Wild Bill Moore was a journeyman tenor sax jazzer from Detroit who, together with Paul Williams, developed the honking saxophone solo style that would define Rhythm and Blues and early rock and roll. Bill Moore's earliest recordings as a bandleader are covered by The Complete Recordings - Volume 1 1945-1948.
Here is the discography surrounding Wild Bill Moore's debut recordings:
Wild Bill (1947 single as Bill Moore)
Unfinished Bopera (1947 single)
Home Coming Blues (1948 single with His Orchestra)
"The Huckle-Buck" by Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers
Varetta Dillard and Billy Ward might have been in the lineup for the "first ever" rock and roll concert, but they weren't the headliner. That honor belonged to Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers. Rumor has it that Paul and his band managed to perform only one song at the Moondog Coronation Ball before being shut down by the authorities. (It's been reported that Williams (in his own words, too) managed to perform a set, and the next act took the stage before an overpacked arena and "boisterous" crowd led to the concert's shut down thirty minutes in.)
Paul Williams saw only one album, Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers, released during his tenure at Savoy (in 1954... maybe).
Note: I've also included the limited singles discography of Danny Cobb, an occasional vocalist for The Hucklebuckers. Paul Williams and team were also the backing band on some of Cobb's singles.
Here is Paul Williams's discography:
Hastings Street Bounce (1947 single with his Sextette)
Thirty-Five Thirty (1948 single with his Sextette)
Waxey Maxie (1948 single with his Sextette)
Bouncing With Benson (1948 single with His Sextette)
The Twister (1948 single with His Sextette)
Paradise Valley Walk (1948 single with his "35-50" Sextette)
Cranberries (1949 single)
The Huckle-Buck (1949 single with His Hucklebuckers)
House Rocker (1949 single with His Hucklebuckers)
Pop-Corn (1949 single with His Hucklebuckers)
The Complete Recordings - Volume 1 1947-1949 (compilation album)
Please Don't Leave Me Baby (1950 single by Danny Cobb)
Danny Boy (1950 single by Danny Cobb)
Jeep's Blues (1950 single with his Hucklebuckers)
Camp Meeting Bounce (1950 single with His Hucklebuckers)
Rye Boogie (1950 single with His Hucklebuckers)
Turtle-Rock (1950 single with His Hucklebuckers)
Rockin' Chair Blues (1951 single with his Hucklebuckers)
Blowin' the Boogie (1952 single with His Hucklebuckers)
I Need Your Love (1952 single by Danny Cobb)
Don't Mess With My Woman (1952 single by Danny Cobb)
Farewell Baby (1952 single by Danny Cobb)
The Complete Recordings - Volume 2 1949-1952 (compilation album)
Miami Drag (1953 single with His Orchestra)
Young Man Blues (1953 single with His Orchestra)
Shuck-Foot (1953 single with his Orchestra)
Spread Joy (1954 single with His Orchestra)
The Thin Man (1954 single with his Orchestra)
Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers
Ring-A-Ling (1955 single with His Orchestra)
Hello (1955 single with His Band)
It's Over (1955 single)
My Isabella (1955 single by Danny Cobb)
Suggie, Duggie, Boogie Baby (1956 single with his Orchestra)
The Complete Recordings - Volume 3 1952-1956 (compilation album)
Titanic (1957 single with his Orchestra)
Pass the Buck (1957 single)
Hey, Mr. Warden (1957 single by Danny Cobb)
What Could I Do (1957 single by Danny Cobb)
South Shore Drive (1958 single)
Walkin' the Track (1961 single)
I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire (1962 single with His Orchestra)
The Hucklebuck (compilation album with His Orchestra)
Spider Sent Me (compilation album with His Hucklebuckers)
Some Day (compilation song by Danny Cobb)
I Pray for Your Love (compilation song by Danny Cobb)
Ay Lah Bah (compilation song by Danny Cobb)
"My Love Is True" by Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers
"(That's the Way) My Mind Is Working" by Varetta Dillard
In 1952, Alan Freed invited Billy Ward and His Dominoes to be on the ticket for his Moondog Coronation Ball, the first ever "Rock and Roll" concert. They weren't the headliners and neither was the young Varetta Dillard who snuck onto the bill just above "Many Others!"
