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Volume 1 No. 9 11111

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Volume 1, Issue 9 July 5, 2010 A Medley of Beach Music Medleys Pt 2

The Checkmates were a North Carolina

band who recorded their Meet the Check-Meet the Check-Meet the Check-Meet the Check-Meet the Check-

matesmatesmatesmatesmates LP on Justice Records in Winston Sa-

lem, circa 1967. Their album was 98%

Beach Music cover songs: “Gypsy Woman,”

“You Don’t Know Like I Know,” “My Girl,”

“Laugh It Off,” “”I’ve Been Hurt,” “Try My

Love Again,” “Hot Cha,” “That’s Enough,”

and the subject of this story, a medley: an

unusual one, “Kidnapper / Heat Wave.”

Strange combination, to my mind. It’s also

the same vintage as the other*oldest* med-

ley listed at the beginning of this story by

the Magnificent Men!

Their were eight members in the Check-

mates: Sammy Winston, Roddy Porter,

George Outlaw, Jon Mueller, John McCurdy,

Dave Mack, Baron Conklin, and their vocal-

ist Billy Carden who joined the Monzas from

Who would have thought that twenty pages was insufficient to describe all the Beach MusicMedleys of the past? Part One concluded in 1998 with the Catalinas’ Reunion LP, but I’vegot to go back and pick up a few to bring this story up-to-date.

1968 to 1971where he was the featured vo-

calist on their hit “Instant Love.”

Ray Stevens’ 1978 LP TherTherTherTherThere Ie Ie Ie Ie Is Some-s Some-s Some-s Some-s Some-

thing Othing Othing Othing Othing On n n n n YYYYYour Mour Mour Mour Mour Mindindindindind spotlighted a number

of his favorite R&B tunes such as the title

track, “Money Honey,” “Your Cash Ain’t

22222 Dancing On the Edge Journal

Man,” “Work With Me Annie,” and “Annie Had a Baby.”

A close second would be his ‘Dance Trilogy’ with

“Do You Wanna Dance,” “When You Dance,” “Save the

Last Dance for Me.”

Ray’s ‘78 album really wasn’t discovered until the

90’s sometime after he hit the Beach charts with his 1977

“Dixie Hummingbird” which made the Beach Music Top

40 charts in 1990.

Another ‘catch up’ medley is “Baby What You Want

Me To Do / Bright Lights, Big City” from the Persua-

Nothin’ But Trash,” and an R&B ballad trilogy, it also

included two Beach/Shag trilogies.

The most prominent has to be the ‘Banned In Bos-

ton’ trilogy which would fire up anyone who lived in the

first and second waves of Shag history with “Sixty Minute

sions’ 1973 album WWWWWe Se Se Se Se Still Aintill Aintill Aintill Aintill Ain’’’’’t Gt Gt Gt Gt Got Not Not Not Not No Bo Bo Bo Bo Bandandandandand (they

were an a capella group at the time).

19841984198419841984

Eleven years later the Persuaders were back in 1984

with another trilogy, “Under the Boardwalk / Sand In

My Shoes” on NNNNNo Fo Fo Fo Fo Frillsrillsrillsrillsrills on Rounder Records.

19981998199819981998

In 1998, Eliza was a sweet little South Carolina singer

who first landed on the Beach charts with “Broken


Hearted Melody” from her SSSSSpeakinpeakinpeakinpeakinpeakin’ E’ E’ E’ E’ Easyasyasyasyasy CD on Carlen

records.

19991999199919991999

By 1999 she was out with another CD, ThatThatThatThatThat’’’’’s s s s s WhatWhatWhatWhatWhat

SSSSShe She She She She Saidaidaidaidaid, which contained an Aretha Franklin medley

which likely would have been overlooked in the non-

Shagging parts of the U.S. It included two songs from

Aretha’s years with Columbia records -- whereas most

Soul and R&R enthusiasts mark her career as beginning

later with Atlantic Records. Eliza, however, released a

nice medley of “Rock A Bye Your Baby With A Dixie

Melody / Swanee.”

The Flashbacks from farther upstate South Carolina,

in the Pickens area, scored two medleys with their WWWWWeek-eek-eek-eek-eek-

end Getawayend Getawayend Getawayend Getawayend Getaway CD in 1999 on which the late Kip Ander-

son was a featured guest.

Their CD included a Fats Domino Medley and a

Willie Tee / Lenny O’Henry medley of “Walking Up A

One-Way Street / Across the Street.”

EMN Records released the first in the Bad Boys of

Beach Music saga CDs in 1999 with a 60s Medley by

Sonny Turner including “Stand By Me, What A Won-

derful World, I Can See Clearly Now, Under the Board-

walk, There Goes My Baby.”

Other Bad Boys, without medleys, were J.D. Cash,

Catalinas, Tams, Clifford Curry, Jackie Gore, Entertain-

ers, Poor Souls, Band of Oz, Andy Swindell, Billy Scott

& Prophets, and Jeffrey Miles Grimes.

That was one of the appearances by the Tams that

year, they issued their Tams Medley yet again on SSSSSteppinteppinteppinteppinteppin’’’’’

Out in the LightOut in the LightOut in the LightOut in the LightOut in the Light.

There were two more big medley entries in 1999.

