In 1928 (on his 25th birthday) Hines began leading his own big band. For over 10 years his was "The Band" in Al Capone's Grand Terrace Cafe — Hines was Capone's "Mr Piano Man". Hines recorded for Victor in 1929, then after a gap for Brunswick from 1932-1934, Decca from 1934-1935, then after another gap, Vocalion from 1937-1938 and Bluebird from 1939-1942 (nearly all among the best Black Jazz of the era). From the Grand Terrace, The Earl Hines Orchestra (or "Organization" as he more happily referred to it) broadcast on "open mikes", sometimes five nights a week and over many years, coast to coast across America — Chicago being well placed to deal with the U.S. live-broadcasting time-zone problem. Hines's band became the most broadcast band in America. Sometimes Nat "King" Cole was Hines's relief pianist (though Cliff Smalls was his favorite) and it was here with Hines that Charlie Parker got his first professional job...until he was fired for his time-keeping — by which Hines meant Parker's inability to show up on time despite Parker resorting to sleeping under the Grand Terrace stage in his attempts to do so. Hines led his big band until 1947, taking time out to front the Duke Ellington orchestra in 1944 while Duke was ill...but the big-band era was over. (Thirty years later, Hines's 20 solo "transformative versions" of his "Earl Hines Plays Duke Ellington" recorded in the 1970s were described by Ben Ratliff in the "New York Times" as "as good an example of the jazz process as anything out there".)
At the start of 1949 Hines rejoined Armstrong in the latter's "All Stars" "small band", where Hines stayed through 1951. He then led his own small combo around the States and Europe. At the start of the jazz-lean 1960s he settled in Oakland, California, opened a tobacconist's, and came close to giving up the profession. Then, in 1964 Hines was "suddenly rediscovered" following a series of concerts in New York. He was the 1965 "Critics' Choice" for Down Beat Magazine's "Hall of Fame". From then till he died he recorded endlessly both solo and with jazz notables like Cat Anderson, Buck Clayton, Roy Eldridge, Ella Fitzgerald, Paul Gonsalves, Sonny Greer, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, Johnny Hodges, Budd Johnson, Jimmy Rushing, Stuff Smith, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Venuti and Ben Webster. Possibly more surprising were Elvin Jones, Peggy Lee, Charles Mingus, Dinah Washington — and Ry Cooder. But his most acclaimed recordings of this period were his dazzling and endlessly inventive solo performances, which could show him at his very best, "a whole orchestra by himself".[12] Solo tributes to Louis Armstrong, Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin were all put on record in the 1970s. Hines also toured Europe again regularly at this time, and added Asia, Australia and the Soviet Union to his list of State Department–funded destinations. At the top of his form, Hines also displayed his endearing quirks (not to say grunts) in these performances. Sometimes he sang as he played, especially his own "They Never Believed I Could Do It - Neither Did I". In 1975 he made an hour-long "solo" film for British TV out-of-hours in a Washington nightclub: the "New York Herald Tribune" described it as "The greatest jazz-film ever made". He played solo in The White House and played solo for the Pope — and played (and sang) his last job a few days before he died in Oakland, quite likely somewhat older than he had always maintained.
Jelly jelly
Earl Hines Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hello baby, I had to call you on the phone
`Cause I feel so lonesome
And daddy wants his baby home
It's a down-right rotten,
Low down dirty shame
It's a down right rotten
The way that you're treatin' poor me
I know I'm not to blame
Jelly jelly jelly
Jelly stays on my mind
Jelly jelly jelly
Jelly stays on my mind
Jelly roll killed my pappy,
And wrung my mama stone blind.
The lyrics to Earl Hines's song Jelly Jelly describe a sense of profound loneliness and longing. The singer is calling his baby on the phone, hoping to hear her voice and feel a sense of connection that he is currently missing. He expresses his desperation in lines such as, "I feel so lonesome / And daddy wants his baby home." At the same time, the song also conveys a sense of injustice. The singer emphasizes his own innocence, declaring that he is not to blame for the way that his lover has treated him. Specifically, he describes the treatment as a "down-right rotten, / Low down dirty shame."
