Joseph Amos Milburn (April 1, 1927 – January 3, 1980) was an American

rhythm-and-blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

singer and pianist, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He was born in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, Texas, and died there 52 years later. One commentator noted, "Milburn excelled at good-natured, upbeat romps about booze and partying, imbued with a vibrant sense of humour and double entendre, as well as vivid, down-home imagery in his lyrics."

Life and career

Milburn was born in Houston, one of thirteen children. By the age of five, he was playing tunes on the piano. He enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

when he was fifteen and earned thirteen

battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. He returned to Houston and organized a sixteen-piece band playing in

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

in the city. He was managed by William and Geneva Church. Milburn was a polished pianist and performer and in 1946 attracted the attention of a woman who arranged a

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

session with Aladdin Records in Los Angeles. Milburn's relationship with Aladdin lasted eight years, during which he recorded more than 75 sides. This included his cover version of "

Down the Road a Piece "Down the Road a Piece" is a boogie-woogie song written by Don Raye. In 1940, it was recorded by the Will Bradley Trio and became a top 10 hit in the closing months of the year. Called "a neat little amalgam of bluesy rhythm and vivid, catchy ...

" (1946), a blues song with a

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

boogie Boogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm,Burrows, Terry (1995). ''Play Country Guitar'', p.42. Dorling Kindersley Limited, London. . "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie mus ...

, that is similar in many respects to rock music. However, none of his recordings were popular until 1949, when seven of his

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

got the attention of the R&B audience. "Hold Me Baby" and "

Chicken Shack Boogie "Chicken Shack Boogie" is a 1948 jump-boogie song by the West Coast blues artist Amos Milburn. It was the first of four number-one hits on the R&B chart by Milburn. It was the B-side of a 78-RPM single, the A-side of which, "It Took a Long, Lon ...

" reached numbers eight and nine on '' Billboards survey of 1949's R&B

best-seller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cook ...

s. He became one of the main performers associated with the Central Avenue music scene in Los Angeles. He was also a popular touring artist. He won awards from ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' magazine (Best Blues and Jazz Star) and '' Billboard'' magazine (Top R&B Artist). Among his best-known songs was "

One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" (originally "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer") is a blues song written by Rudy Toombs and recorded by Amos Milburn in 1953. It is one of several drinking songs recorded by Milburn in the early 1950s that plac ...

". In 1950 his recording of

Maxwell Davis Thomas Maxwell Davis, Jr. (January 14, 1916 – September 18, 1970), was an American rhythm and blues saxophonist, arranger, bandleader and record producer. Biography Davis was born in Independence, Kansas in 1916. In 1937, he moved to L ...

' "

Bad, Bad Whiskey "Bad, Bad Whiskey" is a song by Maxwell Davis that was released in 1950 by Amos Milburn. The single was the last time Milburn reached the number one position on the US ''Billboard'' R&B Chart. Song Background The song is usually credited to Ma ...

" reached the top of the R&B

record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

. It was the first of a series of drinking songs he recorded (none written by Milburn, but several composed by

Rudy Toombs Rudolph Toombs (1914 – November 28, 1962) was an American performer and songwriter. He wrote " Teardrops from My Eyes", Ruth Brown's first number one R&B song, and other hit songs for her, including "5-10-15 Hours". He also wrote " One Min ...

). However, there is no evidence that he had an alcohol problem. Milburn recorded several more drinking songs through 1952 ("Thinking and Drinking", "Trouble in Mind") and was by then touring the country playing clubs. While touring the Midwest that summer, he announced that he would disband his

combo Combo may refer to: Technology *Combo television unit, a television with either a VCR or a DVD player built into a single unit * Combo drive, a type of optical drive that can read CDs and DVDs *A guitar amplifier incorporating one or more loudsp ...

and continue as a solo act. In autumn he joined Charles Brown for a

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

of the South. For the next few years each of his tours was a series of one-nighters. After three years of solo performing Milburn returned to Houston in 1956 to re-form his band. His releases for Aladdin Records in 1957 did not sell well, and the record company, having its own problems, terminated his contract. He tried to regain commercial success with a few more releases for Ace Records, but his time had passed.

Radio airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

was directed at the teenage market. Milburn contributed two songs to the R&B Yuletide canon: "Let's Make Christmas Merry, Baby", in 1949, for Aladdin Records, and "Christmas (Comes but Once a Year)", in 1960, for King Records. The latter was the B-side of Brown's holiday classic "

Please Come Home for Christmas "Please Come Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song, written in 1960 and released the same year by American blues singer and pianist Charles Brown. Hitting the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in December 1961, the tune, which Brown co-wrote with G ...

