James Melvin "Jimmie" Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an Ameri… Read Full Bio ↴James Melvin "Jimmie" Lunceford (June 6, 1902 – July 12, 1947) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader in the swing era.
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.
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.
Marie
Jimmie Lunceford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I left her by the River Sainte Marie
We pledged our love until eternity
Along the pebbled pathway from her door
We kissed and then, we kissed again
And parted on the shore
The Angelus rang out across the sea
I saw her kneel and say a prayer for me
When winter's gone, and spring comes on
I'll meet her by the River Sainte Marie
We pledged our love until eternity
Along the pebbled pathway from her door
We kissed and then, we kissed again
And parted on the shore
The Angelus rang out across the sea
I saw her kneel and say a prayer for me
When winter's gone, and spring comes on
The lyrics of "By The River Sainte Marie" by Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra describe a bittersweet farewell and a hopeful promise of reunion. The singer recounts leaving his beloved by the River Sainte Marie, a symbolic location that represents their love and devotion. They share a tender moment, expressing their commitment to each other for eternity. As they kiss and separate on the shore, the sound of the Angelus, a Catholic call to prayer, resonates across the sea. The singer notices his love kneeling and praying for his well-being, emphasizing the depth of their connection.
The lyrics evoke a sense of longing and anticipation as the singer imagines their reunion. They envision a future where winter transforms into spring, a metaphor for hardships giving way to joy and renewal. The promise to meet again by the River Sainte Marie demonstrates their unwavering dedication to each other, despite being physically apart. The song captures the timeless theme of love and the enduring power of hope, ultimately leaving the listener with a sense of longing and a belief in the possibility of reunion and everlasting love.
Line by Line Meaning
I left her by the River Sainte Marie
I said goodbye to her near the River Sainte Marie
We pledged our love until eternity
We promised to love each other forever
Along the pebbled pathway from her door
We walked along the stony path away from where she lived
We kissed and then, we kissed again
We shared passionate kisses, time and time again
And parted on the shore
And we said our final goodbye at the shoreline
The Angelus rang out across the sea
The sound of the Angelus prayer echoed over the sea
I saw her kneel and say a prayer for me
I witnessed her kneeling down and offering a prayer for my well-being
When winter's gone, and spring comes on
When winter ends and spring arrives
I'll meet her by the River Sainte Marie
I will rendezvous with her once again by the River Sainte Marie
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Edgar Leslie, Harry Warren
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Robert Lukas
It truly doesn't get better than this.
MrJimmienoone
Wonderful, fiery intro by Willie Smith's alto.
Jonathan Pearl
It was Ted Buckner, not Willie.
Trombonology Erstwhile
I recall reading some comments on this record from arranger, Sy Oliver, my favorite: For the notes in the early '70's Time-Life Big Band series, he spoke about how he worked up this Lunceford band chart as a trombone and vocal feature for Trummy Young. "Margie," written in 1920 and titled after the daughter of Eddie Cantor, who popularized the number, was the only song with whose lyrics Trummy was really familiar, so that's why it was chosen. Sy spoke with admiration of Trummy's ability to play the difficult trombone solo flawlessly in take after take, when additional attempts were required due to issues unrelated to Trummy's performance. This great side must have given the trombonist and inexperienced vocalist confidence, because he went on to warble on a number of sides, in a variety of instrumental settings.
Thomas .Hennessey
Definitely a great showcase for Trummy and the tight organization that was the "Lunceford machine".
Jay Young
@Tromb...Thank you. Is that Young on trombone with Holiday singing "Trav'lin Light"? I see that he went to Glory in San Jose which is interesting because Ivie Anderson was born in a small town just south of San Jose named Gilroy. San Jose must have a very interesting history vis a vis black Americans. I did notice there is no such thing as a "black section" there.
Trombonology Erstwhile
@Jay Young Actually, though Trummy co-wrote the music for "Trav'lin' Light," the featured trombonist is high-note specialist, Skip Layton, from Whiteman's band, which accompanied Billie on that side. The story goes that she was very impressed with his playing. ... I hadn't known where Ivie Anderson hailed from. Duke had a number of fine vocalists through the decades but, for me, she was the best -- a unique tone and an always wonderful delivery, whether on hot tunes or ballads. ... Noticed the "Young" -- you wouldn't be related to Trummy, would you?
Jay Young
@Trombonology Erstwhile Thank you for the compliment. Not that I'm aware of am I related to Trummy, since we were born in different parts of the country, my beginnings starting in Texas. I should be so lucky to be related to someone of his stature from the world of music.
Yes, the timeless Duke Ellington had his share of fine vocalists, didn't he? I thought Joya Sherrill did a slam dunk with her rendition of "I didn't know about you," seemingly to this listener a hard song to pull off. And I do remember being equally impressed with Jo Stafford's reverse crossover in "Day Dream." I'll include at this time pop singer Teresa Brewer's collaboration with the Duke, too.
"Trommy," I do so wish we knew each other. You and I probably could talk the night away with memories of that fine period in music. But I will say this. If you haven't already done so, I do hope you put that prudent pen of yours to work on a collection of memories from that period, including your thoughts on Johnny Hodges' hip saxophone. Thank you again.
Trombonology Erstwhile
@Jay Young Yes, Jay, I feel the same -- I'm sure we would have a fine time discussing our shared musical enthusiasms. I don't actually have memories of this era, as I'm only 53 (it's nice in this context to be able to say "only"), but I have been listening to jazz, big band and swing since my early twenties, so I've had a few decades by now to become well acquainted with the music and its creators -- it's a real passion of mine.
I agree, Joya Sherrill did an excellent job on "I Didn't Know About You," as well as on "I'm Beginning To See The Light." ... Jo Stafford is my favorite vocalist, so, yeah, I'm always impressed by her work. I have yet to hear Teresa Brewer's album with Duke; I had always associated her with '50's pop material.
There have been many great alto saxophonists, but Johnny Hodges has always been my favorite. For me, his originality, sensual tone and expressive ability on both ballads and swing tunes have no equal. ... All the best, Jay!