The SSSSSwoop Dwoop Dwoop Dwoop Dwoop Dooooown Jwn Jwn Jwn Jwn Jesus esus esus esus esus CD contained two of the big

medleys of the year; Reverend Joe Simon remembered

Sam Cooke’s early gospel days with his “Soul Stirrer’s

Medley” (notably including “Jesus Built A Fence Around

Me” - the original version of Sam and Dave’s “No More

Pain”), and Janice Barnett teamed up with Harvey Fuqua


(formerly with the Moonglows) and William Guest (one

of the Pips with Gladys Knight) on a “Gospel Medley”

that filled dance floors with “Rough Side of the Moun-

tain, Pray It Away, Just A Closer Walk With Thee, Free

At Last, Michael Row the Boat Ashore, Oh Happy Day.”

The other entry was from the Breeze’s BBBBBy Ry Ry Ry Ry Requestequestequestequestequest

CD with their legendary Lou Rawls medley: “Groovy

People, Upside Down, Lady Love, You’ll Never Find

Another Love Like Mine.”

Harry Deal and the Galaxies issued their Anthology

CD in 2000 which contained a medley they performed

on the Crook and Chase TV show on TNN, August 16,

1999. It was somewhat different from their medley we

referred to in Part 1, however it did contain half of that

medley--“Hey Baby”--and another song, about a persis-

tent, one-hour man Harry had performed countless times,

to make his “Hey Baby / 60-Minute Man” medley.”

2000 saw the release of another CD which was

underpromoted in my estimation. Bill Deal and Ammon

Tharp had been performing for approximately 40 years.

They certainly had the chops and the experience to make


their Sound of Sound of Sound of Sound of Sound of VVVVVirginia Birginia Birginia Birginia Birginia Beacheacheacheacheach a hitmaker. It’s loaded

with classics and new tunes as well, all of which appear

to have been aimed at promoting Virginia Beach for ro-

mance, golf, girls, fishin’, cruisin’, and Beach Music.

Of the 14 tunes included, one is co-written by Steve

Jarrell, another by Gary U.S. Bonds and Charles Wallert,

one by John Barker, three by General Johnson, two by

J.D. Cash, Steve Bassett and Robin Thompon’s classic

“Sweet Virginia Breeze,” and one is a medley of “Under

the Boardwalk / Sand In My Shoes.”

Forevermore Records released a compilation CD in

2000 entitled This IThis IThis IThis IThis Is Bs Bs Bs Bs Beach Meach Meach Meach Meach Musicusicusicusicusic which contained two

medleys. Of the two, Louie Lupo & the Swaggers had

the most innovative. There was a cutting edge thinker

somewhere who proposed combining a Jimmy Dorsey

hit (and Beach hit in 1956) with a Bobby Darin tune

and making a new Beach hit out of them as a double

instrumental.

That year’s other Forevermore medley was an inspired

Drifters’ Medley by one of the world’s top ranked Doo

Wop groups, the Showvinistics, who have provided sev-

eral great songs to the Beach Music charts.

In 2001, Tim and Pat Cashion scored with their first

medley--not their first Beach song (Tim had been work-

ing with Terri Gore for quite some time when he wasn’t

on the road nationally and internationally with Grand

Funk).

The Cashion Brothers put together a string of Stevie

Wonder classics into a single Beach Music Medley on

their Cashion Brothers CD with RubyJude records out

of North Myrtle Beach.

What a beautiful surprise 2002 brought with Dino

Fair and Molly Askins’ second release close on the heels

of their first, and major hit, “You Bring Out the Boogie

in Me” in 2001.

Dino and Molly’s Barbara Lewis Medley of “Baby

I’m Yours and Make Me Your Baby” was their second

chart topper in a row.


In 2003, the Showvinistics were back again on the

new Forevermore GGGGGoinoinoinoinoin’ B’ B’ B’ B’ Back to Mack to Mack to Mack to Mack to Morororororehead Cehead Cehead Cehead Cehead City ity ity ity ity anthol-

ogy, this time with a Jimmy Reed medley of “Bright

Lights, Big City / Baby What You Want Me To Do.”

Dink Perry’s “O.C. Smith Medley” in 2003 deserves

an honorable mention even though it was never ‘released.’

If you happened to have been listening to that show online

via 94.9 The Surf ’s website that night, you may have

taped it.

That was our first *Born In the Carolinas Live* Show

that summer. O.C. Smith had passed away the previous

Thanksgiving and we put together a number of special

presentations that night, including an 11+ minute med-

ley of O.C.’s hits sung by Dink. Awesome.

In 2006, the Sugar Bees released their ColonyColonyColonyColonyColony CD

on Bradley House records which contained their version

of the “39-21-40 / Hey Baby” medley.

The Holiday Band’s 2007 Live CD contained a Beach

Medley (not their first as you’ll see below the honorable

mentions).

And just when you may have thought you’d heard

the last of it, Harry Deal has released his “Hey Baby /

39-21-40 Shape” medley on his 2010 PPPPPavilion Pavilion Pavilion Pavilion Pavilion Passionassionassionassionassion

CD.

‘Honorable’ Mentions‘Honorable’ Mentions‘Honorable’ Mentions‘Honorable’ Mentions‘Honorable’ Mentions

They’re ‘honorable’ mentions either because I don’t

have their release date or they came to my attention too

late to include in their proper chronological order.

Terri Gore & Softones Motown Medley Live

Fat Ammon James Brown Medley

Fat Ammon Temptations Medley

Mighty Kicks Mighty Kicks Medley

Band of Gold Barry White Medley


Catching up with a few I missed, let’s start with the

Embers’ 1997 SSSSString of Ptring of Ptring of Ptring of Ptring of Pearearearearearlslslslsls CD which was packed

with several great Big Band/Smoothies-style medleys.

