Riffin’ With The Griffin Brothers Orchestra

 

 

 

 

 

Side A

1. Little Red Rooster

2. Weepin' And Cryin'

3. Griff's Boogie

4. Blues All Alone

5. The Teaser

6. Pretty Baby

7. Blues With A Beat

8. Stubborn As A Mule

 

Side B

1. I Wanna Go Back

2. I'm Gonna Jump In The River

3. Comin' Home

4. Tra-La-La

5. Shuffle Bug

6. Ace In The Hole

7. Hot Pepper

8. It'd Surprise You

 

Here’s a cracking little collection released on UK Ace in 1985. There’s enough jumpin’ and jivin’ and bluesin’ chantoosin’ and weepin’ and cryin’ to keep any R&B fan happy. Not only do you get a tight jump combo, you also get star vocalists Margie Day and Tommy Brown and bootin’ tenor sax from Noble “Thin Man” Watts. You have probably concluded that I quite like this LP.

 

Trombonist James Griffin and his pianist and occasional vocalist brother Edward “Buddy” Griffin hailed from Norfolk, Virginia. In the late 1940s they formed a jump combo which became prominent on the Washington DC rhythm and blues scene. The band was taken under the managerial wing of local music entrepreneur Lillian Claiborne who in 1950 fixed them up with Dot Records, a recently founded label out of Gallatin, Tennessee.

A few months before signing with Dot, the Griffin Brothers band had been augmented by singer Margaret Hoffler, another native of Norfolk, who had moved to New York in the mid 1940s to pursue a singing career and had performed vocal duties with a group called “Four Bars And a Melody”.

In 1947 they had released a single “Near You” / “It Shouldn’t Happen To A Dream” on Savoy. The platter had been mercilessly panned in a Billboard review, with Margaret’s song stylings receiving some especially cutting remarks – “thin and listless”, “straining uncomfortably in her chant.” As you can hear on the featured LP Margaret would prove to be a dynamic and earthy blues singer when she recorded with the Griffin Brothers.

Marriage, pregnancy and a subsequent marital breakup brought Margaret’s musical career to a halt and she moved back to Norfolk in 1950. The Griffin Brothers asked her to join their band and after the Dot signing, she changed her name to Margie Day at the suggestion of label owner Randy Wood.

The band’s first release “Street Walkin’ Daddy” / “Riffin’ With Griffin” sold well, and their next release, with both sides featuring Margie, “Little Red Rooster” / “Blues All Alone”, was a bigger hit, reaching number 5 in the R&B charts in 1951.

In early 1951, the Griffin Brothers recruited Atlanta based blues singer Tommy Brown as another vocalist. Brown had recorded some raucous sides for Savoy in January 1951, including “Atlanta Boogie” which featured a chorus of “Let’s rock and roll till the break of day.” It’s possible that the backing band on the session was the Griffin Brothers outfit, but this has never been confirmed.

The band recorded a cover version of Dave Bartholomew’s “Tra La La” with Tommy on vocals, achieving another R&B top ten hit in the summer of 1951 and then gained even more success with a Margie Day double sider, “Pretty Baby” / ”Stubborn As A Mule” which reached number 10 in the R&B charts.

Tommy Brown’s “Weepin’ And Cryin’” which was released late in 1951 became the band’s biggest chart hit, reaching number 3 but by then Brown was already in the process of leaving, having been called up for military service after which he pursued a solo career.

Margie Day left the band in August 1952, toured and recorded with Paul Williams on Dot and Decca, and made further R&B and jazz recordings on various labels, eventually returning to Norfolk where she organised a community project to help children wishing to develop careers in the performing arts.

The Griffin Brothers Orchestra continued to record for Dot into 1954 when the band split with Buddy joining Chess Records.

