Caldonia

"Caldonia"
Single by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five
B-side	"Somebody Done Changed the Lock on My Door"
Released	1945 (1945)
Recorded	January 19, 1945
Genre	Jump blues
Length	2:40
Label	Decca
Songwriter(s)	Fleecie Moore (credited)
Producer(s)	Milt Gabler

"Caldonia" is a jump blues song, first recorded in 1945 by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five. A version by Erskine Hawkins, also in 1945, was described by Billboard magazine as "right rhythmic rock and roll music".^[1]

The Blues Foundation states that "Louis Jordan was the biggest African-American star of his era" and that his "Caldonia" reached "the top of the Race Records chart, as it was known prior to the introduction of term Rhythm & Blues in 1949".^[2]

Louis Jordan recording[]

In 1942, Jordan had started on an unparalleled run of success on the Billboard Harlem Hit Parade (forerunner of the R&B chart), which by 1945 had included four number-one hits, and eventually made Jordan by far the most successful R&B chart act of the 1940s.^[3] "Caldonia" became his fifth number one on "Race Records" chart.^[3] It debuted on the chart in May 1945 and reached number one in June, where it stayed for seven weeks. On the pop chart, the song peaked at number six with the title "Caldonia Boogie".^[3][4]

The writing of the song is credited to Jordan's wife of the time, Fleecie Moore. However, it was written by Jordan, who used his wife's name to enable him to work with an additional music publisher. Jordan later commented, "Fleecie Moore's name is on it, but she didn't have anything to do with it. That was my wife at the time, and we put it in her name. She didn't know nothin' about no music at all. Her name is on this song and that song, and she's still getting money."^[5] However, by the time of that quote, Jordan and Moore had divorced after a number of arguments in which she had stabbed him with a knife. The lyrics include Jordan's trademark use of comedy:

Walkin' with my baby she's got great big feet
She's long, lean, and lanky and ain't had nothing to eat
She's my baby and I love her just the same
Crazy 'bout that woman 'cause Caldonia is her name

The verses conclude with the refrain:

Caldonia! Caldonia!
What makes your big head so hard?
I love her, I love her just the same
Crazy 'bout that woman 'cause Caldonia is her name

Jordan re-recorded the song in 1956,^[6] arranged by Quincy Jones with Mickey Baker on guitar.^[7] Jordan also filmed a "soundie" performance of the song for the musical short Caldonia, which was shown in movie theaters.^[8] He and the group also performed the song live on television.^[9]

"It's rooted in jazz," according to music journalist John Morrison. "The energy is very much rock and roll. And you can even hear the future of what would become rap music and hip-hop along with the beat of rock and roll."^[10]

Renditions by other artists[]

At the same time as Jordan's success, the song was also recorded both by Erskine Hawkins and Woody Herman. The issue of Billboard magazine for April 21, 1945, described Hawkins' version as "right rhythmic rock and roll music", possibly the first use of the term to describe a musical style, and pre-dating by 14 months a more often cited use of the words in a June 1946 description of "Sugar Lump" by Joe Liggins.^[11] Hawkins' version of "Caldonia", featuring piano and vocals by Ace Harris, reached number two on the Billboard R&B chart and number 12 on the pop chart.^[3] Herman's version, arranged by the young Neal Hefti, reached number two on the pop chart.^[12]

In 1949, a version by Sugar Chile Robinson reached number 14 on the R&B chart.^[13] Later, James Brown recorded the song, with an arrangement by Sammy Lowe, as his first release for Smash Records in 1964. It appeared at number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (the R&B chart was suspended at the time).^[14] It was also released in 2008 as part of the album Two Men with the Blues by Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis.

Influence[]

Several sources indicate that Little Richard was influenced by Louis Jordan. In fact, the artist said Caldonia was the first non-gospel song he learned; and the shriek on the Jordan record "sounds eerily like the vocal tone Little Richard would adopt" in addition to the "Jordan-style pencil-thin moustache".^[15][16]

In 2018, Jordan posthumously received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement.^[17] Jordan's recordings in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame include "Caldonia Boogie".^[18]

References[]

Sources[]

• Whitburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. ISBN 0-89820-068-7.