Eleven of the twelve cuts are medleys. I think the

Embers may have been too far ahead of their time. Even

though Smoothies had been popular since the turn of

the 90’s decade, the Embers may still have been well in

advance of the curve. All their medleys were well pro-

duced, well-sung, often unique combinations of some

great songs, e.g. “Summertime / Indian Love Call / Beau-

tiful Weekend.” Most folks didn’t even know “Indian

Love Call,” or “Beautiful Weekend.” Still a CD worth

revisiting.

Other truly notable medleys included, “Moonglow

/ Canadian Sunset / Begin the Beguine,” “To Each His

Own / Ol Man River / Beyond the Sea,” and “String of

Pearls / Teardrops from My Eyes / Pennies from Heaven.”

For Big Band enthusiasts

there was “In the Mood / Penn-

sylvania 65000 / Chatanooga

Choo Choo / Kalamazoo,” plus

“Woodchopper’s Ball / Sing Sing

Sing / Blue Skies / Sing Sing Sing

(New Orleans Style).”

Frankly, the entire CD is

worth a visit, whether you’ve al-

ready dropped by, or never had

the opportunity.

The Holiday Band’s 1998

Soul City LimitsSoul City LimitsSoul City LimitsSoul City LimitsSoul City Limits CD in 1998 con-

tained a “Kool and the Gang Med-

ley (Celebration/Ladies Night),”

a “Drifters Medley (Up On the

Roof/Under the Boardwalk),” and


the “Beach Medley (I Love Beach Music, Carolina Girls,

Be Young Be Foolish Be Happy”--which also appeared

on the EMN CD of the same name in 1999).

Now to round out this overview of Beach Music

Medleys, I invite you to return to 1950 with me. The

number one song that year was Calvin Boze and His

Allstars’ “Safronia B.” However, it was a song with roots

back to deep Texas four years earlier.

One has to wonder if the ‘modern’ interpreters of

“Safronia B” had any idea what they’re singing about.

Among the modern interpreters are:

Group Album Year

Powerhouse Night Life 1975

Manhattan Transfer Bop Do-Wopp 1985

Fantastic Shakers 45 rpm 1990

Fantastic Shakers Shaking It Up! 1992

Love Dogs I’m Yo’ Dog 1996

Delta Rhythm Kings Every Night & Every Day

2002

B.B. & Blues Shacks Straight Blues, Big Swing

2008

I question whether they *fully* understood on the

basis of the lyric analysis I’ll provide later in this story.

‘Safronia’ was a mildly popular gal with three other

artists, whose songs were perhaps about her, but not the

same lyrically or melodically.

Fatman Robinson Sophronia Jones 1949

(Regent 1005)

Jake Porter & Orch Safronia ca 1961

prev. unleased (Combo 200)

Bardu Ali & Orch That Gal Safronia

(Modern prev unrel) 1946-52

(Bardu is erroneously listed by BMI as the writer of

“Safronia B.” One listen to his “That Gal Safronia” and

you’ll know it’s entirely different).

The original recording of “Safronia B” was by Calvin

Boze. However, there were twotwotwotwotwo originals! y

Calvin Boze:Calvin Boze:Calvin Boze:Calvin Boze:Calvin Boze:FFFFFrrrrrom om om om om TTTTTrinity County rinity County rinity County rinity County rinity County TTTTTexas toexas toexas toexas toexas to

“Safronia B”“Safronia B”“Safronia B”“Safronia B”“Safronia B”

For me, Calvin Boze represents an enigma which re-

surfaces from time to time when I’m researching the R&B

pioneers of the late 40s and early 50s. It’s an enigma

usually represented by one of two questions:

1) Did Rhythm & Blues spring forth fully devel-

oped overnight in the summer of 1948, thus compelling

Billboard magazine to start an R&B chart that fall?

2) Where did the first R&B musicians and enter-

tainers come from if there was no R&B prior to 1948?

Question # 2 is particularly poignant when consid-

ering someone like Calvin Boze. Although in the Shag

world we’ve uncovered his complete body of work since

the early 1980s, he only had one song on the national

R&B charts and none on the Pop charts.

Calvin’s only chart song, “Safronia B,” hit the R&B

charts June 10, 1950 at #9, rested there for one week,

and was gone. That ain’t a hit! Not even by R&B chart

standards, which historically moved twice as fast as the

pop charts, i.e. a song that may last 20 weeks on the Pop

chart would likely last only 8 or 9 weeks on the R&B

charts.

Vintage GVintage GVintage GVintage GVintage Grrrrroooooooooovvvvveseseseses


Trinity County is about 80 miles north, northeast of

Houston, Texas. Much of it today is bounded by the

Davy Crockett National Forest on the North side and

the Sam Houston National Forest on the South.

Calvin Boze was born there October 15, 1916, the

son of day laborer Calvin Boze Sr. and Sarah (Taylor).

By the mid-30s, Calvin was trumpet and leader of

the Wheatley High School band which included a lot of

kids from Houston’s Fifth Ward.

That Wheatley High band’s extraordinary creativity

shouldn’t came as much of a surprise -- the school was

inspired by its namesake -- Phillis Wheatley, the first

noted African poet in America and the first African Ameri-

can woman whose writing was published in America.

Her life has become the stuff of legend. She was kid-

napped as a 10 year old in West Africa in 1763 and taken

to American on the slave ship The Phillis.

In Boston she was purchased by John and Susanna

Wheatley who educated her in Latin and history, science and

geography. At 12 she was reading Greek and Latin classics.