Sources:

Sleevenotes to “Riffin’ With The Griffin Brothers Orchestra” by Ray Topping

Notes to Acrobat CD “The Griffin Brothers: Blues With A Beat” by Dave Penny

Article on Margie Day in “Dancing On The Edge” Vol 1 No 3 by ‘Fessa John Hook

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1. Little Red Rooster – vocal: Margie Day (December 1950, Dot 1019)

2. Weepin' And Cryin' – vocal: Tommy Brown (February 1951, Dot 1071)

3. Griff's Boogie – instrumental (December 1950, Dot 1020)

4. Blues All Alone - vocal: Margie Day (December 1950, Dot 1019)

5. The Teaser – instrumental (February 1952, Dot 1095)

6. Pretty Baby – vocal: Margie Day and Tommy Brown (February 1951, Dot 1070)

7. Blues With A Beat – instrumental (December 1950, Dot 1020)

8. Stubborn As A Mule - vocal: Margie Day (February 1951, Dot 1070)

9. I Wanna Go Back – vocal: Buddy Griffin (mid 1952, Dot 1117)

10. I'm Gonna Jump In The River – vocal: Margie Day (mid 1952, Dot 1104)

11. Comin' Home – instrumental (mid 1952, Dot 1105)

12. Tra-La-La – vocal: Tommy Brown (February 1951, Dot 1060)

13. Shuffle Bug – instrumental (February 1951, Dot 1071)

14. Ace In The Hole – vocal: Margie Day (mid 1952, Dot 1108)

15. Hot Pepper – instrumental (December 1950, Dot 1024)

16. It'd Surprise You – vocal: Margie Day (February 1952, Dot 1094)

 

All sides recorded in Washington DC.

 

Band personnel in 1950: Jimmy Griffin (tb); Wilbur Dyer (as); Virgil Wilson (ts); Buddy Griffin (p); Jimmy Reeves (b) Emmett "Nab" Shields (d); Margie Day (vcl).

 

Band personnel in 1951-52: Jimmy Griffin (tb); Wilbur Dyer (as); Noble Watts (ts); Buddy Griffin (p,vcl); Wilbur Little (b); Belton Evans (d); Margie Day (vcl); Tommy Brown (vcl).

 

Listen Up! Griffins, Margie and Tommy on streaming media player:
 

 

Buying The Griffin Brothers – 2 CDs were released on Acrobat about 10 years ago – “Blues With A Beat” Volumes 1 and 2. Volume 1 includes some of Tommy Brown's sides recorded on Savoy before he joined the Griffin Brothers. Volume 2 includes some tracks recorded by Buddy Griffin with his wife Claudia Swann after the band broke up.

 

 

Lowdown Baby – Joe Morris And His Orchestra

Side A
1. Lowdown Baby
2. Jump Everybody Jump
3. You're My Darling
4. Ghost Train
5. I Hope You're Satisfied
6. Pack Up All Your Rags
7. Midnight Grinder
8. Can't Stop My Crying

Side B

1. Bald Head Woman
2. Love Fever Blues
3. That's What Makes My Baby Fat
4. I Had A Notion
5. Who's Gonna Cry For Me
6. Take Your Time
7. Crazy Mixed Up World
8. Going Going Gone

We continue our jump season with the second Joe Morris LP issued by Jonas Bernholm, this time on his Jukebox Lil label. This collection of sides recorded between 1949 and 1957 looks at the “second stage” of his band, when bop influences were abandoned in favour of out and out R&B. For a while the band was billed as the “Joe Morris Blues Cavalcade” and featured a number of vocalists, including Laurie Tate whose “Any Time, Any Place, Any Where” was a huge hit in 1950/51, Billy Mitchell who later became a member of The Clovers, and a certain Fay Scruggs who changed her name to Faye Adams and went on to have to big hits on Herald with “Shake A Hand” and “I’ll Be True To You” with Joe’s band backing her on both of those smashes.