Varetta Dillard never released a proper LP, so the highlighted album for this stop will be the compilation album with the best cover: Mercy Mr. Percy Vol. 1 released by Savoy Jazz. There is no Vol. 2.
Note: In this case, the listed year (1961) is a chronological marker and not the year the album was released.
Here is Varetta Dillard's discography:
Easy, Easy Baby (1952 single)
Here in My Heart (1952 single)
I Cried and Cried (1952 single)
Please Tell Me Why (1952 single)
Them There Eyes (1952 single)
Getting Ready for My Daddy (1953 single)
I Ain't Gonna Tell (1953 single)
I Love You (1953 single)
Mercy, Mr. Percy (1953 single)
Send Me Some Money (1954 single)
The Answer to My Prayer (1955 single)
I'll Never Forget You (1955 single)
Johnny Has Gone (1955 single)
Got You on My Mind (1956 single)
I'm Gonna Tell My Daddy (1956 single)
If You Want to Be My Baby (1956 single)
Mama Don't Want (What Poppa Don't Want) (1956 single)
One More Time (1956 single)
Pray for Me Mother (1957 single)
That's Why I Cry (1957 single)
Time Was (1957 single)
Just Multiply (1958 single)
Star of Fortune (1958 single)
Scorched (1959 single)
Teaser (1960 single)
A Little Bitty Tear (1961 single)
You Better Come Home (1961 single)
Mercy Mr. Percy Vol. 1
Got You on My Mind (Complete Recordings 1956-1961/Vol. 1) (compilation album)
The Lovin' Bird (Complete Recordings 1956-1961/Vol. 2) (compilation album)
Mercy, Mr. Percy (compilation album)
Breaking Hearts (1962 single as Varetta & The Thomases)
"Learnin' the Blues" by Billy Ward and His Dominoes
Ruth Brown employed The Drifters as a backing vocal group (known, for her, as The Rhythmakers) which then still included Clyde McPhatter with whom she also performed two beautiful duets. Although McPhatter had left his first band, Billy Ward and His Dominoes, in 1953 to form his own, Ward's label continued to release albums featuring McPhatter-led singles and touting his name prominently. It makes sense as The Dominoes were never as successful without him even if they found a great replacement in Jackie Wilson. Federal Records released Billy Ward and His Dominoes Featuring Clyde McPhatter in 1956.
Here is the discography surrounding Billy Ward and His Dominoes's second album:
Where Now, Little Heart (1953 single)
Christmas in Heaven (1953 single)
My Baby's 3-D (1953 single)
Rags to Riches (1953 single)
Above Jacob's Ladder (1954 single)
Gimme Gimme Gimme (1954 single)
Handwriting on the Wall (1954 single)
Little Things Mean a Lot (1954 single)
Tenderly (1954 single)
Three Coins in the Fountain (1954 single)
Tootsie Roll (1954 single)
The Chronological Classics: Billy Ward & His Dominoes 1953-1954 (compilation album)
Can't Do Sixty No More (1955 single)
Cave Man (1955 single)
Learnin' the Blues (1955 single)
Over the Rainbow (1955 single)
Sweethearts on Parade (1955 single)
Billy Ward and His Dominoes Featuring Clyde McPhatter
"Star Dust" by Billy Ward and His Dominoes
"Little Things Mean a Lot" by Billy Ward and His Dominoes
After not finding success with her various jazz bands, Blanche Calloway retired from performing and eventually became manager of the Crystal Caverns D.C. nightclub in the early fifties. There she discovered the young and talented Rhythm and Blues singer Ruth Brown for whom she'd help get a recording contract and would become manager. Ruth Brown released Ruth Brown, her debut album (of songs recorded between 1950 and 1956), on Atlantic Records in 1957.