". Milburn's final

was for an album by Johnny Otis in 1972, after Milburn had been impaired by a stroke. Otis played the left-hand piano parts for his enfeebled old friend. Milburn had a second stroke, which caused circulatory problems resulting in the amputation of a leg. He died soon after, of a third stroke, at the age of 52. Another artist performing and recording as Amos Milburn, Jr. in Texas in the 1960s was a different and unrelated person (James Thomas Russ, Jr.).

Legacy

Milburn was an important performer of blues music in the years immediately after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He was one of the first performers to switch from sophisticated jazz arrangements to the louder jump blues style. He began to emphasize rhythm and technical qualities of voice and instrumentation second. He was a commercial success for eleven years and influenced many performers. His energetic songs about getting "high" were admired by fellow musicians, such as

Little Willie Littlefield Willie Littlefield, Jr., billed as Little Willie Littlefield (September 16, 1931 – June 23, 2013), was an American R&B and boogie-woogie pianist and singer whose early recordings "formed a vital link between boogie-woogie and rock and roll". ...

Floyd Dixon Floyd Dixon (February 8, 1929 – July 26, 2006) was an American rhythm-and-blues pianist and singer. Life and career Dixon was born in Marshall, Texas. Some sources give his birth name as Jay Riggins, Jr., although Dixon himself stated that ...

and Milburn's prime disciple,

Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...

. Domino consistently credited Milburn as an influence on his music.

Discography

Selected recordings

* "Amos Blues", 1946 * "

", 1947 * "

", 1948 * "A&M Blues", 1948 * "

Bewildered "Bewildered" is a popular song written in 1936 by Teddy Powell and Leonard Whitcup. It was a 1938 hit for Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra. 1948 recordings The song was revived in the late 1940s when two different versions, by the Red Miller Trio a ...

", 1948 * "Hold Me, Baby", 1949 * "In the Middle of the Night", 1949 * "Roomin' House Boogie", 1949 * "Let's Make Christmas Merry, Baby", 1949 * "

", 1950 * "Let's Rock A While", 1951 * "Thinkin' and Drinkin", 1952 (written by

) * " Trouble in Mind", 1952 * "Let Me Go Home, Whiskey", 1953 (written by

Shifty Henry John Willie "Shifty" Henry (4 October 1921 – 30 November 1958) was an American musician, most noted as a double bass and bass guitar player, and blues songwriter. He also played flute, violin, viola, saxophone, and oboe and was in demand as a se ...

) * "

", 1953 (written by Rudy Toombs) * ''Rockin' the Boogie'', 10-inch LP, 1955

LPs

* ''Let's Have a Party'', 1957, Score Records * ''A Million Sellers'', 1962,

Imperial Records Imperial Records is an American record company and label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd. The label was reactivated in 2006 by EMI, which owned the label and back catalogue at the time. Imperial is owned by Universal Music Group. Early years to ...

* ''The Return of the Blues Boss'', 1963, Motown Records

Compilation albums

* ''The Best of Amos Milburn: Down the Road Apiece'', CD, 1994,

EMI America Records EMI America Records was started in 1978 by EMI as a second US label next to Capitol Records. It absorbed Liberty Records in 1984. In the late 1980s, EMI America was consolidated with Manhattan Records to form EMI Manhattan Records, which late ...

* ''The Complete Aladdin Recordings of Amos Milburn'', CD box set, 1994, Mosaic Records * ''Blues, Barrelhouse & Boogie Woogie'', CD box set, 1996, Capitol Records * ''The Best of Amos Milburn'', CD, 2001,

EMI-Capitol Special Markets EMI-Capitol Special Markets was an EMI subsidiary handling distribution for special markets. It bought 3C Records in the early nineties. It later operated as EMI Music Marketing and EMI Music Distribution in North America but have since been abs ...

* ''The Original Blues Sound of Charles Brown & Amos Milburn'', with Jackie Shane and Bob Marshall & the Crystals, LP, 1965, Pickwick/Grand Prix Series, Pickwick International

References

External links

Amos Milburn biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milburn, Amos 1927 births 1980 deaths African-American pianists American blues pianists American male pianists American blues singer-songwriters American rhythm and blues singers Singer-songwriters from Texas Jump blues musicians Imperial Records artists Charay Records artists Ace Records (United States) artists King Records artists Motown artists People from Houston West Coast blues musicians Burials at Houston National Cemetery 20th-century American pianists United States Navy personnel of World War II African-American male singer-songwriters 20th-century African-American male singers