This LP has a nice mix of sides by the various vocalists as well as a couple of strong instrumentals. My favourite tracks are the atmospheric “Ghost Train”, the rousing “Jump Everybody Jump” and the amusing “That’s What Makes My Baby Fat” sung by Joe and the future Faye Adams. It’s a response to all those R&B songs about large women as Miss Adams upbraids Joe about his increasing rotundity.

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Lowdown Baby (Mega)

 1. Lowdown Baby (vocal – Joe Morris) Decca 48126

 2. Jump Everybody Jump (vocal - Joe Morris) Atlantic 931

 3. You're My Darling (vocal – Laurie Tate) Atlantic 942

 4. Ghost Train (instrumental) Atlantic 974

 5. I Hope You're Satisfied (vocal – Laurie Tate) Atlantic 942

 6. Pack Up All Your Rags (vocal – Billy Mitchell) Atlantic 933

 7. Midnight Grinder (instrumental) Atlantic 940

 8. Can't Stop My Crying (vocal – Laurie Tate) Atlantic 965

 9. Bald Head Woman (vocal – Billy Mitchell) Atlantic 974

10. Love Fever Blues (vocal – Jimmy Lewis) Atlantic 940

11. That's What Makes My Baby Fat (vocal – Joe Morris & Faye Adams) Atlantic 985

12. I Had A Notion (vocal – Al Savage) Herald 417

13. Who's Gonna Cry For Me (vocal – Mr Stringbean) Herald 418

14. Take Your Time (vocal – Al Savage) Herald 430

15. Crazy Mixed Up World (vocal – Faye Adams) Herald 429

16. Going Going Gone (vocal – Louis Madison) Atlantic 1160

Buying Joe:

This 26 track CD came out on Acrobat in 2003. It features lots of the early jazzy sides with Johnny Griffin plus some of the later R&B material. Still available on Amazon.

You can usually rely on the Classics label from France to come up with the goods and sure enough they’ve two Joe Morris discs. Both are available through Amazon.

And lastly Johnny Griffin’s debut album for Blue Note is a monster. Get hip and get it!

Fly Mister Fly – Joe Morris & His Orchestra

Side A

1. Fly Mister Fly
2. Wilma's Idea
3. Joe's Boogie
4. Out Of The Night
5. Lowe Groovin'
6. Jump With Me
7. Mad Moon
8. The Spider

Side B

1. Bottletop
2. Wow!
3. Weasel Walk
4. Boogie-Woogie March
5. Chuck-A-Boogie
6. Beans And Cornbread
7. Portia's Boogie
8. Broken Hearted Blues

Although tenor sax man Johnny Griffin is the headliner on the front cover of this 1985 Saxophonograph LP, these sides were recorded by and originally credited to Joe Morris And His Orchestra. Band leader, trumpeter and occasional vocalist Joe Morris and tenor sax legend Johnny Griffin were both former members of the Lionel Hampton big band. Around 1946 or 1947 they formed a small group which showed an inclination to go down the bop path rather than the jump blues / R&B route.

In late 1946 /early 1947 they recorded four boppish sides for Manor. Towards the end of 1947 they started recording for the new Atlantic label, quickly adopting a more R&B oriented approach to their recordings. At this stage of its development, Atlantic’s leading acts were two small groups with deep jazz roots – the Morris outfit and the Tiny Grimes band. Both groups soon started to achieve respectable record sales by recording in a swinging popular style, and both featured big toned abrasive tenor sax players – Johnny Griffin and Red Prysock respectively.

This fine LP of sides recorded between 1946/7 and 1949 shows the process of the move by the Joe Morris band from jazz into solid R&B / jump territory, particularly in the contrast between the Manor sides and pounding instrumentals such as “Wow!” and “Weasel Walk” and the cover version of “Beans And Cornbread.” Missing from this collection is the band’s powerful version of “The Applejack” which is certainly well worth catching.