When she was 20 she traveled with Nathaniel Wheatley

to London in 1773 where she recited a poem to George 3rd,

met with the Lord Mayor of London, and a collection of her

poetry was published in London during her visit there.

Phillis was given her ‘freedom’ because of her popularity

and influence as a poet. In 1775 she published a poem

celebrating George Washington who subsequently invited her

to his home in 1776. In 1778 Phillis was legally freed

when her master John Wheatley passed away.

Phillis married a black grocer three months later, but

never published another volume of poetry. John Peters, her

husband, was sent to debtors prison in 1784 leaving her

broke and caring for an ill infant daughter. Phillis became

a scullery maid at a boarding house--a kind of labor she

hadn’t encountered even as a slave. She died alone on De-

cember 5, 1784 at 31.

BBBBBeforeforeforeforefore they e they e they e they e they WWWWWererererere Se Se Se Se Stars - tars - tars - tars - tars - TTTTTexas Mexas Mexas Mexas Mexas Musicianusicianusicianusicianusician’’’’’s s s s s TTTTTwo-Swo-Swo-Swo-Swo-Step!tep!tep!tep!tep!

The Wheatley High band, at the time of Calvin Boze,


My best estimate puts Calvin at the Prairie View Collegeas a senior in 1938-39, likely graduating just before thestory above in the Hearne Texas Democrat, September15, 1939. Well-known pianist-singer Charles Brown saidCalvin lead the Collegians when they were both membersof the band. Since Will Henry Bennett has senior billing inthis story, I imagine Calvin was gone.

The Prairie View Collegians remind me of the CarolinaCotton Pickers of Charleston, SC -- not well-known na-tionally, but busy nonetheless. This story ran in the SanAntonio Express, May 1, 1943 for a gig with the NegroYWCA.

included Tom Archia on tenor sax, Richie Dell on piano,

Illinois and Russell Jacquet-sax and trumpet respectively,

Arnett Cobb tenor sax, Calvin Boze on trumpet, and

George Haynes on drums. The Wheatley boys were des-

tined to crisscross one another’s paths for years to come.

Percy McDavid was the music teacher for the band

(he later became Supervisor of Music in the Los Angeles



L to R: Port Arthur News 3-15-44, 3-23-44, 3-31-44. Themiddle story makes me won-der whether Bennett changedthe band to all-girls right afterBoze left in 39? If so, it was acourageous move. The Inter-national Sweethearts of Jazzwas one of less-than-a-hand-ful of all-girl bands, black orwhite.

To the right, Rex Ricardo and the Lighthouse attemptedto compete with the Collegians by declaring his HarlemSwingsters as “ten dark clouds of rhythm” -- (the blackerthe berry, the better the Jazz and Swing?)

Volume 1 No. 9 1111111111


school system). McDavid taught a repertoire so eclectic,

including Duke Ellington compositions, that the Duke

himself visited the school to hear the orchestra in 1935,

likely the year Calvin entered as a Freshman.

After high school, Calvin attended Prairie View A&M

College, designated from the beginning of the century as

an institution of higher learning for non-white students.

Boze joined the Prairie View Collegians where he also

played with high school bandmate Tom Archia as well as

pianist-vocalist Charles Brown, majoring in chemistry who

would go on to become a school teacher, then become

lead singer for Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers in L.A.

where they established a popular form of smooth, lounge

Blues which translated into dozens of recordings and juke

box hits. Calvin wrote a couple of songs for Charles a few

years later in L.A., “Texas Blues,” and “Hot Lips and Seven

Kisses.”

Calvin served as an Army private in World War II.

Again, I’m speculating, but I suspect he somehow got

out early or perhaps

was stationed on the

West Coast (with an

Army band? or some

other special status)

that allowed him

into the recording

studio before War’s

end.

Boze was mov-

ing around at a fairly

fast clip in the 40s,

perhaps trying to

keep up with the

changes in music.

WWII took its toll,

drafting innumer-

able players, effec-

tively ending their careers as musicians. By the time

many of them returned, they’d long since slipped from

the public’s awareness or the industry had changed so

much they couldn’t catch up. The Big Bands slashed

the number of personnel they carried from 15 and higher

down to 7 or 8. Shellac was appropriated by the gov-

ernment for the war effort, so record pressing was re-

duced drastically.

In early 1945, Calvin attended his first recording

with an old schoolmate from Houston, Russell Jacquet.

Russell was born in Saint Martinville, LA and his more-

famous brother, Illinois, was born in Broussard, LA, and

they landed in the same high school with Calvin in

Houston in the mid 30s.

Russell Jacquet, Calvin Boze, and many of their col-

leagues were the tip of a nearly invisible vanguard of

black musicians and entertainers whose legacies were

mostly unobservable at the time and have become lost

Here’s the only reference to the California Playboy BandI have found between 1934-37, and it references thefour Jacquet Brothers from Los Angeles. Who was # 4?

Hayward, California Daily Review, May 8, 1937. Pro-moters compared Les Hite to Duke Ellington. The ‘di-rect from the Cotton Club’ reference was a common prac-tice at the time, there were Cotton Clubs all over the coun-try, e.g. New York with Cab Calloway, Lionel Hamptonat one of the two Cotton Clubs in L.A., Les Hite head-quartered at the Hollywood Cotton Club.


in the mists of difficult-to-find

documentation, some of which

I plan to share here.