Here is the discography surrounding Ruth Brown's debut album:
I'll Get Along Somehow (1949 single)
I'll Get Along Somehow (1949 single)
So Long (1949 single)
Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe (1950 single)
Sentimental Journey (1950 single)
Teardrops from My Eyes (1950 single)
Where Can I Go (1950 single)
Why (1950 single)
The Chronological Classics: Ruth Brown 1949-1950 (compilation album)
I Know (1951 single)
I'll Wait for You (1951 single)
Shine On (Big Bright Moon (1951 single)
Daddy Daddy (1952 single)
Good-For-Nothin' Joe (1952 single)
I Would if I Could (1952 single)
5-10-15 Hours (1952 single)
(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean (1953 single)
Wild Wild Young Men (1953 single)
The Chronological Classics: Ruth Brown 1951-1953 (compilation album)
Hello Little Boy (1954 single)
Love Contest (1954 single)
Mambo Baby (1954 single with Her Rhythmakers)
Oh What a Dream (1954 single with Her Rhythmakers)
It's Love Baby (24 Hours of the Day) (1955 single)
As Long As I'm Moving (1955 single with Her Rhythmakers)
Bye Bye Young Men (1955 single with Her Rhythmakers)
Old Man River (1955 single with Her Rhythmakers)
I Gotta Have You (1955 single with Clyde McPhatter)
Mom Oh Mom (1956 single)
Smooth Operator (1956 single)
Sweet Baby of Mine (1956 single)
The Chronological Classics: Ruth Brown 1954-1956 (compilation album)
Lucky Lips (1957 single)
One More Time (1957 single)
Ruth Brown (1957 EP)
Ruth Brown
"Oh What a Dream" by Ruth Brown
"Sentimental Journey" by Ruth Brown
"I Want to Do More" by Ruth Brown and Her Rhythmakers
"I Gotta Have You" by Clyde McPhatter and Ruth Brown
"Just a Crazy Song (Hi-Hi-Hi)" by Blanche Calloway and Her Joy Boys
Cab Calloway's older sister Blanche Calloway also sang jazz and led her own jazz band. Blanche influenced her brother's path in music, and the two siblings developed, in concert, their unique and lively performance styles. Blanche's career was not as long-lasting as her brother's and her recordings are, as always, collected in The Chronological Classics: Blanche Calloway and Her Joy Boys 1925-1935.
Here is Blanche Calloway's selected discography:
The Chronological Classics: Blanche Calloway and Her Joy Boys 1925-1935
"Growlin' Dan" by Blanche Calloway and Her Joy Boys
"I Need Lovin'" by Blanche Calloway and Her Joy Boys
"I Gotta Swing" by Blanche Calloway and Her Joy Boys
When Ina Ray Hutton was already an established Broadway performer, she was approached by music publisher and jazz promoter Irving Mills to lead the novelty all-girl Melodears. Irving Mills managed some of the biggest orchestras in jazz. One of those orchestras was headed by Cab Calloway (with whom Mills co-wrote Cab's most famous song, "Minnie the Moocher".) As usual for jazz artists on the tour, Cab Calloway's earliest recordings are collected on The Chronological Classics: Cab Calloway and His Orchestra 1930-1931.
Here is the discography surrounding Cab Calloway's debut recordings:
The Chronological Classics: Cab Calloway and His Orchestra 1930-1931
Minnie the Moocher (featuring "Minnie the Moocher" by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra)
Snow White (featuring "St. James Infirmary" by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra)
"Is That Religion?" by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra
"Some of These Days" by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra
"Twenty-Four Hours in Georgia" by Ina Ray Hutton and Her Melodears
June Hutton followed in the music industry behind her half-sister Ina Ray Hutton. Ina Ray's career had two iterations. The first started in the mid-thirties as the leader of an all female Big Band, The Melodears. The second came during World War II as the leader of an all male Big Band Orchestra that toured military bases around the United States and eventually landed her as an early host of her own television show (where she would lead, again, an all-female band). Although Hutton never recorded an album nor very many singles, both careers have been captured by a few compilations that collect her bands' singles, radio broadcasts and film performances. The album for this whistle-stop is Ina Ray Hutton and Her Melodears released by Vintage Music Productions.