Griffin left the band around 1950, moving on to a very successful jazz career. The Joe Morris band became the “Joe Morris Blues Cavalcade”, an R&B revue show similar to that of Johnny Otis, which enjoyed a fair amount of success in the R&B field. But I am getting ahead of myself, for the Blues Cavalcade and its vocalists such as Laurie Tate and Faye Adams will be subject of our next post.

In the meantime enjoy an LP which sits squarely in the Be Bop Wino zone, where jazz, jump and R&B meet in a rousing mix.

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Fly Mister Fly – Manor 1136

Wilma's Idea – Manor 1157
Joe's Boogie – Manor 1157
Out Of The Night – Manor 1136
Lowe Groovin' – Atlantic 855
Jump With Me – Atlantic 855
Mad Moon – Atlantic 859
The Spider – Atlantic 859
Bottletop – Atlantic 878
Wow! - Atlantic 870
Weasel Walk - Atlantic 870
Boogie-Woogie March - Atlantic 855
Chuck-A-Boogie - Atlantic 855
Beans And Cornbread - Atlantic 878
Portia's Boogie – Decca 48123
Broken Hearted Blues – Decca 48126

Look Out! It’s Louis Jordan And The Tympany Five

Side 1

1. Keep A Knockin'
2. Sam Jones Done Snagged His Britches
3. You Run Your Mouth And I'll Run My Business
4. Pinetop's Boogie Woogie
5. Boogie Woogie Came To Town
6. Saxa-Woogie
7. I Like 'Em Fat Like That
8. They Raided The House

Side 2

1. Ain't That Just Like A Woman
2. Jack, You're Dead
3. Boogie Woogie Blue Plate
4. Look Out
5. Pettin' And Pokin'
6. Junco Partner
7. House Party
8. I Want You To Be My Baby

Here’s a second helping of Louis and like the first it’s a collection which deliberately avoids the biggest hits and serves up a gumbo of not so well known sides.

If you’re a newbie to this kind of jumpin’ jive then that means that there’s no “Caldonia” or “Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens” or “Let The Good Times Roll” or “Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby” or “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie” or “Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying” or any of the other dozen or so monster smashes which have been well covered by numerous greatest hits compilations during the thirty five years in which I’ve been listening to this kind of music. You’re gonna have to go out and buy that stuff for yourself, but in the meantime enjoy this compilation of obscurer hepcat musings by the great Louis Jordan.

In contrast to our previous post which looked at Louis’ output from 1940 to 1942, this 1983 Charly LP is a career spanning survey of sides he recorded for Decca, kicking off with the old blues “Keep A Knockin’” which he recorded in 1939, and finishing in 1953 with “I Want You To Be My Baby.” Yes, it’s the same “Keep a Knockin’” which Little Richard revived in a particularly manic recording, and you can also get a whiff of Chuck Berry by listening to guitarist Carl Hogan’s intro to “Ain’t That Just Like A Woman” recorded in 1946.

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Check it out:

This 5 CD set on JSP has all the Louis you’ll ever need!

Absolutely vital reading – “Let The Good Times Roll” by John Chilton:

This post on Big Road Blues has interesting stuff on the origins of “Keep A Knockin’”:

http://sundayblues.org/archives/6305

 

And of course here’s a playlist – listen to the transformation from small group swing to jumpin' R&B!

 

Knock Me Out – Louis Jordan

 

 

 

 

Side One

1. A Chicken Ain't Nothing But A Bird
2. Do You Call That A Buddy?
3. I Know You
4. The Two Little Squirrels
5. Pan-Pan
6. St Vitus Dance
7. Brotherly Love
8. How 'Bout That?

