Rosco N. Gordon III (April 10, 1928 – July 11, 2002), sometimes billed as Roscoe Gordon, was an American

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 Afr ...

singer, pianist, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit songs "Booted," (1952), " No More Doggin'" (1952), and " Just a Little Bit" (1960). Gordon was a pioneer of the Memphis blues style. He played piano in a style known as the "Rosco rhythm," with the emphasis on the

off-beat ''Off-Beat'' is a 1960 album by American jazz vocalist June Christy, arranged and conducted by Pete Rugolo. The tracks on the album were included on a 1997 double-CD re-issue under the title ''The Song Is June!'' Critical reception AllMusic wro ...

. This rhythm was an influence on later musical styles such as Jamaican ska and reggae.

Biography

Gordon was born in Memphis, Tennessee on April 10, 1928, the youngest of eight children. He learned to play piano from his sister who took lessons. Gordon became associated with Johnny Ace, Bobby Bland and B.B. King, sometimes referred to as the Beale Streeters. In 1946, Gordon moved to Chicago "after getting in trouble in Memphis." He returned to Memphis in 1949, and won first place at an amateur show at the Palace Theatre on Beale Street in 1950. Emcee of the show

Rufus Thomas Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Rec ...

invited Gordon to play on his radio show at WDIA. Soon after, Gordon had his own show as well. In 1951, WDIA manager, David Mattis, introduced Gordon to producer Sam Phillips. Around this time, Gordon was scouted by Ike Turner, talent scout for the Bihari brothers, to record for

Modern Records Modern Records (Modern Music Records before 1947) was an American record company and label formed in 1945 in Los Angeles by the Bihari brothers. Modern's artists included Etta James, Joe Houston, Little Richard, Ike & Tina Turner and John Lee ...

. His first hit single, "Saddled the Cow (and Milk the Horse)," released on RPM Records (subsidiary of Modern) reached No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. Gordon's next single "Booted" was recorded at Phillips'

Memphis Recording Service Sun Studio is a recording studio opened by rock-and-roll pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label ...

. Phillips licensed the record to the Chess brothers at

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

, which was released as a single in December 1951. Gordon also recorded a version for the Biharis brothers at RPM, released in January 1952. The RPM release reached number-one on the ''Billboard'' R&B record chart in March 1952. The Chess and the Bihari brothers later settled the conflict, with the Biharis getting exclusive rights to Gordon and Chess signing Howlin' Wolf to an exclusive contract. For years, Gordon did not receive

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

for his songs. "Sam Phillips gave me one hundred dollars. One hundred. No royalties. No nothin'. But, I did it for the Biharis, now they gave me six hundred dollars. No royalties. No nothin'. But like I say, I didn't know any better," he said. Gordon also had a successful record with " No More Doggin'" (No. 2 R&B) which was also released by RPM in 1952. Between 1952 and 1959, Gordon released numerous singles on Duke, Sun,

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, and Vee-Jay Records. His last single to reach the charts was " Just a Little Bit" (No. 2 R&B, No. 64 Pop) in 1960. He was paid $250 for the song which became an R&B standard, covered by the Beatles,

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

, Elvis Presley, and Jerry Butler. Gordon didn't receive royalties from the millions of copies sold in cover versions, because producer Ralph Bass at King Records stole the song from a demo Rosco sent and had it copyrighted before him. In the late 1950s, Gordon toured internationally, reaching South America and the Caribbean, where his off-beat rhythmic technique influenced the sound of early ska and reggae. In 1962, Gordon quit the music industry and moved to Queens, New York with his new wife, where he purchased a partnership in a laundry business after winning a

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

game with a pair of deuces. In 1969, Gordon formed his own label, Bab-Roc, operated from his home, but he did not perform again until 1981. In 1983, he released the album ''Rosco Rocks Again'', recorded live at the

100 Club The 100 Club is a music venue located at 100 Oxford Street, London, England, where it has been hosting live music since 24 October 1942. It was originally called the Feldman Swing Club, but changed its name when the father of the current owner ...

in London. Following his wife's death in 1984, he returned to touring. In 2000, Gordon teamed up with blues guitarist Duke Robillard to release the album ''Memphis Tennessee''. In 2002, Gordon was invited by the filmmaker Richard Pearce to be included in a documentary film about several blues musicians returning to Memphis for a tribute to Sam Phillips in conjunction with the May 2002

W.C. Handy Award WC or wc may refer to: * Water closet or flush toilet Arts and entertainment * W.C. (film), ''W.C.'' (film), an Irish feature film * WC (band), a Polish punk rock band * WC (rapper), a rapper from Los Angeles, California * Westside Connectio ...

s. The documentary, ''

The Road to Memphis ''The Road To Memphis'' is a documentary directed by Richard Pearce. The film is part of ''The Blues'', a seven part PBS series, with Martin Scorsese as the executive producer. Synopsis ''The Road To Memphis'' follows the career of Blues mus ...

'', aired on PBS television. Six weeks after filming finished, Gordon died at the age of 74 from a heart attack at his apartment in Rego Park, Queens on July 11, 2002. He was survived by three daughters, Victoria, Deborah, and Ruby; three sons, Marrc, Rosco III, and Keith; a sister, Ella Gordon Jefferson; and 10 grandchildren. He was interred in the Rosedale Cemetery in

Linden, New Jersey Linden is a city in southeastern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area, located about southwest of Manhattan and bordering Staten Island, a borough of New York City, across the Arthur Kill ...

Discography

Albums

* 1983: ''Rosco Rocks Again'' ( JSP Records) * 2000: ''Memphis Tennessee'' (

Stony Plain Records Stony Plain Records is a Canadian independent record label, which specializes in roots music genres such as country, folk, and blues. The label has released more than 300 albums. History Stony Plain was founded by Holger Petersen and Alvin Jahns ...

) * 2004: ''No Dark in America'' ( Dualtone Records)

Compilations

* 1977: ''The Legendary Sun Performers: Rosco Gordon'' ( Charly Records) * 1980: ''The Best of Rosco Gordon Volume One'' ( Ace Records) * 1982: ''Volume 2: The Memphis Sessions'' (Ace Records) * 1993: ''Just a Little Bit'' ( Vee-Jay Records) * 1996: ''Rosco's Rhythm'' (Charly Records) * 1998: ''Bootin' (The Best of the RPM Years)'' (Ace Records) * 2004: ''A Proper Introduction to Rosco Gordon - No More Doggin ( Proper Records) * 2009: ''Let's Get High: The Man About Music From Memphis'' (JSP Records) * 2016: ''Just A Little Bit'' ( Jasmine Records)

References

External links

Rosco Gordon
on AllMusic
PBS website for ''The Road to Memphis''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Rosco 1928 births 2002 deaths African-American pianists Memphis blues musicians American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American blues pianists American male pianists Sun Records artists Chess Records artists Charly Records artists RPM Records (United States) artists Vee-Jay Records artists Duke Records artists Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee Singer-songwriters from Tennessee 20th-century American pianists African-American male songwriters 20th-century African-American male singers African-American male singer-songwriters