Here is Ina Ray Hutton's discography:
Ina Ray Hutton and Her Melodears
The Definitive Collection 1934-1944 (compilation album)
1943 Spotlight Band Broadcasts (radio compilation album)
Swing Hutton Swing (featuring Ina Ray Hutton and Her Melodears)
A 1940s short (featuring Ina Ray Hutton and Her Orchestra)
When Jo Stafford left Tommy Dorsey's Pied Pipers to go solo, June Hutton took her place. Hutton, too, eventually went solo and released her debut album Afterglow (with arrangements by her husband Axel Stordahl) in 1955 on Capitol Records.
Here is the discography surrounding June Hutton's debut album:
There's a Fellow Waiting in Poughkeepsie (1944 single with The Pied Pipers)
Dream (1945 single with The Pied Pipers)
I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles (1945 single with The Pied Pipers)
Be Mine (1950 single)
More Than I Should (1950 single)
Teardrops from My Eyes (1950 single)
All the Bees Are Buzzin' Round My Honey (1950 single)
Nothing (1951 single)
Walkin' (1951 single)
I Miss You So (1952 single)
For the First Time (In a Long Time) (1953 single)
I Had a Little Too Much to Dream Last Night (1953 single)
The Lights of Home (1953 single)
No Stone Unturned (1953 single)
Oh, These Lonely Nights (1953 single)
Say You're Mine Again (1953 single)
Coney Island Boat (1953 single with Gordon MacRae)
By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953 soundtrack album with Gordon MacRae)
Too Little Time (1954 single)
We Don't Wanna Go Home (1954 single) Afterglow
The June Hutton Collection 1945-55 (compilation album)
"East of the Sun (West of the Moon)" by June Hutton
"Dream" by June Hutton and The Pied Pipers
"Coney Island Boat" by Gordon MacRae and June Hutton
When Johnny Mercer toured with his backing vocal group The Pied Pipers, he told piper Jo Stafford that when he had his own record label that he would sign her to a solo recording contract. That's exactly what happened and Jo Stafford was one of Capitol Records' foundational contracts. Jo Stafford released her debut album Songs by Jo Stafford release in 1946 on Capitol.
Here is the discography surrounding Jo Stafford's debut album:
Old Acquaintance (1943 single)
It Could Happen to You (1944 single)
Long Ago (And Far Away) (1944 single)
The Trolley Song (1944 single)
Tumbling Tumbleweeds (1944 single)
Let's Take the Long Way Home (1945 single)
On the Sunny Side of the Street (1945 single)
That's for Me (1945 single)
There's No You (1945 single)
Candy (1945 single with Johnny Mercer)
Conversation While Dancing (1945 single with Johnny Mercer)
The Chronological Classics: Jo Stafford 1943-1945 (compilation album)
Cindy (1946 single)
Day by Day (1946 single)
I'll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time (1946 single)
This Time (1946 single)
White Christmas (1946 single)
You Keep Coming Back Like a Song (1946 single)
You May Not Leave Me (1946 single)
The Chronological Classics: Jo Stafford 1945-1956 (compilation album) Songs by Jo Stafford
"Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" by Johnny Mercer and His Orchestra
Axel Stordahl's debut album came out on Capitol Records, a record label co-founded by songwriter Johnny Mercer. Although more renown for his song craft, Johnny Mercer was also an experienced performer and a big personality who would occasionally record his own songs. He released his debut album Songs by Johnny Mercer in 1944 on his own record label.
Here's the discography surrounding Johnny Mercer's debut album:
Fare-Thee-Well to Harlem (1934 single)
Jamboree Jones (1937 single with His Orchestra)
Murder of J. B. Markham (1937 single with His Orchestra)
Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean (1938 single with Bing Crosby)
Lazybones (1939 single)
Friendship (1940 single with Judy Garland)
Mister Meadowlark (1941 single with Bing Crosby)
Strip Polka (1942 single)
I Lost My Sugar in Salt Lake City (1942 single)
G. I. Jive (1943 single)
The Old Music Master (1943 single)
"They Didn't Believe Me" (1943 single)
Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive (1944 single)
I'm Gonna See My Baby (1944 single)
Sam's Got Him (1944 single)
San Fernando Valley (1944 single) Songs by Johnny Mercer
When Frank Sinatra broke away from Tommy Dorsey to start his solo career, he brought along the longtime and popular Dorsey arranger Axel Stordahl to be his music director for radio and records to the big screen. Axel's success with Sinatra made him the go-to arranger for other musicians in the Capitol Records lineup and even gave him the opportunity to release his own albums. Axel Stordahl's debut album Dreamtime - The Strings of Stordahl came out in 1953 on Capitol.
