Charley Jordan (July 11, 1890 – November 15, 1954) was an American

St. Louis blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

, as well as a

talent scout In professional sports, scouts are experienced talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports, and they determine whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the s ...

, originally from Mabelvale,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, United States. He was known for a unique style that drew on his rural roots.

Life and career

Jordan recorded numerous

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'' ...

for

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record label, originally founded by the Aeolian Company, a piano and organ manufacturer before being bought out by Brunswick in 1924. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pian ...

and

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

between 1930 and 1937, and also performed with some well-regarded bluesmen from the 1920s to the 1940s. Jordan played with

Peetie Wheatstraw William Bunch (December 21, 1902 – December 21, 1941), known as Peetie Wheatstraw, was an American musician, an influential figure among 1930s blues singers. Early life and career William Bunch was born in Ripley, Tennessee, in 1902, the s ...

Roosevelt Sykes Roosevelt Sykes (January 31, 1906July 17, 1983) was an American blues musician, also known as "the Honeydripper". Career Sykes was born the son of a musician in Elmar, Arkansas. "Just a little old sawmill town", Sykes said of his birthplace. The ...

, Casey Bill Weldon and

Memphis Minnie Lizzie Douglas (June 3, 1897 – August 6, 1973), better known as Memphis Minnie, was a blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter whose recording career lasted for over three decades. She recorded around 200 songs, some of the best known being " ...

. Noted for his "crisply firm guitar", he had most of his biggest hits, including "Keep It Clean", in the early to mid-1930s. Later in that decade and into the 1940s, he worked frequently with

Big Joe Williams Joseph Lee Williams (October 16, 1903 – December 17, 1982) was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar. Performing over five decades, he recorded the songs "Baby, Pl ...

Spinal injury

In 1928, Jordan was shot in the spine, this was due to his extramusical career as a bootlegger. This gave him a long term disability and caused him to walk with crutches thereafter (which can be seen in the few

photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, or more generically referred to as an ''image'' or ''picture'') is an image created by light falling on a photosensitivity, photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor. Th ...

s of Jordan available). Jordan died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

or violence in 1954 in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. The Killer Blues Headstone Project placed a headstone for Charley Jordan.

Discography

A partial discography is available online.

Songs

*"Big Four Blues" *"Got Your Water On Blues" *"Crazy With the Blues" *"Dollar Bill Blues" *"Honeysucker Blues" *"Hunkie Tunkie Blues" *"I Couldn't Stay Here" *"Just a Spoonful" *"Keep It Clean" *"Raidin' Squad Blues" *"Stack O'Dollars Blues"

Compilations

*1992 - ''Charlie Jordan Vol. 1, 1930 - 1931'' -

Document A document is a writing, written, drawing, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of nonfiction, non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ', which denotes ...

*1992 - ''Charlie Jordan Vol. 2, 1931 - 1934'' - Document *1992 - ''Charlie Jordan Vol. 3, 1935 - 1937'' - Document *2004 - ''The Essential Charley Jordan'' - Classic Blues

References

Other sources

* * ''Charlie Jordan Vol. 1, 1930 - 1931'' : sleeve notes on Charley Jordan

External links

Rokkets Discography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Charlie 1890 births 1954 deaths People from Pulaski County, Arkansas Country blues musicians American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Arkansas Vocalion Records artists Deaths from pneumonia in Missouri St. Louis blues musicians American bootleggers 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Arkansas 20th-century American male singers American male singer-songwriters