Louis Thomas Jordan[a] (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975)[1] was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s.

He duetted with some of the biggest solo singing stars of his time, including Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.

Typically performed by smaller bands consisting of five or six players, jump music featured shouted, highly syncopated vocals and earthy, comedic lyrics on contemporary urban themes.

With his dynamic bands that he called The Tympany Five no matter how many musicians were in it, Jordan mapped out the main parameters of the classic R&B, urban blues and early rock-and-roll genres with a series of highly influential 78-rpm discs released by Decca Records.

These recordings presaged many of the styles of black popular music of the late 1940s, 1950s and 1960s and exerted a strong influence on many leading performers in these genres.

His very successful musical short Caldonia (1945) prompted three more feature films, all starring Jordan and his band: Beware; Reet, Petite and Gone; and Look-Out Sister.

Though comprehensive sales figures are not available, Jordan had at least four million-selling hits during his career and regularly topped the R&B "race" charts, reaching Number 1 a total of 18 times, with 113 weeks in that spot over the years.

[4] He was also one of the first black recording artists to achieve significant crossover[5] in popularity with the predominantly white mainstream American audience, having simultaneous Top Ten hits on the pop charts several times.

His father, James Aaron Jordan, was a music teacher and bandleader for the Brinkley Brass Band and the Rabbit Foot Minstrels.

[9] In the early 1930s, he played in Philadelphia and New York City with Charlie Gaines,[7][9] as well as recording with Clarence Williams and his Blue Rhythm Boys and was briefly a member of the Stuff Smith orchestra.

[7][9] He recorded with Ella Fitzgerald both during and after their time with Chick Webb, also Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong and appeared in films.

[3] One source states that "Saturday Night Fish Fry" had a "lively jump rhythm, call-and-response chorus and double-string electric guitar riffs that Chuck Berry would later admit to copying".

[16] The Hall also states that "Saturday Night Fish Fry" is "an early example of rap and possibly the first rock and roll recording".

[18] Another source describes Jordan's jump blues style as combining "good-natured novelty lyrics (some with suggestive double meanings); [pushing] the tempo; [strengthening] the beat and [layering] the sound with his bluesy saxophone and playful melodies.

According to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, he and Big Joe Turner laid the foundation for R&B in the 1940s, "cutting one swinging rhythm & blues masterpiece after another".

[7] On June 1, 1952, Jordan performed at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles for the eighth Cavalcade of Jazz concert which Leon Hefflin, Sr.

And yet really, history has consigned him to just being a comedy vocal thing with a bit of rock and roll, and Webb's first alto ... but he was such a consummately good singer that it's sad that he wasn't known more for it.

[29]Jordan remade some of his top hits for a 1973 LP, I Believe in Music: "Caldonia", "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby", "Saturday Night Fish Fry" and "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town".

The songs featured the use of African American vernacular language, humor, and vocal call-and-response sections between Jordan and the band.

Jordan's music appealed to both African American and white audiences, and he had broad success with hit songs like "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" (1944).

The release of the 1945 musical short film Caldonia boosted Jordan's career due to roadshow screenings in support of his live performance.

[36] Musician Ike Turner stated in his autobiography, Takin' Back My Name, that he heard about his tax problems and contacted Jordan's booking agency in Chicago.

[41] The United States Postal Service featured Jordan and his film for Caldonia in 2008 as part of its tribute to Vintage Black Cinema.

Whether spotlighting the talents of entertainment icons or documenting changing social attitudes and expectations, these posters now serve a greater purpose than publicity and promotion.

"[42] The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame states that two of the most important originators of rhythm and blues were Joe Turner and Louis Jordan with his Tympany Five.

[22] The Hall also describes Jordan as "the Father of Rhythm & Blues", "the Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll" and "King of the Juke Boxes".

[44] The Hall of Fame considers "his classic 'Saturday Night Fish Fry' (1949) as an early example of rap and possibly the first rock and roll recording".

In fact, the artist said Caldonia was the first non-gospel song he learned; and the shriek (or "whoop")[47] on the Jordan record "sounds eerily like the vocal tone Little Richard would adopt", in addition to the "Jordan-style pencil-thin moustache".

His recordings in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame include: 'Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens', 'Caldonia Boogie', 'Choo Choo Ch'Boogie', and 'Let The Good Times Roll'".

[56] In 1990, Five Guys Named Moe, a musical built around the songs of Louis Jordan, opened in London's West End and ran for over four years, winning a Laurence Olivier Award.