Celebrating the Birthday of Kid Ory

Influential early jazz trombonist, bandleader and composer Edward "Kid" Ory was born on December 25, 1886, on Woodland Plantation, near LaPlace, Louisiana. Ory started playing music with homemade instruments in his childhood, was leading a band by his teens, and moved his band to New Orleans when he was twenty-one.  Ory played banjo in his youth, which helped him develop a particular style of trombone playing called “tailgate”, with a rhythmic line underneath the cornets and trumpets. Ory was discovered by Buddy Bolden, and by the 1910s had one of New Orleans’ most well-known bands. He hired many of the City’s greatest jazz musicians including Joe “King” Oliver and Louis Armstrong. 

In 1919, he moved to Los Angeles, and in 1921 his band recorded a number of songs, including two instrumentals, “Ory’s Creole Trombone” and “Society Blues”, which were the first jazz recordings made on the West Coast by an African-American band from New Orleans. Ory paid the recording company Nordskog for the pressings and then sold them at Spikes Brothers Music Store in Los Angeles with his own label, "Kid Ory's Sunshine Orchestra". Ory moved to Chicago in 1925 where he worked and recorded with Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, King Oliver, Bessie Smith, and many others. He also mentored Benny Goodman and, later, Charles Mingus. Ory retired from music during the Great Depression, running a chicken farm in California during that period. But he returned to music in 1944, leading one of the premier New Orleans-style bands of the time. 

The Ory band helped to revive interest in New Orleans jazz, appearing on popular 1940s radio broadcasts, and in 1944–45 the group made a series of recordings for Crescent Records. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Ory and his group appeared in Los Angeles, and in 1958 he played at 'On the levee' on the San Francisco waterfront. Ory retired from music in 1966 and spent his last years in Hawaii, where he passed away January 23, 1973. He led a remarkable life, which we celebrate today!

Celebrating the Birthday of Dave Bartholomew

David Louis Bartholomew was born on December 24, 1918, in Edgard, Louisiana. He was a musician, bandleader, composer, writer, arranger, and producer in many musical genres including Big Band, swing, R&B, rock and roll, New Orleans and Dixieland Jazz. Bartholomew is best known for his numerous successful collaborations with Fats Domino and other artists, as well as for his significant and influential role in the transition from swing and jump blues to rock and roll. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 and recognized for these achievements, being dubbed “one of the Crescent City’s greatest musicians.” New Orleans music legend Dave Bartholomew passed away on June 23, 2019, at the age of 100, but his music lives on. Today, on his birthday, we celebrate the life and legacy of Dave Bartholomew!

Photo by Klaus Hiltscher; SpinningSpark

Celebrating the Birthday of Lee Dorsey

R&B, soul and funk singer-songwriter Irving Lee Dorsey was born in New Orleans on December 24, 1924, and his biggest hits were "Ya Ya" (1961) and "Working in the Coal Mine" (1966). Much of his work was produced by Allen Toussaint, with instrumental backing provided by The Meters.

Dorsey was a childhood friend of Fats Domino before moving to Portland, Oregon when he was ten years old. He served in the United States Navy in World War II, and in the 1950s he boxed as a lightweight in Portland under the name “Kid Chocolate”. He retired from boxing in 1955 and returned to New Orleans, where he opened an auto repair business, as well as singing in clubs at night. His first recording was in 1958, and his first hit came with “Ya Ya” in 1961, which went to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over one million copies. His later releases were not successful, so Dorsey returned to running his repair business, but continued to release singles.

He was approached again by Allen Toussaint and recorded "Ride Your Pony", which reached number seven on the R&B chart in late 1965. He followed it up with "Working in the Coal Mine", his biggest hit, touring internationally, and also recording an album with Toussaint, The New Lee Dorsey in 1966. In 1970 Dorsey and Toussaint collaborated on the album Yes We Can; the title song was Dorsey's last entry in the US singles chart, after which he returned to his auto repair business. In 1976 Dorsey appeared on the album I Don't Want to Go Home by Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, which led to more recordings, including the album Night People. In 1980, he opened for  The Clash on their US concert tour, and also toured in support of James Brown and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Dorsey's songs have been covered by artists as diverse as the Pointer Sisters (“Yes We Can”) and Devo ("Working in the Coal Mine"). "Ya Ya" was covered on John Lennon's Rock 'n' Roll album, and Robert Palmer had a hit with "Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley". Dorsey’s version of the Allen Toussaint song "Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On)" is referenced in the Beastie Boys' song "Sure Shot", with the lyric "Everything I do is funky like Lee Dorsey." Clearly, Lee Dorsey’s talent is timeless and his fans span across varied musical genres.