Here is the discography surrounding Axel Stordahl's debut album:
Foolish Tears (1950 single with His Orchestra)
Sadie Thompson's Song (1953 single with His Orchestra)
Carefree (1953 single with His Orchestra)
The Piccolino (1953 single with His Orchestra) Dreamtime - The Strings of Stordahl
Dreamtime - The String of Stordahl by Axel Stordahl
The album cover for our last stop, Smash Song Hits by Rodgers & Hart is considered to be the very first album cover. The cover was designed by legendary graphic designer Alex Steinweiss, who also invented the concept and pitched it to record executives. Steinweiss would go on to design hundreds of album covers including the cover for Frank Sinatra's debut album The Voice of Frank Sinatra released in 1946 on Columbia Records.
Here is the discography surrounding Frank Sinatra's debut album:
Our Love (1939 personal recording)
Harry James and His Orchestra Featuring Frank Sinatra: The Complete Recordings Nineteen Thirty-Nine (compilation album with Harry James and His Orchestra)
The Song Is You (compilation album with Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra)
The Lamplighter's Serenade (1942 single)
Night and Day (1942 single)
Close to You (1943 single)
Sunday, Monday or Always (1943 single)
People Will Say We're in Love (1943 single)
Saturday Night (Is The Loneliest Night of the Week) (1944 single)
The War Bond Man (1944 single)
I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night (1944 single)
White Christmas (1944 single)
I Fall in Love Too Easily (1944 single)
I Should Care (1944 single)
America the Beautiful (1945 single)
Lily Belle (1945 single)
My Shawl (1945 single)
Nancy (With the Laughing Face) (1945 single)
Ol' Man River (1945 single)
Put Your Dreams Away (For Another Day)
The Charm of You (1945 single)
What Makes the Sunset? (1945 single)
Dream (1945 single)
If You Are But a Dream (1945 single)
Embraceable You (1945 single)
She's Funny That Way (1945 single)
If I Loved You (1945 single)
White Christmas (1945 single)
Homesick, That's All (1945 single)
Begin the Beguine (1946 single)
Five Minutes More (1946 single)
From This Day Forward (1946 single)
Home on the Range (1946 single)
It's All Up to You (1946 single with Dinah Shore)
Jingle Bells (1946 single)
One Love (1946 single)
Poinciana (Song of the Tree) (1946 single)
September Song (1946 single)
Hush-A-Bye Island (1946 single)
Silent Night, Holy Night (1946 single)
Soliloquy (1946 single)
That Old Black Magic (1946 single)
The Coffee Song (1946 single)
They Say It's Wonderful (1946 single)
Oh! What It Seemed to Be (1946 single)
Full Moon and Empty Arms (1946 single)
All Through the Day (1946 single)
These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You) (1946 single)
I Dream of You (More Than You Dream I Do) (1946 single)
I Don't Know Why (I Just Do) (1946 single)
The Rarest Sinatra (compilation album)
Frank Sinatra Conducts the Music of Alec Wilder (1946 album) The Voice of Frank Sinatra
The Real Complete Columbia Years V-Discs (compilation album)
"The Music Stopped" by Frank Sinatra
"Poinciana (Song of the Tree)" by Frank Sinatra
"Soliloquy" by Frank Sinatra
"We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)" by Frank Sinatra with Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra
"Just as Though You Were Here" by Frank Sinatra with The Pied Pipers and Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra
"It's Funny to Everyone but Me" by Frank Sinatra with Harry James and His Orchestra
Smash Song Hits by Rodgers & Hart by Rodgers & Hart
Fred Allen was a veteran of vaudeville before he hit Broadway and then radio. One of the touring shows of which Allen was a part of featured the work of a young musical director who would also go onto big things on Broadway. Richard Rogers's first successes came from his work with writing partner Lorenz Hart, writing musicals like A Connecticut Yankee, Babes in Arms, and Pal Joey. In 1940, Rodgers & Hart released a compilation album Smash Song Hits by Rodgers & Hart: a best-of song cycle of medleys performed by an assortment of guest singers.