The lyrics take a somewhat unexpected turn in the third verse, when the singer introduces the subject of "jelly." The phrase "jelly jelly jelly" is repeated several times, indicating that this is something that is on his mind constantly. He then drops a bombshell, claiming that "jelly roll killed my pappy, / And wrung my mama stone blind." This creates a sense of mystery and intrigue, as we are left to wonder what exactly he means by "jelly roll" and how it could have caused such harm to his family.
Overall, Jelly Jelly is a song that speaks to the universal human experience of loneliness and longing. It also touches on themes of justice and mystery, leaving listeners with plenty to contemplate and interpret.
Line by Line Meaning
Hello baby, I had to call you on the phone
I am feeling lonely and wanted to talk to you
Cause I feel so lonesome
I am feeling very sad and lonely
And daddy wants his baby home
I want you to come back home to me
It's a down-right rotten,
It's really bad
Low down dirty shame
It's a terrible disgrace
The way that you're treatin' poor me
The way you're treating me is awful
I know I'm not to blame
I know I'm not responsible for this situation
Jelly jelly jelly
Jelly is always on my mind
Jelly stays on my mind
I can't stop thinking about jelly
Jelly roll killed my pappy,
My father died because of his love for jelly
And wrung my mama stone blind.
My mother went blind because of jelly
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: EARL HINES, WILLIAM ECKSTEIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@hilmarwensorra1215
In very loving memory of Mr. B (1914 - 1993 R.I.P. Gone but NOT forgotten).
@chuckdieselkicksdisks2380
Very cool he's a local Pittsburgh Legend and to see the original spelling of his last name is also very neat
@georgec.6871
EARL HINES & HIS ORCHESTRA Hollywood, Dec. 2, 1940
Harry “Pee Wee” Jackson, Rostelle Reese, Leroy White (tp), Joe McLewis, John Ewing, Edward Fant (tb), Scoops Carry, Leroy Harris (cl, as), Willie Randall, Budd Johnson, Franz Jackson (ts), Earl Hines (p, ldr), Hurley Ramey (g), Truck Parham (b), Alvin Burroughs (dm), Billy Eckstine, Madeline Greene (vo). Classic sound! Scoops Carry (as) solo.
@Parlezvouscrochet
Whose here from Sanford n Son??
@mwash52
Actually this is music mention by Iceberg Slim, in his autobiography. Pimp: The story of my life. Red Fox was Detroit Redd. A gangster/thug in Chicago hanging with Malcolm Little aka Malcolm X.
@henridelagardere264
2:35 "Jelly roll killed my pappy, it wrung my mammy stone blind." With an unforgettable final couplet like that we have, for once, to remind ourselves of the musicians behind Mister B. Altoist Scoops Carey, who once named this as his own favorite solo, later went to law school and established himself in Chicago, representing a. o. Local 208 AFM (the black musicians' union). A fascinating and inspiring time, years of real advancement, in Mr. Carey's case the '50s and '60s, for he died at the age of only 55 in 1970. Many years later, I got to meet several musicians of the AACM, who told me about their formative years in Bronzeville, and how fertile the intergenerational exchange was, with oldtimers of Scoops' and earlier vintage passing on their musical knowledge as well as loads of stories and anecdotes to the increasingly woke young'uns. I can't remember whether his name was dropped or not, but I can clearly hear the rich musical heritage in even the rather abstract ventures of the AACM. Having said that, I'm happy to find this ageless recording among the more ephemeral Kysers and Kayes. I really wish Earl Hines, who seems to be getting not enough airtime (or podtime) these days, would get full attention and recognition. His fingers spanned two octaves, and his artistic influence several generations. Whether the list of greatest pianists is ten names long or only five, he's on it.