People, Locations, Episodes

Mercer Ellington, Composer, and Arranger born

*Mercer Ellington was born on this date in 1919. He was a Black musician, composer, and arranger. Mercer Kennedy Ellington was born in Washington, D.C.   He was the only child of the composer, pianist, and bandleader Duke Ellington and Edna Thompson. He grew up primarily in Harlem from the age of eight. Ellington attended New College for the Education of […]

Luther Henderson, Musical Director born

*The birth of Luther Henderson in 1919 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black musical director, dance arranger, and orchestra composer from Kansas City, Missouri.

Nat King Cole, Musician, and Singer born

*This date remembers Nat King Cole, born in 1919. He was an African American musician and singer.

Nathaniel Adams Cole was born in Montgomery, Alabama, but grew up in Chicago. In 1937, after touring with a Black musical revue, he began playing in jazz clubs in Los Angeles. There he formed the King Cole Trio, with guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Wesley Prince, in 1939. With his compact, syncopated backup chords and clean, spare, melodic phrases, Cole emphasized the piano as a solo, rather than a rhythm, instrument in his jazz arrangements.

The National Association of Negro Musicians is Formed

*The National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) was formed on this date in 1919. They are one of the oldest organizations in the United States dedicated to the preservation, encouragement, and advocacy of all genres of the music of African Americans.   NANM started in Washington, D.C., at a temporary initial conference of “Negro” musicians […]

Irv Williams, Saxophonist born

*Irv Williams was born on this date in 1919.   He is a Black jazz musician and educator.  From Cincinnati, Ohio, he is one of two children of LeRoy and Georgia Williams (both educators) and has a sister, Sibyl.  He was named after his grandfather, educator and activist Irving Garland Penn, whom he always admired. He […]

Art Blakey, Musician, and Bandleader born

*Art Blakey was born on this date in 1919. This African American man was one of the finest musicians and band leaders in the history of jazz.

Lillian Green, Blues Singer born

*Lillian Green was born on this date in 1919. She was a Black blues singer and songwriter. She was born in Mississippi, but after the early deaths of her parents, she went to Chicago, where she began performing in her teens and where she would make all her recordings. Lil Green was noted for superb timing and […]

The Roseland Ballroom Opens in New York City

*The opening of the Roseland Ballroom in New York occurred on this date in 1919.  This was a multipurpose hall where Black singers and musicians performed. Roseland was founded in Philadelphia in 1917 by Louis Brecker with financing from Frank Yuengling of the D. G. Yuengling & Son beer family.   In 1919, to escape Philadelphia’s […]

Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith, Musician born

*Willie “Big Eyes” Smith was born on this date in 1920. He was a Black musician (Harp and Drums). From Helena, Arkansas, his grandparents, who were sharecroppers outside of town on the Epps Plantation, raised him.   His connection to the Blues had many coincidences that linked him to his present life. Robert Nighthawk had a […]

Carmen McRae, Jazz Singer born

*Carmen McRae was born on this date in 1920. She was a Black jazz vocalist and pianist.

John Lewis, Pianist, and Composer born

John Lewis was born on this date in 1920. He was an African American jazz and classic composer and keyboardist.

Marie Knight, Singer born

*Marie Knight was born on this date in 1920. She was a Black gospel and R&B singer. Marie Roach was born in either Attapulgus, Georgia, or Sanford, Florida, but she grew up in Newark, New Jersey. Her father was a construction worker, and the family belonged to the Church of God in Christ. She first […]

Hazel Scott, Singer, Actress, and Musician born

Hazel Scott was born on this date in 1920. She was an African American singer, actress, and musician.

John Lee Hooker, Boogie Blues Musician born

*On this date in 1917, John Lee Hooker was born. He was an African American blues singer and pioneer of the art form.

The Hook (as he is sometimes called) was a Clarkdale, Mississippi native. His stepfather, Will Moore, planted the beginnings for his eerily mournful guitar sound while John Lee was in his teens. Hooker had been singing spirituals before that, but the blues took hold and never let go. Traditional symbols left their mark on the style in youth, too; legends like Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton, and Blind Blake, who all knew Moore.

Charlie (Bird) Parker, Saxophonist born

On this date in 1920, Charlie Parker was born. He was an African American alto saxophone player, a founder of the bebop jazz style, and one of the most influential musicians in the history of jazz.