Prior to their meet-up in

1945, Russell was with other

regional and territory bands

such as the California Playboy

Band 1934-37 which included

brother Illinois and his other

brother and drummer Linton

Jacquet, Floyd Ray 1939-40

(Illinois was also with him for

part of that tour), a short stint

with Milt Larkin’s band, Wiley

College 1940-42, and Texas

Southern University 1942-44

where he also led the school’s

big band.

Music historian Albert

McCarthy, who specialiazed in Big Band, Jazz, and Black

Jazz bands, states that there was never a nationally suc-

cessful black band from the West Coast (in the first half

of the 20th century). The two who came closest were

Les Hite and Floyd Ray.

Les Hite’s band is considered the most well known

and successful of the colored California bands of the 30s.

His roots were in the midwest. He was born in DuQuoin,

Illinois March 13, 1903 and studied at the University of

Illinois.

Growing up, he worked in the family’s band with

his mother, father, sisters and brothers playing sax. Later

he played with the Detroit Shannon band then went on

the road with Helen Dewey and a five-act show which

performed its final appearance in Los Angeles that year,

and Les, George Orendorff and Jimmy Strong decided

to stay rather than return to Chicago.

Hite worked as a sideman for three years with many

of the top bandleaders eventually joining Henry “Tin


Les Hite Cotton Club Band 1931. L to R Back Row: Charlie Jones, Luther ‘Sonny’Graven, George Orendorff, Louis Armstrong, Henry Prince, Les Hite, Harvey Brooks.L to R Front Row: Bill Perkins, Harold Scott, Lionel Hampton (drums, vibraphone),Joe Bailey, Marvin Johnson (alto saxophone). Keep an eye on Marvin Johnson!

Can” Allen’s band in late 1928 when they were working

at Solomon’s Penny Dance Palace in Los Angeles. A few

months later, Allen died and Hite was elected leader of

the band.

In late 1929, Les disbanded that group and as-

sembled another to work at the Cotton Club (formerly

the Green Mill Club). His new band included Lionel

Hampton on drums. Hubert ‘Bumps’ Myers later joined

on tenor sax.

Hite’s new Californian Syncopators took over in the

fall of 1930 from Vernon Elkins at Frank Sebastian’s New

Cotton Club which became the band’s base for years.

From there they entertained, recorded soundtracks

and made appearances for Hollywood film studios as well

as worked in the recording studios backing people like

Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller. The 1931 band shown

above recorded for the first time on October 9, 1930 in

Los Angeles. The recording session was listed as Louis

Armstrong & His Sebastian New Cotton Club Orches-

tra on “Body and Soul” and was first issued on Okeh

41468 and Vocalion 3072.

Volume 1 No. 9 1313131313

The same lineup recorded several more times with

Armstrong:

October 16, 1930

“Memories of You/You’re Lucky to Me”

December 23, 1930

“Sweethearts on Parade”

“You’re Driving Me Crazy”

“The Peanut Vendor”

March 9, 1931

“Just A Gigolo / Shine”

The same band appeared in the film TTTTTaxi Paxi Paxi Paxi Paxi Pleaseleaseleaseleaselease by

December 1931. In 1933 they appeared in Sing, Sin-Sing, Sin-Sing, Sin-Sing, Sin-Sing, Sin-

ners, Singners, Singners, Singners, Singners, Sing.

Les Hite and His

Orchestra, including

Marvin Johnson, was

back in the studio June 6,

1935 to record “Chant of

Mustard Green / It Must

Have Been A Dream,”

then again August 15,

1935, recording “No

One Is to Blame / Young

Stuff.”

Hite’s band experi-

enced very few personnel

changes during that pe-

riod (who would want to

leave when they were so busy and successful?), Marvin

Johnson was with Hite until late 1937.

In 1939, Hite disbanded his orchestra and rebuilt it

again. On the road in Texas, they met and added a tal-

ented guitarist named T-Bone Walker.

On the side beginning in 1939, Les was arranging

charts for Benny Goodman, working with the cream of

the Swing and Jazz worlds.

For the first time ever, Hite’s band played east of

Denver in 1940 with two weeks in New York. In early

1940 they were back in the studio recording six sides,


one, “T-Bone Blues,” featured T-Bone Walker on vocal.

In March 1942 Dizzy Gillespie joined Hite’s group,

joining them in the studio in April to record four sides,

most notably “Jersey Bounce.”

The Elusive Floyd RayThe Elusive Floyd RayThe Elusive Floyd RayThe Elusive Floyd RayThe Elusive Floyd Ray

Albert McCarthy claimed Floyd was the other im-

portant California pioneer. I was unable to find him in

any of the standard reference works, or even the rarer

ones. He’s mentioned in a couple of places, but it took a

lot more digging to find pictures of him. I’ve never seen

his picture in any books--you’re seeing him pictured in a

book or magazine for probably the first time ever.

(McCarthy and noted jazz historian and archivist,



Frank Driggs, both lost track of Ray after 1945. I’ll

pick up where they left off ).

Floyd was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and

started his entertainment career as a dancer. Apparently

an accident made it impossible for him to continue danc-

ing so he started a seven-piece group in 1934 called the

Harlem Dictators which worked at a Scranton, Pennsyl-

This was the dance card used for the Terrace Ballroom Salt Lake City engagment of Floyd Ray & his DictatorOrchestra in April 1937.

vania club.

In the following two years they picked up residency

work in Binghampton, New York and the Circle Ball-

room in New York City.

The summer of 1936 saw the band on a road tour

that ended in California. Soonafter they were chosen to

tour with black actor Clarence Muse and gained popu-

Volume 1 No. 9 1515151515

they’re not pictured.