Here is the discography surrounding Rodgers & Hart's debut album:
Ferde Grofé eventually moved on from arranging for Whiteman to heading his own radio orchestra for comedian Fred Allen. Fred Allen was a vaudeville comedian who found success all the way to Broadway and finally settled in radio during the start of the format's Golden Age. Never committing anything to record specifically for release, Allen's revues survive in archives that have only occasionally seen a record release. Only a couple episodes from the first two years of his ever-changing sponsored show survive and two of them were collected as "Linit Bath Club Revue" CBS 1932-1933.
Here is the discography surrounding Fred Allen's earliest performances:
"Linit Bath Club Revue" CBS 1932-1933
The Salad Bowl Revue (1933 show)
Paul Whiteman went through many arrangers during his Orchestra's reign but none were probably more important to his legacy than Ferde Grofé, who arranged Rhapsody in Blue and many of the early compositions for Whiteman's Concert Orchestra. Grofé also composed for the Concert Orchestra and they premiered his Grand Canyon Suite. It would be recorded for the first time by Whiteman in 1932.
Here is the discography surrounding Ferde Grofé's recordings:
Mississippi Suite (1927 single)
Metropolis (A Blue Fantasie) (1928 single)
Three Shades of Blue (1928 single) Grand Canyon Suite
"Whispering" by Paul Whiteman and His Ambassador Orchestra
Transitioning from session musician to composer had William Grant Still working as an arranger for various concert orchestras and Hollywood soundtracks. One of his early arranging gigs was with the prolific Paul Whiteman. Sold as the "King of Jazz", Paul Whiteman played a major role in bringing jazz to the masses through his recordings, concerts and radio performances. His orchestra, however, wasn't a dedicated jazz orchestra. Rather, they were a dance orchestra that would play simple jazz arrangements of varying styles alongside standard dance numbers, ballads, exotica, western tunes, and many a novelty song. His eye for talent meant his orchestra was filled with the most adept white jazz musicians and, thus, could easily transition from one style to the next while staying true to Whiteman's dance hall roots.
As Whiteman's popularity grew so did his ambition; he would upgrade his dance orchestra to a concert orchestra (adding strings and more personnel across the board) when he recorded or performed commissioned miniature pop symphonies. In 1924, he and his concert orchestra would perform An Experiment in Modern Music at New York City's Aeolian Hall. A Disney-esque evening of music meant to educate the audience on various genres of music from opera to, naturally, jazz and even something new: the concert's conclusion was the premiere of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with Gershwin himself improvising at the piano.
This blog entry is a bit of a cheat because the Aeolian Concert was not recorded. Rather, for lack of albums encompassing this period of time (the compilation containing Whiteman's earliest material extends to 1927 and would be too much for one blog entry), I've chosen Maurice Peress's 60th anniversary imagining of the concert as this blog post's whistle stop. Peress arranged and conducted The Birth of Rhapsody in Blue: Paul Whiteman's Historic Aeolian Hall Concert of 1924 which saw release in 1986.
