of Me ", which was credited to Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons in 1931. His musical influence continues in the work of Dick Hyman and Reginald Robinson . In 2013, Katy Martin published an article arguing that Alan Lomax 's book of interviews put Morton in a negative light. Martin disagreed that Morton was an egotist. In being called a supreme egotist, Jelly Roll

4897-413: The state of origin, became reinforced by Jelly Roll Morton , who said he heard the boogie piano style there early in the 20th century, as did Leadbelly and Bunk Johnson , according to Rosetta Reitz . The first time the modern-day spelling of "boogie-woogie" was used in a title of a published audio recording of music appears to be Pine Top Smith's December 1928 recording titled "Pine Top's Boogie Woogie",

4980-668: The term "Booga Rooga" to refer to a guitar bass figure that he used in "Match Box Blues". Jefferson may have heard the term from Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter , who played frequently with Jefferson. Lead Belly, who was born in Mooringsport , La., and grew up in Harrison County, Texas , in the community of Leigh, said he first heard boogie-woogie piano in the Caddo Lake area of northeast Texas in 1899. He said it influenced his guitar-playing. Lead Belly also said he heard boogie-woogie piano in

5063-438: The territory in which the music has been introduced expands. In January 2010, John Tennison summarized his research into the origins of boogie-woogie with the conclusion that Marshall, Texas is "the municipality whose boundaries are most likely to encompass or be closest to the point on the map which is the geographic center of gravity for all instances of Boogie Woogie performance between 1870 and 1880". Tennison states: Given

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5146-594: The time. Mercer Ellington , Duke Ellington's son, did attend the funeral. The article was reproduced in Mister Jelly Roll , a 1950 biography of Morton by Alan Lomax. Morton married Mabel Bertrand, a showgirl, in November 1928 in Gary, Indiana . He was a "very devout Catholic ", according to Anita Gonzales, his long-term companion. His gravesite features a large rosary rather than any music imagery. Morton's piano style

5229-511: The title of published music.) The first use of "Boogie" in a recording title appears to be a "blue cylinder" recording made by Edison of the "American Quartet" performing "That Syncopated Boogie Boo" in 1913. The Oxford English Dictionary states that the word is a reduplication of boogie , which was used for " rent parties " as early as 1913. "Boogie" next occurs in the title of Wilbur Sweatman 's April 1917 recording of "Boogie Rag". None of these sheet music or audio recording examples contain

5312-535: The trumpeters Ward Pinkett , Bubber Miley , Johnny Dunn and Henry "Red" Allen , Sidney Bechet , Paul Barnes , Bud Freeman , Pops Foster , Paul Barbarin , Cozy Cole , and Zutty Singleton . His New York sessions failed to produce a hit. Due in part to the Great Depression, RCA Victor did not renew Morton's recording contract for 1931. He continued playing in New York but struggled financially. He briefly had

5395-419: The use of any specific bass figure used in boogie-woogie. Sullivan said that "Fast Western" and "Fast Texas" were terms that derived from the Texas Western Railroad Company of Harrison County. The company was chartered on February 16, 1852, and changed its name to "Southern Pacific" in 1856. It built its first track from Marshall, Texas Swanson's Landing at Caddo Lake in 1857. (This Texas-based "Southern Pacific"

5478-437: Was "Johanssons boogie-woogie-vals" where he mixed boogie-woogie with waltz . Twenty-first-century commentators have also noted the characteristics of boogie-woogie in the third variation of the second movement of Ludwig van Beethoven 's Piano Sonata No. 32 , written between 1821 and 1822—60 years prior to creation of the genre. Pete Johnson (musician) Kermit Holden "Pete" Johnson (March 25, 1904 – March 23, 1967)

5561-458: Was African-American slang for female genitalia. While working there, he was living with his churchgoing great-grandmother. He convinced her that he worked as a night watchman in a barrel factory. After Morton's grandmother found out he was playing jazz in a brothel, she disowned him for disgracing the Lamothe name. "When my grandmother found out that I was playing jazz in one of the sporting houses in

5644-547: Was an American boogie-woogie and jazz pianist. Tony Russell stated in his book The Blues – From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray that "Johnson shared with the other members of the 'Boogie Woogie Trio' the technical virtuosity and melodic fertility that can make this the most exciting of all piano music styles, but he was more comfortable than Meade Lux Lewis in a band setting; and as an accompanist, unlike Lewis or Albert Ammons , he could sparkle but not outshine his singing partner". Scott Yanow for AllMusic , wrote: "Johnson

5727-407: Was around three years old. After his mother married William Mouton in 1894, Ferdinand adopted his stepfather's surname, anglicizing it to Morton, adapting "Ferd" as an unofficial forename. Ferd had two sisters, one of whom, Eugénie, married Ignace Colas, in 1913. At the age of fourteen, Morton began as a piano player in a brothel. He often sang smutty lyrics and used the nickname "Jelly Roll", which

5810-454: Was aware that if he had been born in 1890, he would have been too young to claim to be the inventor of jazz. However, Morton may not have known his actual birthdate, and there remains the possibility that he was telling the truth. He said Buddy Bolden played ragtime but not jazz, a view not accepted by some of Bolden's contemporaries in New Orleans. The contradictions may stem from different definitions of "ragtime" and "jazz". In 1938, Morton