The Clovis, New Mexico

Evening News announced

Floyd Ray’s upcoming perfor-

mance in its May 27th edition.

On June 1st the Evening News

published another rare picture

of Floyd at the Hotel Clovis.

Nevada State Journal of

September 4, 1937, claiming

Floyd’s orchestra to be bigger

than Benny Goodman, an-

nounced he would be playing

El Patio in Reno on September

16th.

Also in September, the

Oakland Tribune, played up Floyd and the Harlem Dic-

tators’ upcoming engagement with a variety of ads. The


larity as a regional

band throughout the

state.

By 1937, they

were known as Floyd

Ray’s Orchestra and

had added a female

vocal trio which made

them even more ap-

pealing.

I first picked up

Floyd in the Salt Lake

City Tribune playing

the Coconut Grove as

the paper reported

April 19, 1937.

On May 22,

1937, the Greeley

Daily Tribune at the popular Greeley, Colorado resort

area was pumping up the excitement about the coming

of Ray’s band.

Three

days ear-

lier, the

Tr i b u n e

ran a full

picture of

the or-

c h e s t r a

ident i fy-

ing them

as the

Dictators.

It men-

tions the

three girl

s i n g e r s

(Ivy, Vern,

and Von)

b u t



September 8th ad described them as the Harlem Dicta-

tors. The September 9th ad referred to them as “His

Swing Dictators & Sepia Revue”

The picture of Floyd at the beginning of his chapter

of this article came from the September 11th Oakland

Tribune.

That issue also included the fine little story and ad

you see below entitled “’Hot’ Band Scores - “

The Billings Gazette of October 10, 1937 excitedly

announced not only the girl trio which accompanied

Floyd Ray, but also Joe Alexander (the Harlem Bing

Crosby).

The rest of the stories I’ve been able to find so far

cover a single incident in Belleview, Kansas. The No-

vember 25th, 1937 Thanksgiving edition of the Belleview

Telescope reported “Negro Orchestra In Crash Here” re-

porting that Floyd Ray’s orchestra was in a wreck with

an oil transport early Monday morning which demol-

ished their brand new Chevrolet station wagon, putting

four musicians into the hospital, with two others leaving

after having been treated.

Injured were Willie Lee Floyd, one of the girls in the

trio, Dickie Ward with a broken jaw, Red Kelly with a

dislocated hip, and Floyd Ray, “owner of the orchestra,

severe head injuries including a broken nose and lacer-

ated face, and severe leg injuries.”

The paper reported that George Fauntelroy, treated

for bruises, had stayed behind with the hospitalized quar-

tet while Herman Talley took the other members of the

18-member orchestra to Wichita despite his own cracked

ribs.

On their way from an engagement at Millagan, Ne-

braska Sunday night, the orchestra was travelling to

Wichita when they were blinded by lights of another

transport and crashed at 4:30 a.m. Monday morning.

The December 2nd issue stated that Willie Lee Floyd

was released December 1st from Patterson Memorial

hospital to joint the band in a two-day engagement in

Tulsa. The paper pointed out that Gilbert Kelly, George

Ward, and Floyd Ray (with severe head and hip injuries)

were till in the hospital. The story went on to say that

Volume 1 No. 9 1717171717


the orchestra broadcast from a station in Fort Worth,

Texas on Wednesday and Saturday, sending encouragment

to their hospitalized bandmates.

According to the December 9th Belleview Telescope,

Floyd Ray remained in the hospital although continu-

ing to improve.

The December 16th issue of the Telescope had Ward,

Kelly, and Ray still recuperating in the hospital.

Although I haven’t seen Driggs’ piece on Ray’s early

career, it appears that Floyd Ray had experienced two

traumatic accidents inside a ten-year period.

Down Beat magazine kept track of Ray’s band for a

few more years.

In 1938 they opened at the Kansas City Club in

Kansas City on June 16th--it was the first time a colored

band had played the club in 20 years.

July 31st they were back at the Palomar in Holly-

wood--the launching pad for Benny Goodman’s extraor-

dinary Swing career. They played the Domar in Hermosa

Beach in October and were reported touring from De-

cember 1938 to February 1939.

Floyd Ray and his orchestra finally went into the

recording studio in February and April 1939, recording

four sides at each session, with Ivy Ann Glascoe as lead

on two songs, the girl trio singing lead on three songs,

or Joe Alexander singing lead on one song. Session data

for both recording dates show that Gilbert Kelly, George

Ward and all three of the girls were still with Floyd de-

spite the car accident two years earlier.

Alexander went on to record with his own group which

included Joe Lutcher alto sax, Willard McDaniel piano, Red

Callender bass, and Lucky Enois on drums in 1945. In

1945-46 he recorded with Red Callender’s Quintet, then

with Dave Cavanaugh backing him on tenor sax in 1946.

In June 1947 Joe recorded with Kansas City’s Julia Lee

in Los Angeles, singing lead on her “Knock Me A Kiss” backed

by Benny Carter alto sax, Dave Cavanaugh, Red Norvo on

xylophone, Jack Marshall on guitar, Red Callender on bass,

and Baby Lovett on drums, to name a few.

Joe recorded four songs with the great Paul Williams on

Savoy, playing tenor sax, in May 1950, including “Weasel

Swing.”

He recorded two with Boo Boo Turner in Detroit in 1952,

then sang vocals on some of six sides he attended with Dusty

Brooks and his Tones in Nashville in 1953.

