Lunceford was born in Fulton, Mississippi. Little is known about his parents, though his father was a choirmaster in Warren, Ohio, before the family moved to Denver. Lunceford went to high school in Denver and studied music under Wilberforce J. Whiteman, father of Paul Whiteman, whose band was soon to acquire a national reputation. As a child in Denver, he learned several instruments. He played alto saxophone in the band led by the violinist George Morrison. After high school, Lunceford continued his studies at Fisk University. In 1922, he played alto saxophone in a local band led by George Morrison which included Andy Kirk, another musician destined for fame as a bandleader.
In 1927, while an athletic instructor at Manassas High School in Memphis, Tennessee, he organized a student band, the Chickasaw Syncopators, whose name was changed to the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra. Under the new name, the band started its professional career in 1929, and made its first recordings in 1930. Lunceford was the first high school band director in Memphis. After a period of touring, the band accepted a booking at the Harlem nightclub The Cotton Club in 1934 for their revue 'Cotton Club Parade' starring Adelaide Hall. The Cotton Club had already featured Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway, who won their first widespread fame from their inventive shows for the Cotton Club's all-white patrons. Lunceford's orchestra, with their tight musicianship and the often outrageous humor in their music and lyrics, made an ideal band for the club, and Lunceford's reputation began to steadily grow. Jimmie Luncefords band differed from other great bands of the time because their work was better known for its ensemble than its solo work. Additionally, he was known for using a two-beat rhythm, called the Lunceford two-beat, as opposed to the standard four-beat rhythm. This distinctive "Lunceford style" was largely the result of the imaginative arrangements by trumpeter Sy Oliver, which set high standards for dance-band arrangers of the time.
Though not well known as a musician, Jimmie Lunceford was trained on several instruments and was even featured on flute in "Liza".
Comedy and vaudeville played a distinct part in Lunceford's presentation. Songs such as "Rhythm Is Our Business" (featured in a 1937 musical short with Myra Johnson (Taylor) on vocals), "I'm Nuts about Screwy Music", "I Want the Waiter (With the Water)", and "Four or Five Times" displayed a playful sense of swing, often through clever arrangements by trumpeter Sy Oliver and bizarre lyrics. Lunceford's stage shows often included costumes, skits, and obvious jabs at mainstream white bands, such as Paul Whiteman's and Guy Lombardo's.
Despite the band's comic veneer, Lunceford always maintained professionalism in the music befitting a former teacher; this professionalism paid off and during the apex of swing in the 1930s, the Orchestra was considered the equal of Duke Ellington's, Earl Hines' or Count Basie's. This precision can be heard in such pieces as "Wham (Re-Bop-Boom-Bam)", "Lunceford Special", "For Dancers Only", "Uptown Blues", and "Stratosphere". The band's noted saxophone section was led by alto sax player Willie Smith. Lunceford often used a conducting baton to lead his band.
The orchestra began recording for the Decca label and later signed with the Columbia subsidiary Vocalion in 1938. They toured Europe extensively in 1937, but had to cancel a second tour in 1939 because of the outbreak of World War II. Columbia dropped Lunceford in 1940 because of flagging sales. (Oliver departed the group before the scheduled European tour to take a position as an arranger for Tommy Dorsey). Lunceford returned to the Decca label. The orchestra appeared in the 1941 movie Blues in the Night.
Most of Lunceford's sidemen were underpaid and left for better paying bands, leading to the band's decline.
On July 12, 1947, while playing in Seaside, Oregon, Lunceford collapsed and died from cardiac arrest during an autograph session, aged 45. Allegations and rumors circulated that he had been poisoned by a fish-restaurant owner who was unhappy at having to serve a "Negro" in his establishment. This story is given credence by the fact other members of Lunceford's band who ate at this restaurant were sick within hours of the meal. He was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis.
Band members, notably Eddie Wilcox and Joe Thomas kept the band going for a time but finally had to break up the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra in 1949.
In 1999, band-leader Robert Veen and a team of musicians set out to acquire permission to use the original band charts and arrangements of the Jimmie Lunceford canon. 'The Jimmie Lunceford Legacy Orchestra' officially debuted in July 2005 at the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands.
The Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival was founded in 2007 by Ron Herd II a.k.a. R2C2H2 Tha Artivist and Artstorian, with the aim of increasing recognition of Lunceford's contribution to jazz, particularly in Memphis, Tennessee. The Jimmie Lunceford Legacy Awards was created by the Jimmie Lunceford Jamboree Festival to honor exceptional musicians with Memphis ties as well as those who have dedicated their careers to excellence in music and music education.
His music continues to have an impact. Most recently the tune "Rhythm is Our Business" was included as track on the compilation set Memphis Jazz Box in 2004 in honor of Lunceford's close ties to Memphis.
On July 19, 2009, a brass note was dedicated to Lunceford on Beale Street, Memphis, Tennessee.
