Joseph Amos Milburn (April 1, 1927 – January 3, 1980) was an American rhythm-and-blues singer and pianist, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He was born in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

, Texas, and died there 52 years later. One commentator noted, "Milburn excelled at good-natured, upbeat romps about booze and partying, imbued with a vibrant sense of humour and double entendre, as well as vivid, down-home imagery in his lyrics."

Life and career

Milburn was born in Houston, one of thirteen children. By the age of five, he was playing tunes on the piano. He enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

when he was fifteen and earned thirteen battle stars in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. He returned to Houston and organized a sixteen-piece band playing in

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album '' kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

in the city. He was managed by William and Geneva Church. Milburn was a polished pianist and performer and in 1946 attracted the attention of a woman who arranged a recording session with

Aladdin Records Aladdin Records was a record company and label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by brothers Eddie and Leo Mesner. It was originally called Philo Records before changing its name in 1946. Aladdin was known for jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock mus ...

in Los Angeles. Milburn's relationship with Aladdin lasted eight years, during which he recorded more than 75 sides. This included his cover version of "

Down the Road a Piece "Down the Road a Piece" is a boogie-woogie song written by Don Raye. In 1940, it was recorded by the Will Bradley Trio and became a top 10 hit in the closing months of the year. Called "a neat little amalgam of bluesy rhythm and vivid, catchy l ...

" (1946), a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

song with a

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

boogie, that is similar in many respects to rock music. However, none of his recordings were popular until 1949, when seven of his

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

got the attention of the R&B audience. "Hold Me Baby" and " Chicken Shack Boogie" reached numbers eight and nine on '' Billboards survey of 1949's R&B best-sellers. He became one of the main performers associated with the Central Avenue music scene in Los Angeles. He was also a popular touring artist. He won awards from '' Down Beat'' magazine (Best Blues and Jazz Star) and '' Billboard'' magazine (Top R&B Artist). Among his best-known songs was " One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer". In 1950 his recording of Maxwell Davis' " Bad, Bad Whiskey" reached the top of the R&B

record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include ...

. It was the first of a series of drinking songs he recorded (none written by Milburn, but several composed by Rudy Toombs). However, there is no evidence that he had an alcohol problem. Milburn recorded several more drinking songs through 1952 ("Thinking and Drinking", "Trouble in Mind") and was by then touring the country playing clubs. While touring the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

that summer, he announced that he would disband his combo and continue as a solo act. In autumn he joined Charles Brown for a concert tour of the South. For the next few years each of his tours was a series of one-nighters. After three years of solo performing Milburn returned to Houston in 1956 to re-form his band. His releases for Aladdin Records in 1957 did not sell well, and the record company, having its own problems, terminated his contract. He tried to regain commercial success with a few more releases for Ace Records, but his time had passed. Radio airplay was directed at the teenage market. Milburn contributed two songs to the R&B Yuletide canon: "Let's Make Christmas Merry, Baby", in 1949, for Aladdin Records, and "Christmas (Comes but Once a Year)", in 1960, for King Records. The latter was the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of Brown's holiday classic " Please Come Home for Christmas". Milburn's final recording was for an album by Johnny Otis in 1972, after Milburn had been impaired by a stroke. Otis played the left-hand piano parts for his enfeebled old friend. Milburn had a second stroke, which caused circulatory problems resulting in the

amputation Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indi ...

of a leg. He died soon after, of a third stroke, at the age of 52. Another artist performing and recording as Amos Milburn, Jr. in Texas in the 1960s was a different and unrelated person (James Thomas Russ, Jr.).

Legacy

Milburn was an important performer of blues music in the years immediately after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He was one of the first performers to switch from sophisticated jazz arrangements to the louder

jump blues Jump blues is an up-tempo style of blues, usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues was renewed in the 1990s as ...

style. He began to emphasize rhythm and technical qualities of voice and instrumentation second. He was a commercial success for eleven years and influenced many performers. His energetic songs about getting "high" were admired by fellow musicians, such as Little Willie Littlefield, Floyd Dixon and Milburn's prime disciple, Fats Domino. Domino consistently credited Milburn as an influence on his music.

Discography

Selected recordings

* "Amos Blues", 1946 * "

", 1947 * " Chicken Shack Boogie", 1948 * "A&M Blues", 1948 * " Bewildered", 1948 * "Hold Me, Baby", 1949 * "In the Middle of the Night", 1949 * "Roomin' House Boogie", 1949 * "Let's Make Christmas Merry, Baby", 1949 * " Bad, Bad Whiskey", 1950 * "Let's Rock A While", 1951 * "Thinkin' and Drinkin", 1952 (written by Rudy Toombs) * " Trouble in Mind", 1952 * "Let Me Go Home, Whiskey", 1953 (written by

Shifty Henry John Willie "Shifty" Henry (4 October 1921 – 30 November 1958) was an American musician, most noted as a double bass and bass guitar player, and blues songwriter. He also played flute, violin, viola, saxophone, and oboe and was in demand as a se ...

) * " One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer", 1953 (written by Rudy Toombs) * ''Rockin' the Boogie'', 10-inch LP, 1955

LPs

* ''Let's Have a Party'', 1957, Score Records * ''A Million Sellers'', 1962, Imperial Records * ''The Return of the Blues Boss'', 1963,

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...

Compilation albums

* ''The Best of Amos Milburn: Down the Road Apiece'', CD, 1994, EMI America Records * ''The Complete Aladdin Recordings of Amos Milburn'', CD

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

, 1994, Mosaic Records * ''Blues, Barrelhouse & Boogie Woogie'', CD box set, 1996,

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

* ''The Best of Amos Milburn'', CD, 2001, EMI-Capitol Special Markets * ''The Original Blues Sound of Charles Brown & Amos Milburn'', with

Jackie Shane Jackie Shane (May 15, 1940 – February 21, 2019) was an American soul and rhythm and blues singer, who was most prominent in the local music scene of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the 1960s. Considered to be a pioneer transgender performer,

and Bob Marshall & the Crystals, LP, 1965, Pickwick/Grand Prix Series, Pickwick International

References

External links

Amos Milburn biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milburn, Amos 1927 births 1980 deaths African-American pianists American blues pianists American male pianists American blues singer-songwriters American rhythm and blues singers Singer-songwriters from Texas Jump blues musicians Imperial Records artists Charay Records artists Ace Records (United States) artists King Records artists Motown artists People from Houston West Coast blues musicians Burials at Houston National Cemetery 20th-century American pianists United States Navy personnel of World War II African-American male singer-songwriters 20th-century African-American male singers