Louis Jordan

The biography of Louis Jordan by Claude Carrière and Christian Bonnet , illustrated by Pedro Zamith and accompanied by 2 compact discs

During the 1940s, no less than eighteen Louis Jordan titles rose to the top of the Billboard rankings in the rhythm'n blues category. The singer-saxophonist had become the No. 1 black American star, far ahead of Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald and had been nicknamed “ king of the juke boxes ”. His recipe? Let's listen to the person concerned mischievously deliver it to us:

“Say a few magic words like abracadabra, mumbo-jumbo, si-boum-ba, etc., mix it all up...shake really hard...say a little prayer...record your song, listen to it and you'll get it a hit like Choo-Choo Ch'Boogie..."

Today well forgotten, Louis Jordan is in fact the biological father of rhythm'n blues and undoubtedly of a certain rock'n roll , although he never recognized the latter...