Here is the discography surrounding Paul Whiteman's debut recordings:
Anytime, Anyday, Anywhere (1920 single with His Ambassador Orchestra)
Avalon - Just Like a Gypsy (1920 single with His Ambassador Orchestra)
Grieving for You - Feather Your Nest (1920 single with His Ambassador Orchestra)
Whispering (1920 single with His Ambassador Orchestra)
All for You - Happiness (1921 single)
Bright Eyes (1921 single)
Canadian Capers (1921 single)
Cherie (1921 single)
Gypsy Blues (1921 single)
I Never Knew I Could Love Anybody (Like I'm Loving You) (1921 single)
Just Snap Your Fingers at Care - Darling (1921 single)
Learn to Smile (1921 single)
Liebestraum (1921 single)
Make Believe (1921 single)
Moonlight (1921 single)
My Mammy (1921 single)
Rosie (1921 single)
Second Hand Rose (1921 single)
Song of India (1921 single)
South Sea Isles (1921 single)
Sweet Lady (1921 single)
Sweetheart (1921 single)
Underneath Hawaiian Skies (1921 single)
Weep No More My Mammy (1921 single)
You're the Sweetest Girl (1921 single)
By the Sapphire Sea (1922 single)
Carolina in the Morning (1922 single)
Chicago (That Toddling Town) (1922 single)
Coal Black Mammy (1922 single)
Cutie (1922 single)
Dear Old Southland (1922 single)
Do It Again! (1922 single)
Everybody Step (1922 single)
Homesick (1922 single)
Hot Lips (He's Got Hot Lips When He Plays Jazz) (1922 single)
I Found a Four-Leaf Clover (1922 single)
I Gave You Up Just Before You Threw Me Down (1922 single)
I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise (1922 single)
I'm Just Wild About Harry (1922 single)
It's Up to You (J'en ai marre!) (1922 single)
Jimmy (I Love But You) (1922 single)
Just a Little Love Song (1922 single)
Just as Long as You Have Me (1922 single)
Just Like a Doll (1922 single)
The Lonely Nest (1922 single)
My Rambler Rose (1922 single)
Old Fashioned Girl (In a Gingham Gown) (1922 single)
On the 'Gin 'Gin 'Ginny Shore (1922 single)
Pack Up Your Sins (1922 single)
Some Sunny Day (1922 single)
Stumbling (1922 single)
Three O'Clock in the Morning (1922 single)
Truly (1922 single)
You Won't Be Sorry (1922 single)
Bambalina (1923 single)
Burning Sands (1923 single)
By the Shalimar (1923 single)
Crying for You (1923 single)
Cut Yourself a Piece of Cake (1923 single)
Everything Is K.O. in K-Y. (1923 single)
Fate (It Was Fate When I First Met You) (1923 single)
I Love You (1923 single)
I'm Sitting Pretty in a Pretty Little City (1923 single)
In Love With Love (1923 single)
Just One More Chance (1923 single)
Last Night on the Back Porch (I Loved Her Best of All) (1923 single)
Little Butterfly (1923 single)
Mamma Loves Papa (Papa Loves Mamma) (1923 single)
Nuthin' But (1923 single)
An Orange Grove in California (1923 single)
Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (1923 single)
Roamin' to Wyomin' (1923 single)
Romany Love (1923 single)
Shake Your Feet (1923 single)
Sittin' in a Corner (1923 single)
Sweetheart Lane (1923 single)
Tell Me with a Melody (1923 single)
That American Boy of Mine (1923 single)
Underneath the Mellow Moon (1923 single)
'Way Down Yonder in New Orleans (1923 single)
What Do You Do Sunday, Mary? (1923 single)
When Hearts Are Young (1923 single)
Adoring You (1924 single)
Alabamy Bound (1924 single)
All Alone (1924 single)
By the Waters of the Minnetonka (1924 single)
Don't Mind the Rain (1924 single)
Doo Wacka Doo (1924 single)
Gotta Get Girl (1924 single)
Hard Hearted Hannah (The Vamp of Savannah) (1924 single)
Home in Pasadena (1924 single)
I'm Goin' South (1924 single)
It Had to Be You (1924 single)
Limehouse Blues (1924 single)
Linger Awhile (1924 single)
Little Old Clock on the Mantel (1924 single)
Lucky Kentucky (1924 single)
Mandalay - Step Henrietta (1924 single)
Mandy Make Up Your Mind (1924 single)
Maybe (1924 single)
My Twilight Rose (1924 single)
Oh, Joseph! (1924 single)
The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else) (1924 single)
Pale Moon (1924 single)
Paradise Alley (1924 single)
Pozzo (1924 single)
San (1924 single)
So This Is Venice! (1924 single)
Somebody Loves Me (1924 single)
Someone Loves You After All (Rain Song) (1924 single)
The Song of Songs (1924 single)
Spain (1924 single)
There's Yes! Yes! in Your Eyes (1924 single)
Walla-Walla (1924 single)
What'll I Do (1924 single)
Why Did I Kiss That Girl? (1924 single)
A Suite of Serenades (1924 single with His Concert Orchestra)
Rhapsody in Blue (1924 single with His Concert Orchestra) The Birth of Rhapsody in Blue: Paul Whiteman's Historic Aeolian Hall Concert of 1924
"Adoring You" by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra
"Lazy" by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra
"Hard Hearted Hannah (The Vamp of Savannah)" by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra
"Rhapsody in Blue" by Paul Whiteman and His Concert Orchestra
"Afro-American Symphony: I. Moderato Assai - Longing" by William Grant Still
On some of Fletcher Henderson's Dance Orchestra recordings, one can hear the rare oboe played by a young William Grant Still. William Grant Still eventually moved out of the itinerant jazz ranks into the important role of music arranger for different band leaders, radio shows and films. Still also composed, and his Afro-American Symphony became the first "complete score of a work composed by an African American" performed by a major orchestra (the Rochester Philharmonic) in 1931. The first recording of Still's classic took a while longer, but a recording by the Orchestra of the Vienna Opera released in 1958 on AAO New Records.