Side Two

1. Mama Mama Blues
2. The Green Grass Grows All Around
3. Small Town Boy
4. I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town
5. The Chicks I Pick Are Slender, Tender And Tall
6. That'll Just 'Bout Knock Me Out
7. It's A Low-Down Dirty Shame
8. Ration Blues

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We continue our jump blues theme with the originator, the pioneer of jump and R&B, the man himself - Louis Jordan. I've always felt a little guilty that Louis hasn't been properly represented on Be Bop Wino apart from a couple of posts in the earliest days of the blog, and these vanished long ago. This 1986 LP features sides recorded by Louis and his backing group, The Tympany Five, between September 1940 and October 1942. Louis had left the Chick Webb Orchestra back in 1938 to strike out on his own, forsaking the big band scene for small group swing which was popular in the clubs of Harlem.

The recordings on this LP are from the period when Louis' band started to break big, graduating from clubs to ball rooms and theatres and enjoying ever increasing record sales on the major label Decca. "I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town" was the B-side of "Knock Me a Kiss" but it was such a big seller that it was promoted to double A-side, and the disc became one of the major hits of 1942. "The Chicks I Pick" and "That'll Just About Knock Me Out" were two more wildly popular releases with jivey vocals and raucous sax breaks that set the pattern for a series of hits which lasted up until the end of the 1940s.

Here's some Louis to listen to - with the emphasis on his blues singing, rather on the light hearted novelties for which he is mostly remembered:

King Perry

 

 

 

 

 

Side One
1 Keep A Dollar In Your Pocket
2 Rocks In My Bed
3 Perry's Wiggle Boogie
4 Hold Your Gold
5 I Am The Blues – Duke Henderson
6 San Quentin Quail – Duke Henderson
7 18th & Vine Street Blues – Duke Henderson
8 Leona's Boogie – Duke Henderson

Side Two

1 Fat Mama
2 Pitching A Party
3 Wait Now
4 Going To California Blues
5 Christopher Columbus
6 Kilroy Was Here
7 Back To Kansas City
8 Things Ain't What They Used To Be

Be Bop Wino returns after a 3 month break. My apologies to those of you who kept visiting the blog in the hope of finding new posts only to find that updating had stopped in mid-May. Unfortunately real life prevented me from keeping the blog going but I’m now able to start posting again.

The next series of LP posts will be on the theme of 1940s / early 1950s jump blues bands. Jump blues is my favourite kind of R&B. Its origins lie in small group swing and the boogie woogie craze of the late 1930s. It forms a link between jazz, swing, and rhythm and blues, and was a big influence on early rock and roll.

We start our jumpin’ and jivin’ LP series with a disc I recently bought second hand over in the West End of Glasgow – a 1986 Krazy Kat LP of sides by Los Angeles based King Perry. This collection is drawn mainly from his period with Excelsior but it should be noted that he also recorded for Specialty, RPM and Dot. Included on the LP are four sides by blues shouter Duke Henderson with King Perry’s band providing backing.

King Perry was a fine vocalist in his own right with a style somewhat similar to that of Tiny Bradshaw. His bands were right, tight and outa sight and although they didn’t have big hits they’re well worth a listen. The sound quality is variable – the disc was scratched and required a bit of TLC. There are good sleeve notes by Australian DJ Professor Hi-Jinx, so there’s no need for me to write any more background info.

 

Here are the download links, no password required:

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Listen Up!!
 

 

 