He recorded five sides with Tadd Dameron in New York

in 1956, then 12 sides, playing bass with the Aristocrats for

Hi-Fi Records in Los Angeles in 1961.

[In 2004, trumpeter Clora Bryant, one of the pioneers

of women in jazz, honored women who played the clubs of

Central Avenue in Los Angeles during the 1930s-1950s,

during the 9th Annual Central Avenue Jazz Festival, July

31-August 1, on Central Avenue at 42nd Place.

Her guests included exotic dancer Chi Chi Chevalier,

who danced at the Club Alabam and The Oasis; Avenelle

Harris who was a lead dancer at the Lincoln Theater; and

singer Ivern Ely who also played cocktail drums with an all

female group, The Three Vs, who toured with Floyd Ray’s Big

Band and had their own soundies (what we call music

videos nowadays)].

There were numerous personnel changes between

April 1939 and the end of 1940 when Floyd Ray dis-

banded the group. Russell Jacquet replaced Eddie

Vanderveer on trumpet, pianist Bob Moore was with him

for a while, and Chico Hamilton drummed with Ray in

1940.

Floyd Ray’s popularity was so high that Milt Larkin



asked him to front Milt’s group on a tour. A listing from

their engagement in Seattle in January 1941 showed

Floyd as the director of the band which included Calvin

Ladnier (the great jazzman Tommy Ladnier’s brother),

Milt Larkins, Eddie Vinson (before he acquired the nick-

name ‘Cleanhead’), Arnett Cobb, and legend Bill Davis,

to name a few.

Soonafter Floyd studied orchestration and string bass

at the Los Angeles Conservatory

before joined the military in

World War II.

Like Calvin Boze, though,

Floyd must’ve enjoyed a special

arrangement with the military

(i.e. they both were discharged

before war’s end?!), Down Beat

magazine in 1944-45 reported

that Floyd Ray and his Califor-

nians were touring in 1944-45.

The October 1944 Music

Dial mentioned reedman

Donald Lucas had just joined

the Army after leaving Ray,

while December 1, 1944 Down

Beat said the Ray band had

started a ten-day run at the

Plantation Club in Los Angeles

beginning the day before.

Down Beat in August 1945

said that Floyd was stranded

without a wardrobe; that he’d filed a complaint with a

clearing firm who sold his clothes because he hadn’t called

for them in time. Another story in that issue said that

Tab Smith’s gig at Los Angeles’s Shepp’s Playhouse was

cancelled with Floyd Ray getting the job. Apparently,

that did happen, the last reference to Floyd Ray that

Albert McCarthy could find was in the September 15th

Down Beat which said that Gerald Wilson followed Ray

at the Playhouse when his engagement ended on Sep-

tember 10th.

(According to Roger Lotchin in his The Way We

Really Were: The Golden State in the Second Great War

Shepp’s Playhouse depended “largely on mixed colored-

white trade” and stated that the Floyd Ray Orchestra

appeared there in ‘44 with Valaida Snow. Oooh wee.

That’s interesting news.

Valaida Snow had one of the most celebrated and

fantastic careers ever re-

corded. She was sort of an

Anti-Josephine Baker. A

beautiful mixed-race black

woman, whose sophistication

offset Josephine’s more primi-

tive reputation. She was

known in Europe as “Little

Louis,” a sobriquet given her

by Louis Armstrong himself

when they shared the stage

in Paris. Mary Lou Williams

said that Valaida was the fe-

male equivalent of Louis on

trumpet.

1944 was two years after

Valaida had been released

from a Nazi prison camp af-

ter 18 months of serial beat-

ings and rapes. She weighed

68 pounds on her arrival in

New York to go into a sani-

tarium to recover.

That’s the story that was celebrated in numerous

African-American newspapers. There has been a great

deal of research since, which, when combined with that

story, makes Valaida Snow’s life an even more fascinating

read. I’ll not be including it here, however, sometime in

the future I’ll get back to it. (One of her great record-

ings in Shag style was her version of “Tell Me How Long

The Train’s Been Gone” in 1950).

Somehow McCarthy missed the references in

Valaida Snow onstage pre-1940. She danced, sang,and then stole the show on the trumpet.

Volume 1 No. 9 1919191919


Billboard’s 1944 Music Year Book which offered a few

tidbits.

According to the story, Floyd and his band were

proud to have played the annual Swing Concerts at the

Palomar in Los Angeles for two year’s running in which

they competed against bands such as Tommy Dorsey’s,

Benny Goodman’s, Glen Gray & His Casa Lama Ork,

and Joe Venuti.

Billboard distinguished that “the Negro band has

also played the Orpheum and Paramount theaters in Los

Angeles in addition to the Apollo, New York; and Howard

and Lincoln in Philadelphia.

The BB article noted that the band recorded for Decca

(the eight sides referenced earlier) and used “Comin’ On

With the Blues” as the band’s theme.

Noting that he played alto sax and fronted for the

band, the article shed a little more light on Ray’s earlier

career, he was a vaudeville dancer until a serious leg in-

jury forced him out of the dance field.

His first West Coast engagement was at the Creole

Palace, San Diego, where he was playing when he signed

with the Reg. D. Marshall Agency which was still man-

aging and booking him in 1944.

The story also explained that he had reorganized his

band after serving about two years in the army, entering

as a private and exiting as a sergeant with an honorable

discharge a few months prior to the magazine article.

