The Legends of the Rocking Dutchman - episode 124

Aladdin 3000 series, 1948

This transcript of the radio show is an approximation of what I said in the show. The real spoken parts may differ slightly.

And today I'll be exploring some releases of the Aladdin from 1948 on their brand new 3000 series. I did more sets on Aladdin before, and well it's been quite a while but last time I left you with the end of a series that started as 101 and ended with a release number 212 at the end of 1947. Now 1948 of course was the year of the ban on recording of the American Federation of musicians so most releases for today's set actually have been recorded in '47. Most labels had organized themselves a recording frenzy that yielded so many masters that they kept on releasing them at full speed in '48, but Aladdin had remarkably few activity that year.

But let's not just talk but play the music 'cause that's what you came here for, and I start with number 3001 in the collection. It's an instrumental of Illinois Jacket. Here is Illinois Blows The Blues.

01 - 3001 - Illinois Jacquet Quintet - Illinois Blows The Blues
02 - 3002 - Bob Merrell - You Took My Woman

You Took My Woman and that was Bob Merrell, a trumpeter and singer who'd worked with Cootie Williams before, and here for Aladdin he had a single for his own - backed up by a combo that included Count Hastings and Sonny Payne. This Bob Merrell is another person as the one who became famous for composing novelty songs in the fifties, like If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake and How Much Is That Doggie in the Window.

This was 3002 of Aladdin's new 3000 series that had started in 1948 as their new main series - the old series that ran from 101 when the label still was named Philo, to 212 at some time got to bear the imprint Jazz series on it. Still the 3000 series was the logical successor to that old one with the same artists on the roster and most of them you'd call them Rhythm & Blues rather than jazz. Though some artists really had left the blues behind them and got themselves to concentrate on the more serious jazz - like Lester Young who opened this new 3000 series with an instrumental version of the Sheikh of Araby backed with East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon, and that's the tune that you hear in the background right now. He's has become one of the greats of jazz but his style had grown too much away for what I play here on the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman.

Next an unsung hero of Rhythm & Blues, guitarist Jimmy 'Babyface' Lewis and on this one, he does a neat blues. On Aladdin number 3003 you'll get Lonesome Road and after that, number 3004 that's also of Lewis, with the title Josephine.

03 - 3003 - Jimmy Baby Face Lewis - Lonesome Road
04 - 3004 - Jimmy Baby Face Lewis - Josephine

(jingle)

05 - 3005 - Lightnin' Hopkins - Short Haired Woman
06 - 3006 - Coleman Hawkins - Bean-A Re-Bop

And another great jazz saxophonist who'd shown his interest in the bebop movement. You heard Bean-A Re-Bop backed by the tune that you're getting in the background right now, The Way You Look Tonight, on Aladdin number 3006.

Before that you got the guitar and voice of Lightnin' Hopkins with his typical way of talking his country style blues. Sam Hopkins had been taken from Houston to L.A. by Aladdin scout Lola Ann Cullum where he was dubbed 'Lightnin' when he did his first recordings together with Wilson 'Thunder' Smith. The nickname stuck and I think it fit well with the fiery, biting blues Hopkins could play.

After his Aladdin time he returned to Houston and his appearances outside Texas have been rare in the late forties and fifties. When rock 'n roll hit the nation, Hopkins was bound to be forgotten but the folk and blues revival brought him to the spotlights again as a true hero of the blues.

Next on Aladdin 3009 Crown Prince Waterford. Solomon Charles Waterford most of his time was based in Chicago but he had been on the west coast before, as the vocalist in Jay McShann's band and by then he'd recorded some sides for Philo - Aladdin's forerunner. Upon his second time in L.A. he did another session with his old label and this Washboard Blues was one of the outcomes.

07 - 3009 - Crown Prince Waterford - Washboard Blues
08 - 3011 - Illinois Jacket - Goofin' Off

Goofin' Off of saxophonist Illinois Jacket - the tenor saxman who popularized the honking style of saxophone playing with his solo performance in Lionel Hampton's band in Flying Home in 1942. This was on Aladdin 3011 and on 3012 we find Gene Ammons with a follow-up tune of his famous instrumental Red Top from 1947. Here is Blowin' Red's Top.

09 - 3012 - Gene Ammons - Blowin' Red's Top
10 - 3013 - Big Joe Turner - Low Down Dog

The Low Down Dog of Big Joe Turner and that, backed by Morning Glory was on Aladdin number 3013. Turner re-recorded both sides while he was signed to Atlantic in the mid-fifties, when he suddenly saw a revival in interest in him and he was crowned as a star of Rock 'n Roll. Turner stated that he still sang the same music but it got a new name, and well, in his case he was right as the re-recordings sound remarkably similar to the originals. Most Rhythm & Blues singers though, they saw their career ended by the rock 'n roll fad. There's no real good explanation why Turner survived and for instance Wynonie Harris, Roy Brown or Amos Milburn didn't, other maybe than the marketing efforts of the Atlantic staff who seemed to be able to give middle-aged Turner an new image of cool to the rock 'n roll teenagers.

And speaking of Amos Milburn, well 1948 definitely was his year that started with the number one hit Chicken Shack Boogie on Aladdin 3014.

11 - 3014 - Amos Milburn - Chicken Shack Boogie
12 - 3015 - Lightnin' Hopkins - Picture On The Wall

And on Aladdin 3015 we find Lightnin' Hopkins once more. The Picture On The Wall and what a wonderful minor key blues that is.

Next a vocal group that existed both as a gospel quarted named the Trumpeteers, and for their secular music they were named the Four Rockets. They were from Baltimore, and they cut two singles for Aladdin. On 3017 is their second single, titled Loch Lomond.

13 - 3017 - The Four Rockets - Loch Lomond
14 - 3018 - Amos Milburn - Bewildered

Bewildered - Amos Milburn's version of Teddy Powell's composition that originally was a major hit for Tommy Dorsey's where it was a pretty lighthearted arrangement. The version of Red Miller was a number one hit earlier in December of 1948 for Red Miller, and this version hit number one on the Rhythm & Blues hit list at Christmas of that year. It was this version that was the basis for James Brown's hit version in 1959 - another memorable version. Well you can say that Miller and Milburn revived the interest for the song and made it a Rhythm & Blues classic.

Next Charles Brown who'd left Johnny Moore's Three Blazers in 1948 to start out on his own hoping he would get the recognition he didn't get at the Three Blazers. And he did - as well as that he developed his own style, away from the copy of Nat King Cole's style. This is still pretty close to what he did with Johnny Moore though, and quite close to Cole's style. Through the years his songs grew more troublesome - and closer to the meaning of the blues I think. Here is, on Aladdin 3020, Get Yourself Another Fool.

15 - 3020 - Charles Brown - Get Yourself Another Fool
16 - 3023 - Amos Milburn - Hold Me Baby

(jingle)

17 - 3025 - Jay McShann - Cover Up
18 - 3027 - Saunders King - Little Girl

And four in a row ended this special on the Aladdin 3000 series of 1948 and a little bit of '49. After Charles Brown you got Amos Milburn, whose band got the name of the Aladdin Chicken Shackers after his hit of December of '48, and this song was with Hold me Baby. Then after the jingle, that instrumental. that was the band of Jay Mcshann with Cover Up. And then I managed to squeeze another one in, the Little Girl of Saunders King and that was number 3027 in Aladdin's catalog.

Despite the meagre outcome of 1948 Aladdin had managed to become one of the great labels of the Rhythm & Blues and today's set pretty much proves that. I hope you liked today's show - of course you can let me know and provide your feedback to rockingdutchman@rocketmail.com. And to find out what'll be on the menu for next week I'll have to send you to my website, that you easily find by typing The Legends Of The Rocking Dutchman in your favorite search engine. On my site you also can read today's story and review the playlist.

As for now, time's up so have a rocking day and remember - don't get them blues, just enjoy 'em. See you next time, here on The Legends Of The Rocking Dutchman!