His 1950 Imperial release “Stack-A-Lee” was a national hit, reaching No. It was during these years when Lewis developed his rhythm-and-blues style heard on his 1950s Imperial hits such as “Tee Nah Nah” and “I Hear You Knockin’.” Archibald, meanwhile, spent a number of years performing at the Magic Lock Cocktail Lounge before moving on to Poodle’s Patio Bar in the 1960s, both clubs located on Bourbon Street. Washington and Lewis played together as early as the 1930s. Artists such as Tuts Washington, Smiley Lewis, and John Leon Gross (who performed and recorded as “Archibald”) performed repertoires that combined blues, jazz, and barrelhouse-sometimes with combos, and sometimes as solo acts. Major, 1990.135.8)īeginning as early as the 1930s and into the 1940s, a number of blues singers and piano players were performing on and around Bourbon Street. Some of the well known jazz and Dixieland performers on Bourbon in the 1950s included Louis Prima, who led the band at the Sho Bar for a time, and Pete Fountain, who was at a number of clubs for much of the decade.īourbon Street of the 1950s featured Dixieland, jazz, R&B, blues, and other types of music. Verret is possibly better known as Fats Domino’s uncle, and “Junker’s Blues” is certainly better remembered as “The Fat Man.” This music was around, even on Bourbon during the 1950s, though it would have been the outlier to the more popular Dixieland. New Orleanian Champion Jack Dupree recorded the song on the Okeh label in 1941, and barrelhouse pianist Kid Stormy Weather was known to have performed it alongside Harrison Verret in the Quarter during the same era. The blues song “Junker’s Blues,” for example, was popular in French Quarter clubs as early as the 1940s. This music was, in many ways, a stop on the path to rhythm and blues and rock ‘n’ roll. Q: What did Bourbon Street or the larger French Quarter sound like in the time period depicted in King Creole, released in 1958?Ī: Bourbon Street in the 1950s was a thriving entertainment district, with a number of clubs for music, burlesque, and dancing. During this era, tourism was steadily increasing, both in numbers and as a citywide economic initiative, and Bourbon Street was a part of this effort. Because of this, Bourbon Street of the 1950s catered in large part to visitor entertainment. During this era, much of the music could have been described as Dixieland. Exactly what Dixieland music is is a debate in itself, but it’s safe to say there was a large presence of New Orleans jazz music on the strip. That’s not to say that Dixieland was the only music played on Bourbon in the 1950s, as we know that a number of early R&B performers played on the street during these years as well, including Smiley Lewis, Tommy Ridgley, Tuts Washington, and Clarence “Frogman” Henry who played at the 544, Court of Two Sisters, and La Stratta-all on Bourbon-for much of the 1950s and 1960s.īarrelhouse and blues were popular styles on the strip, usually played by small combos, and typically featuring a piano. In this First Draft feature, we ask THNOC Curator/Historian Eric Seiferth if the Bourbon Street in the movie was anything like the real thing? ( THNOC, New Orleans and Louisiana in Film Collection, 2014.0102.74) Listen while you read, with this Spotify playlist assembed by Seiferth:Įlvis Presley starred in the 1958 film King Creole, set in New Orleans. In this First Draft post, Eric Seiferth, Curator/Historian at The Historic New Orleans Collection and co-curator with THNOC’s Alfred Lemmon of the exhibition New Orleans Medley: Sounds of the City, surveys the Bourbon Street music scene of the era. Set on Bourbon Street in the late 1950s, the Elvis Presley vehicle King Creole-the featured title for the June 7 #NolaMovieNight-features a variety of musical styles performed in a variety of venues (most re-created on sets at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |