Chilton was born in London to working-class parents (his father was a musical hall comedian) and was evacuated to Northamptonshire, where he began playing the cornet at the age of 12. He switched to trumpet at 17 and after doing national service in the RAF (1950–1952) he formed his own jazz band, playing at Butlins in Skegness with a troupe that included comedian Dave Allen.
He worked in Bruce Turner's Jump Band[1] from 1958-1963. A movie of their exploits called Living Jazz (1961) was made by director Jack Gold. Chilton later appeared in Alex Welsh's Big Band. He played piano on some pop recordings in the 1960s while also working for Mike Daniels' Big Band. In the late 1960s, he formed his own Swing Kings band which backed some leading American jazz musicians who toured Britain, including Buck Clayton, Ben Webster, Bill Coleman and Charlie Shavers. He also recorded The Song of a Road, one of the radio ballads of folk singers Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger in the 1950s for the BBC.
He later worked with Wally Fawkes, also known as the cartoonist 'Trog', and in January 1974 formed John Chilton's Feetwarmers, who began accompanying British jazz singer and writer George Melly. Together they made records and toured the world for nearly 30 years including trips to America, Australia, China and New Zealand. In 1983 and 1984 they had their own BBC television series called Good Time George. They appeared on countless other TV shows, including Parkinson, The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club, Aspel, This is Your Life and Pebble Mill at One.
Chilton was also a songwriter and composer and one of his songs, "Give Her A Little Drop More", was used in the film St Elmo's Fire (1985), sung by the Hollywood Brat Pack including Demi Moore and Rob Lowe.
Chilton is one of the few European writers to win a Grammy Award for his album notes on Bunny Berigan (1983) and was runner-up for a further Grammy award in 2000. In the same year he won the British Jazz Award for 'Writer of the Year'. His Who's Who of Jazz was described by the poet Philip Larkin as "one of the essential jazz books". His books on Coleman Hawkins and Louis Jordan both won Chilton the American Association for Recorded Sound Collections' Award for Historical Recorded Sound Research. Jazz magazine Down Beat called him "a master of the craft of research". The Jazz Rag described Chilton as "one of the world's top jazz writers". For his books on Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong, he was given the freedom of New Orleans.
In March 2007, Northway Books published his autobiography, Hot Jazz, Warm Feet. John Chilton continued to play trumpet with the clarinetist Wally Fawkes in London until he died in 2016. Chilton is survived by three children and lived in London.
-Bibliography
Louis: The Louis Armstrong Story (with Max Jones)
Ride Red Ride - the Life of Henry 'Red' Allen
Roy Eldridge, Little Jazz Giant[4]
McKinney's Music - A bio-discography of McKinney's Cotton Pickers
A Jazz Nursery - The Story of Jenkins' Orphanage Band
Teach Yourself Jazz
Stomp Off, Let's Go: The Story of Bob Crosby's Bob Cats
Who's Who of Jazz
Let the Good Times Roll: The Story of Louis Jordan
Billie's Blues - A survey of Billie Holiday's Career
The Song of the Hawk - The Life and Recordings of Coleman Hawkins
Sidney Bechet - the Wizard of Jazz
Who's Who of British Jazz
Autobiography[edit]
Hot Jazz, Warm Feet. London: Northway Books, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9550908-3-7.
-Discography
Nuts (1972)
Son of Nuts (1973)
It's George (1974)
Making Whoopee (1982)
Best of Live (1995)
Anything Goes (1996)
Goodtime George
The Ultimate Melly, including guest Van Morrison (2006)
Georgia on My Mind
John Chilton's Feetwarmers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The whole day through
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind (Georgia on my mind)
I said Georgia
Georgia
A song of you
As moonlight through the pines
Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you
I said Georgia
Ooh Georgia, no peace I find
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind (Georgia on my mind)
Other arms reach out to me
Other eyes smile tenderly
Still in peaceful dreams I see
The road leads back to you
Whoa, Georgia
Georgia
No peace, no peace I find
Just this old, sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind
I said just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind
The song "Georgia On My Mind" by John Chilton's Feetwarmers is a heartfelt tribute to the state of Georgia and its significance to the songwriter. The repeated phrase "Georgia, Georgia, the whole day through" emphasizes the constant presence of the state in the songwriter's thoughts and emotions. The old sweet song mentioned in the lyrics serves as a sort of comfort or solace for the songwriter, allowing them to feel connected to Georgia even when they are physically separate from it.
The second verse of the song emphasizes the beauty of Georgia, comparing it to the sweet and clear sound of moonlight through the pines. The songwriter's love for Georgia is also apparent in the lines "Other arms reach out to me, other eyes smile tenderly, still in peaceful dreams I see, the road leads back to you", which suggest that even when the songwriter is with other people or in other places, they are always drawn back to Georgia in their imagination and memories.
Overall, "Georgia On My Mind" is a touching ode to the connection between a person and their home state. The song captures the powerful emotions and memories that can be evoked by a particular place, and the way that those feelings can stay with a person no matter where they go.
Line by Line Meaning
Georgia, Georgia
Thinking of my beloved state, Georgia
The whole day through
All day and night, Georgia remains on my mind
Just an old sweet song
A nostalgic melody that reminds me of Georgia
Keeps Georgia on my mind (Georgia on my mind)
This song continuously reminds me of Georgia
I said Georgia
I can't stop thinking about Georgia
Georgia
Referring to my love for the state of Georgia
A song of you
A song that reminds me of Georgia, my love
Comes as sweet and clear
The melody is sweet and crisp like air
As moonlight through the pines
The distinct natural beauty of Georgia is felt through the melody
Other arms reach out to me
Despite being away, I have other people around me
Other eyes smile tenderly
I receive love and kindness from others
Still in peaceful dreams I see
My dreams bring me to Georgia, my peaceful haven
The road leads back to you
The path of my mind and heart can only lead me back to Georgia
Ooh Georgia, no peace I find
Even though I am not there, I am incomplete without Georgia
Just an old sweet song
The melody is a constant reminder of the love I have for Georgia
Keeps Georgia on my mind
My memory of Georgia persists thanks to this song
Whoa, Georgia
Expressing my raw emotion for my love for Georgia
No peace, no peace I find
I won't feel complete until I return to Georgia, the place that brings me peace
Just this old, sweet song
This melody may be old, but it will always symbolize my love for Georgia
Keeps Georgia on my mind
This song keeps my mind fixated on Georgia continuously
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