Here is the discography surrounding William Grant Still's earliest recordings:
Lenox Avenue (1937 recording)
Old California (1945 recording) Afro-American Symphony
Sahdji Ballet (1960 recording)
"Say It While Dancing" by Henderson's Dance Orchestra
Louis Armstrong briefly moved to New York in between his first move to Chicago with King Oliver and his move back to Chicago to establish his Hot Five band. He moved to New York to join, as a star player, the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. Before Armstrong joined and even earlier, Fletcher Henderson and his bands were a free-flowing studio unit that recorded dance tunes for Black Swan Records. Henderson also worked arranging and playing piano for many a Blues singer of his era and on some of that genre's most important recordings. His earliest recordings as a bandleader have been collected in The Chronological Classics: Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra 1921-1923.
Here is the discography surrounding Fletcher Henderson's debut recordings:
The Chronological Classics: Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra 1921-1923
"Chime Blues" by Fletcher Henderson
"Gulf Coast Blues" by Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra
"Heebie Jeebies" by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five
King Oliver and Kid Ory's New Orleans Jazz band recruited the best musicians in town. One of those recruits was cornetist Louis Armstrong. When King Oliver went North to Chicago, Louis followed. After several years of honing his craft and moving around, Louis Armstrong formed his Hot Five (that included Kid Ory on trombone and Lil Hardin Armstrong on piano) and held his first recording sessions as a band leader. As usual, The Chronological Classics: Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five 1925-1926 collects these earliest recordings.
Here is the discography surrounding Louis Armstrong's debut recordings:
The Chronological Classics: Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five 1925-1926
"Lonesome Blues" by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five
"Muskrat Ramble" by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five
King Oliver came from New Orleans where Jazz (in a style eventually known as Dixieland) formed and fermented the medium and the musicians that invented it. King Oliver and trombonist Kid Ory co-led the heppest and most talented band of the 1910s. When they parted ways, Ory moved first to Los Angeles where he was the first black musician from New Orleans to record a jazz side on the West Coast, and then to Chicago where he played in a number of the eras most important bands. His career was sidelined by the Depression until Dixieland had a popular revival in the 1940s allowing Ory to resume his career leading his Creole Jazz Band. The Chronological Classics: Kid Ory 1922-1945 compilation album bridges the two eras.
Here is the discography surrounding Kid Ory's first recordings:
"Alligator Hop" by King Oliver and His Creole Jazz Band
Alberta Hunter perfected her craft of the Blues as a club singer and got her break in the 20s singing with cornetist King Oliver and his band. The Chronological Classics released a compilation of King Oliver's earliest recordings as The Chronological Classics: King Oliver and His Creole Jazz Band 1923.
Here is the discography surrounding King Oliver's debut recordings:
The Chronological Classics: King Oliver and His Creole Jazz Band 1923
"London (Cafe) Blues" by King Oliver and His Creole Jazz Band
"Sobbin' Blues" by King Oliver and His Creole Jazz Band