Sadly, Dorsey contracted emphysema and died on December 1, 1986, in New Orleans, at the age of 61. His music has had a significant and enduring influence, and today, on his birthday, we remember Lee Dorsey and celebrate the joy he brought us by sharing his talent.

Celebrating the Birthday of Professor Longhair

Pianist and singer Henry Roeland “Roy” Byrd, better known as Professor Longhair, or “Fess” for short, was born on December 19, 1918, in Bogalusa, Louisiana. Learning to play on a piano that was missing some keys influenced his distinctive and instantly recognizable playing style. He began his career in New Orleans in 1948, the heyday of early rhythm and blues. The first version of his signature song, “Mardi Gras in New Orleans”, was recorded in 1949, and his only national commercial hit came in 1950 with “Bald Head”. During the 1950s, he recorded his favorites, “Tipitina” and “Go to the Mardi Gras”, and in 1964 he first recorded “Big Chief” with Earl King, the song’s composer. While he may not have achieved wide success during this time, he influenced many other New Orleans musicians, including Fats Domino, Dr. John and Allen Toussaint. 

In the 1960s, Professor Longhair disappeared from the music scene, and he supported himself as a janitor. But, in 1971, he performed at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and his career received a well-deserved renaissance. He performed at the Newport and Montreux Jazz Festivals, toured the United Kingdom, and recorded a live album in 1975. His albums became available across America by the 1980s.  Sadly, Professor Longhair died in his sleep on January 30, 1980, while filming the documentary Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together which costarred Allen Toussaint and Tuts Washington. In recognition of his great talent and contribution to music, in 1981 Longhair was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. In 1987, he was awarded a posthumous Grammy Award for his early recordings released as House Party New Orleans Style, and in 1992, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Today we remember Fess and celebrate his life and many contributions to the music we love so much!

Celebrating the Birthday of Big Chief Tootie Montana

Big Chief Allison "Tootie" Montana was born in New Orleans on December 16, 1922, and was a New Orleans cultural icon who acted as the Mardi Gras Indian "Chief of Chiefs" for over 50 years. Tootie is revered in the Mardi Gras Indian culture as the Big Chief who is responsible for making the the culture of the Mardi Gras Indians about pageantry rather than violence.

In 1982 Tootie is quoted to have said that "Now, people run to the Mardi Gras Indians; back in the day, people would run from them". Montana is a recipient of a 1987 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. Tootie continued to mask as Chief until 1998, when his son Darryl took over as Chief of The Yellow Pocahontas Tribe. At the age of 78, Tootie was the oldest continuously masking Mardi Gras Indian. In 1995 he stated, "I am the oldest, I am the best, and I am the prettiest". 

On June 27, 2005, Tootie was making a speech at the New Orleans City Council Chamber against the NOPD abuse of the Mardi Gras Indians, when he suffered from a heart attack that took his life. At his funeral, different tribes from across the city gathered to sing, dance and honor Tootie, the Big Creole Chief, the Chief of Chiefs. Today we commemorate the birthday of the Chief of Chiefs and his invaluable contributions to New Orleans culture.

Celebrating the Birthday of Louis Prima

Trumpeter, singer, songwriter, actor, bandleader and composer Louis Prima was born in New Orleans on December 7, 1910. In the late 1920s Prima formed a New Orleans-style jazz band, then he led a swing band in the 1930s, and a big band group in the 1940s. By the 1950s, he had helped popularize jump blues and was a featured act in Las Vegas. From the 1940s through the 1960s he played early R&B, rock’n’roll, boogie woogie and Italian folk music. Despite that musicians of his era were discouraged from displaying their ethnic roots, Prima embraced his Italian heritage and helped pave the way for other musicians to display their ethnic roots in their music. Some of his most popular songs include, “Just A Gigolo”, “I Wanna Be Like You”, “Jump, Jive an’ Wail”, “Pennies from Heaven”, and “When You’re Smiling”. Sadly, Prima passed away on August 24, 1978, after a lengthy illness. Today we celebrate this unique performer who always left us smiling’!

Photo by: William P. Gottlieb