Louis Jordan: Son of Arkansas, Father of R&B

Stephen Koch

Mar 2014 · Arcadia Publishing

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Though you may not know the man, you probably know his music. Arkansas-born Louis Jordan's songs like "Baby, It's Cold Outside," "Caldonia" and "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" can still be heard today, decades since Jordan ruled the charts. In his five-decade career, Jordan influenced American popular music, film and more and inspired the likes of James Brown, B.B. King, Chuck Berry and Ray Charles. Known as the "King of the Jukeboxes," he and his combo played a hybrid of jazz, swing, blues and comedy music during the big band era that became the start of R&B. In a stunning narrative portrait of Louis Jordan, author Stephen Koch contextualizes the great, forgotten musician among his musical peers, those he influenced and the musical present.

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Arkansawyer Stephen Koch is a musician, playwright and award-winning reporter, editor and broadcast journalist. He's been studying the life and music of R&B pioneer Louis Jordan nearly since birth, getting hip to "Beans & Cornbread"? bouncing on his dad's knee. He's spoken at, and performed music in, places ranging from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to festivals in the U.K. Koch lives in Little Rock, where he is creator and host of "Arkansongs, "? syndicated on National Public Radio affiliates.