Selected discography
Prior to Lunceford's success on Decca (beginning September 1934), he made the following recordings:
"In Dat Mornin'"/"Sweet Rhythm" (Victor V-38141)- recorded Memphis, June 6, 1930
"Flaming Reeds and Screaming Brass"/"While Love Lasts" (Columbia tests - not issued until the late 1960s on LP) - recorded New York, May 15, 1933
"Jazznocracy"/"Chillun, Get Up" (Victor 24522) - recorded New York, January 26, 1934
"White Heat"/"Leaving Me" (Victor 24586) - recorded New York, January 26, 1934
"Breakfast Ball"/"Here Goes" (Victor 24601) - recorded New York, March 20, 1934
"Swingin' Uptown"/"Remember When" (Victor 24669) - recorded New York, March 20, 1934
The Decca recordings
Stomp It Off (1934-1935 Decca recordings) (CD: GRP, 1992)
For Dancers Only (1935-1937 Decca recordings) (CD: GRP, 1994)
Swingsation (1935-1939 Decca recordings) (CD: GRP, 1998)
Like a Ship at Sea (1935-1939 Decca recordings)
Columbia recordings[edit]
Lunceford Special (1939 Columbia recordings) (LP: 1956, expanded issue late 1960s, CD: Columbia Legacy, 2001)
Modern CD compilations from different recording labels[edit]
Rhythm Is Our Business (1933–1940, both Decca and Columbia periods successively) (ASV, 1992)
Jukebox Hits: 1937-1947 (Acrobat, 2005)
Life Is Fine or Quadromania (Membran/Quadromania Jazz, 2006)
Trivia[edit]
The Chickasaw Syncopators made a single 78 record on December 13, 1927 in Memphis (but without Lunceford); it was issued on Columbia 14301-D.
Blues in the Night
Jimmie Lunceford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I was in knee pants
My mama done tol' me
Son! A woman'll sweet talk
And give ya the big eye
But when the sweet talkin's done
A woman's a two face
A worrisome thing
The blues in the night
Now the rain's a fallin'
Hear the train a collin'
Whoo-ee (my mama done tol' me)
Hear dat lonesome whistle
Blowin' cross the trestle
Whoo-ee (my mama done tol' me)
A whoo-ee-duh-whoo-ee, ol' clickety clack's
A echoin' back th' blues in the night
The evenin' breeze'll start the trees to cryin'
And the moon'll hide its light
When you get the blues in the night
Take my word, the mockin' bird'll
Sing the saddest kind o' song
He knows things are wrong and he's right
From Natchez to Mobile
From Memphis to St. Joe
Wherever the four winds blow
I been in some big towns
An' heard me some big talk
But there is one thing I know
A woman's a two face
A worrisome thing
Who'll leave ya t'sing the blues in the night
My mama was right, there's blues in the night
The lyrics of Jimmie Lunceford's "Blues in the Night" remind us of the mother's advice to her son about women. She cautions him about sweet-talking women who may show an interest in him, but in reality, are two-faced and can leave him feeling blue. Indeed, even the rain, the passing train, and the lonely whistle seem to echo back the blues in the night. The evening breeze crying trees, the moon hiding its light all signify that when one is afflicted by the blues in the night, everything around begins to appear gloomy. The mockingbird sings a sad song, and the singer feels that he has been in many big towns and big talks but nothing compares to the feeling of being left blue by a woman.
The song explores the theme of pain and suffering, which is all too familiar in the art of Blues music. The singer is left with the blues, which is a metaphor for having a feeling of sadness, depression, or a sense of loneliness. He uses Blues in the Night as a way of describing the depth of the emotional turmoil he's going through. The mother's advice about women also reveals the struggles women faced in that era, where they had to deal with the label of being two-faced to protect themselves from the tyranny of men. Thus, the song is not only about a man's heartbreak, but it also reflects the patriarchy and sexism that perpetuated then.
Line by Line Meaning
My mama done tol' me
My mother previously told me
When I was in knee pants
When I was very young
Son! A woman'll sweet talk
Son! Women may sound persuasive
And give ya the big eye
And flirt with you
But when the sweet talkin's done
But once the flirting ends
A woman's a two face
A woman can change her ways quite suddenly
A worrisome thing
This can be very concerning
Who'll leave ya t'sing
And leave you to sing
The blues in the night
The blues late at night
Now the rain's a fallin'
Rain comes down heavily now
Hear the train a collin'
Notice the train whistle blowing
Whoo-ee (my mama done tol' me)
Whoo-ee (my mother told me about this)
Hear dat lonesome whistle
Listen to that lonely train whistle
Blowin' cross the trestle
Blowing over the railroad bridge
A whoo-ee-duh-whoo-ee, ol' clickety clack's
A whoo-ee-duh-whoo-ee, the old sound of trains is
A echoin' back th' blues in the night
Echoing back the melancholy blues of the night
The evenin' breeze'll start the trees to cryin'
The evening breeze might make the trees sound like they're crying
And the moon'll hide its light
The moon may be obscured in a dark sky
When you get the blues in the night
When you're feeling down with the blues late at night
Take my word, the mockin' bird'll
Listen to what I know, the mockingbird will
Sing the saddest kind o' song
Perform the most sorrowful songs
He knows things are wrong and he's right
It knows there are problems and understands them
From Natchez to Mobile
From Natchez to Mobile
From Memphis to St. Joe
From Memphis to St. Joe
Wherever the four winds blow
Wherever the wind goes
I been in some big towns
I've been to some major cities
An' heard me some big talk
And encountered some boastful conversation
But there is one thing I know
However, I know
A woman's a two face
A woman can be a deceptive person
A worrisome thing
This is concerning
Who'll leave ya t'sing the blues in the night
Who'll leave you to sing melancholy blues late at night
My mama was right, there's blues in the night
My mother was correct, there are melancholy blues late at night
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HAROLD ARLEN, JOHNNY MERCER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@joshuatree28
I grew up listening to this version. My favorite.
@bychkovigor9552
Thanks very much!!!! It's the best virsion Blues in the night!
@janegardener1662
Love this version!
@captainahmethakantunckol5307
En iyi versiyonlardan kesinlikle