1 Keep A Dollar In Your Pocket (Los Angeles, 1948 - Excelsior 522)

2 Rocks In My Bed (Los Angeles, 1948 - Excelsior 522)

3 Perry's Wiggle Boogie (Los Angeles, 1948 - Excelsior 532)

4 Hold Your Gold (Los Angeles, 1948 - Excelsior 532)

5 I Am The Blues (Los Angeles 1947 - Excelsior 505)*

6 San Quentin Quail (Los Angeles 1947 - Excelsior 505)*

7 18th & Vine Street Blues (Los Angeles 1947 - Excelsior 507)*

8 Leona's Boogie (Los Angeles 1947 - Excelsior 507)*

9 Fat Mama (Los Angeles, 1948? - Excelsior 600)

10 Pitching A Party (Los Angeles 1954 - Hollywood 1030)

11 Wait Now (Los Angeles, 1948? - Excelsior 600, vocal - Chuck Norris)

12 Going To California Blues (Los Angeles 1949 - DeLuxe 3126)

13 Christopher Columbus (Los Angeles 1954 - Lucky 45-003)

14 Kilroy Was Here (Los Angeles 1947 - Excelsior 506)

15 Back To Kansas City (Los Angeles 1954 - Hollywood 1030)

16 Things Ain't What They Used To Be (Los Angeles 1954 - Lucky 45-003)

* Duke Henderson

Cocktails For Two / Walkin' Home - Arnett Cobb (Okeh 6823)

Personnel: Willie Moore (trumpet); Dickie Harris (trombone); Arnett Cobb (tenor sax); Johnny Griffin (baritone sax); George Rhodes (piano); Walter Buchanan (bass); Al Walker (drums).
Recorded in New York, August 7th, 1951. Released in early October 1951.

Listen to "Cocktails For Two"

Listen to "Walkin' Home"

Billboard review from 6th October, 1951:

"Walkin' Home" - "Cobb's sharp combo drives fluidly through an easy riffer akin to "Smooth Sailing." The leader blows up a mess of tenor. There's as much jazz appeal here as there is danceability for juke players."

"Cocktails For Two" - "Group opens and closes with a pulsing Latin beat and swings out in between with Cobb's tenor pulsing all the way. A fine disking, well recorded, which could stimulate action."

Arnett Cobb belongs to the legion of legendary Texas tenormen. Born in Houston in 1918, Cobb started out in the local bands of Frank Davis and Chester Boone from where he was recruited in 1936 by Milt Larkin who led an aggregation which soon achieved a formidable reputation throughout the Southwest territory and beyond. Larkin's reed section featured Cobb and Tom Archia on tenor sax and Illinois Jacquet and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson on alto. Jacquet left in 1939, moving to California where he eventually joined the new Lionel Hampton big band on tenor sax. Vinson left at the turn of 1941/42 to join the Cootie Williams Orchestra after Cootie had attempted to lure Arnett Cobb away from Larkin.

Count Basie also tried to sign Cobb who remained with the Larkin outfit until 1942 when he replaced Illinois Jacquet (who had joined the Cab Calloway Orchestra) in Lionel Hampton's band. Cobb's big, big toned tenor was heard to brilliant effect in Hamp's 1944 version of "Flying Home", known as "Flying Home No. 2." Other showcases for Cobb included "Cobb's Idea" and "Adam Blew His Hat."

In early 1947 Arnett Cobb left the Hampton orchestra, formed his own small combo and signed for Apollo Records. His best selling disc for that label was a two part version of "When I Grow Too Old To Dream," the first part being an affecting instrumental while the second part featured exaggeratedly hep vocals. Arnett's career came to a temporary halt in early 1948 due to a failed spinal operation. He didn't start recording again until September 1950 when he began a two year stint with Columbia and its Okeh subsidiary. His most successful release at this time was "Smooth Sailing" from his first Columbia session. In 1953 he moved to Mercury Records, in 1954 - 55 he had three releases on Atlantic and in early 1956 he cut "No Dues" / "Slats" for Vee-Jay.

Swingin' Cobb - William Gottlieb collection

His name misspelled in lights - William Gottlieb collection

Misfortune intervened again, this time in the shape of a crash while driving the band bus. Arnett's injuries kept him from recording for three years and forced him to use crutches for the rest of his life. However in 1959 he resumed his recording career with jazz label Prestige,  recording a series of albums (1959 - 60) which included a powerhouse set with Lockjaw Davis. He continued to record until the year before his death in 1988.

With thanks as ever to El Enmascarado for his sterling work in reviving this 78 rpm disc.

Recommended listening for Arnett's early small group sides - "A Proper Introduction To Arnett Cobb - The Wild Man From Texas" (Proper Intro CD 2070).