The Reinvention of Floyd RayThe Reinvention of Floyd RayThe Reinvention of Floyd RayThe Reinvention of Floyd RayThe Reinvention of Floyd Ray

I find Floyd rising from th mists once again in Los

Angeles with a recording session in early 1947. Both

recordings came from his original session in 1939, “Three

O’Clock In the Morning,” sung by the entire ensemble

at that time, and “Comin’ On With the Blues” sung by

Ivy Ann Glasco. In ‘47 Floyd brought in Jimmy Grissom

and the Miltones to resing both songs, which were is-

sued on Roy Milton’s record label, Miltone 213.

(Miltone 202 was issued in March 1947, so I’m guess-

ing Roy started his label at the beginning of 1947).

Grissom and the Miltones were part of Roy Milton’s reti-

nue of Solid Senders. Jimmy first recorded with Roy in 1947,

later with Buddy Floyd’s Orchestra in 1949, Red Callender

Sextet in 1952, and work in 1962 and 1963 with Oliver

Nelson and Dick Hyman.

Floyd showed up again as a DJ, and impresario in

the recording industry in 1961.

As the owner of Rayco Records in Los Angeles, he

issued six records that I know of, however, if Floyd fol-

lowed the standard practices of the record industry there

are many other records I’m still unaware of. Meanwhile,

here’s what I do know about:

Nina RocheNina RocheNina RocheNina RocheNina Roche Rayco 1502 1960

“Goin’ to Chicago / Mojo”

Len JohnsonLen JohnsonLen JohnsonLen JohnsonLen Johnson Rayco 503 1963

“One Day / Sweet Thing”

SSSSShuffles, huffles, huffles, huffles, huffles, TheTheTheTheThe Rayco 508 1963

“Dancin’ L’il Girl / Do You Remember,My Darling”

VVVVValaquons, alaquons, alaquons, alaquons, alaquons, TheTheTheTheThe Rayco 516 1964

“Diddy Bop / Jolly Green Giant”

TTTTTom om om om om YYYYYoungbloodoungbloodoungbloodoungbloodoungblood Rayco 518 1964

“Why Did You Leave Me /Now You’re On Your Own”

Nathan McKinneyNathan McKinneyNathan McKinneyNathan McKinneyNathan McKinney Rayco 526 1964

“Oh (How I Love You) / Weep No More”

FFFFFlololololoyyyyyd becomes pard becomes pard becomes pard becomes pard becomes part of “Ray-diot of “Ray-diot of “Ray-diot of “Ray-diot of “Ray-dio”””””

FM radio was in its infancy in 1961. Most people

didn’t have FM in their autos and often not on their

home radios either, or if they did they simply didn’t

bother with it.

When Al Williams's Los Angeles KTYM-AM was

purchased the KTYM-FM band was thrown in free.

Charles (Chuck) Johnson was Operations Manager

and the Program Director was Lonnie Cook--they were

the only paid staff when they began programming the

FM in 1961. Station airtime was brokered with the ex-

ception of the shows hosted by Chuck and Lonnie. Cook



came from Kansas City, Kansas and Johnson had been a

celebrated DJ at KPRS in Kansas City, Missouri.

Their format was R&B, Doo Wop, and Blues. One

of KTYM-FM’s programs was hosted by Floyd Ray, the

owner of the first all-Black Los Angeles Record Distribu-

torship and of course former big band leader. (My guess

is that Floyd was approximately 50 years old at that time).

N.A.R.A., the National Association of Radio An-

nouncers, elected KTYM’s Floyd Ray as liaison officer

between the national association and the West Coast

chapters, according to a story in Billboard magazine

March 23, 1963.

In a June 29, 1963 story, Billboard announced that

the National Association of Radio Announcers and

Rhythm and Blues DJs would have its annual conven-

tion August 22-25 in Hollywood.

Floyd was cited as saying that 50 per cent of the

organization’s associate members, which were record com-

panies, would be in attendance and that the main goal of

the convention would be to raise the qualifications of,

and generate more employment and security for, Rhythm

and Blues DJs.

FFFFFlololololoyyyyyd Rayd Rayd Rayd Rayd Ray’’’’’s Os Os Os Os Outside Collaborationsutside Collaborationsutside Collaborationsutside Collaborationsutside Collaborations

LONNIE COOK wrote songs for and performed

with several groups in Kansas City, but none ever achieved

any significant success so he moved to Los Angeles and,

was hired by Chuck Johnson (who came from KPRS K.C.,

Mo.) to be the very first Program Director at 103.9 FM.

(later KACE-FM). He was responsible for reintroducing

a song that had been banned back in 1961, the Isley

Brothers’ record "Your Old Lady" rereleased (1963),

charted, and sold a million.

As 103.9 FM grew Lonnie made the acquaintance of

Floyd Ray. Eventually, Lonnie who already had experi-

ence in several other aspects of the entertainment indus-

try, worked as a promotion man for Floyd. During this

period he met Sonny Turner and often went to the re-

hearsals of the Platters. By 1965 he had opened his first

record shop on 119th and Vermont with girlfriend and

Rayco coworker Gloria Houston.

[What happened to Calvin Boze?

My aim here is to show the tributaries of influence

which generated the “brand new” R&B singer Calvin

Boze, and Rhythm and Blues in general.

Calvin’s work was all fundamentally the same style,

but there’s more to enjoy in Part 2, DOTEJ # 10. y

I’m showing these two versions of Rayco records to dem-onstrate Floyd Ray’s work, not to claim that these haveany direct Beach or Shag interest. Note Floyd Ray islisted as the producer on the Nathan McKinney record.

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