5893-407: Was formed from early secondary ragtime and "shout", which also evolved separately into the New York school of stride piano . Morton's playing was also close to barrelhouse , which produced boogie-woogie . Morton often played the melody of a tune with his right thumb, while sounding a harmony above these notes with the fingers of the right hand. This could add a rustic or "out-of-tune" sound due to

5976-543: Was generally believed to be 50 years old. According to the jazz historian David Gelly in 2000, Morton's arrogance and "bumptious" persona alienated so many musicians that few of them attended his funeral. An article about the funeral in the August 1, 1941, issue of DownBeat reported that his pallbearers were Kid Ory, Mutt Carey , Fred Washington , and Ed Garland . It noted that Duke Ellington and Jimmie Lunceford were absent, though both were appearing in Los Angeles at

6059-413: Was jazz's first arranger, proving that a genre rooted in improvisation could retain its essential characteristics when notated. His composition " Jelly Roll Blues ", published in 1915, was one of the first published jazz compositions. He also claimed to have invented the genre. Morton also wrote " King Porter Stomp ", " Wolverine Blues ", " Black Bottom Stomp ", and "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say",

6142-453: Was master of ceremonies, bouncer, and bartender. The club owner allowed her friends free admission and drinks, which prevented Morton from making the business a success. During Morton's brief residency at the Music Box, the folklorist Alan Lomax heard him play. In May 1938, Lomax invited Morton to record music and interviews for the Library of Congress . The sessions were intended to be a short interview with musical examples for researchers at

6225-465: Was not connected to the more well known Southern Pacific originating in San Francisco, California.) The Southern Pacific of Texas was bought by the newly formed Texas and Pacific Railway on March 21, 1872. Although the Texas Western Railroad Company changed its name to Southern Pacific, Sullivan said the name "Texas Western" stuck among the slaves who constructed the railroad. A key to identifying

6308-401: Was often a victim of loose and lurid reporting. If we read the words that he himself wrote, however, we learn that he almost had an inferiority complex and said that he created his own style of jazz piano because 'All my fellow musicians were much faster in manipulations, I thought than I, and I did not feel as though I was in their class.' So he used a slower tempo to permit flexibility through

6391-485: Was often ill and became short of breath easily. After this incident, his wife Mabel demanded they leave Washington. Worsening asthma sent him to a hospital in New York for three months. He continued to suffer from respiratory problems when he travelled to Los Angeles with the intent to restart his career. He died on July 10, 1941, after an eleven-day stay in Los Angeles County General Hospital . He

6474-497: Was one of the three great boogie-woogie pianists", the others being Lewis and Ammons "whose sudden prominence in the late 1930s helped make the style very popular". Johnson was born in Kansas City, Missouri . He was raised by his mother after his father deserted the family. Things got so bad financially, Pete was placed in an orphanage when he was three. He became so homesick, however, that he ran away and returned living at home. By

6557-575: Was popular in Hollywood. He was invited to perform at the Hotel Patricia nightclub in Vancouver , Canada. Author Mark Miller described his arrival as "an extended period of itinerancy as a pianist, vaudeville performer, gambler, hustler, and, as legend would have it, pimp". Morton returned to Chicago in 1923 to claim authorship of "The Wolverines", which had become popular as " Wolverine Blues ". He released

6640-517: Was revamped by Christina Aguilera as her 2006 hit, " Candyman ". The boogie-woogie fad lasted from the late 1930s into the early 1950s, and made a major contribution to the development of jump blues and ultimately to rock and roll, epitomized by Fats Domino , Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis . Louis Jordan is a famous jump blues musician. Boogie-woogie is still to be heard in clubs and on records throughout Europe and North America. Big Joe Duskin displayed on his 1979 album, Cincinnati Stomp ,

6723-419: Was stabbed by a friend of the Music Box's owner and suffered wounds to the head and chest. A nearby whites-only hospital refused to treat him, as the city had racially segregated facilities. He was transported to a black hospital farther away. When he was in the hospital, doctors left ice on his wounds for several hours before attending to the injury. His recovery from his wounds was incomplete, and thereafter he

6806-424: Was the only railroad hub in the Piney Woods of northeast Texas at the time the music developed. The sudden appearance of steam locomotives and the building of mainline tracks and tap lines to serve logging operations was pivotal to the creation of the music in terms of its sound and rhythm. It was also crucial to the rapid migration of the musical style from the rural barrel house camps to the cities and towns served by

6889-569: Was their "Johnson and Turner Blues." In 1949, he also wrote and recorded "Rocket 88 Boogie," a two-sided instrumental, which influenced the 1951 Ike Turner hit, " Rocket 88 ". On three dates in January 1946, Johnson recorded an early concept album , Pete Johnson's Housewarmin’ , in which he starts out playing alone, supposedly in a new empty house, and is joined there by J. C. Higginbotham , J. C. Heard , and other Kansas City players. The recording also included parts played by Albert Nicholas , Hot Lips Page , Clyde Bernhardt . Budd Johnson , and

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