Mary Jewel King (June 21, 1910 – November 25, 1997) 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 in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Biography

She is thought to have been born in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and to have moved to New Orleans in the mid 1940s. Described as "an earthily unsophisticated singer", by 1948 she was popular in New Orleans clubs such as the

Dew Drop Inn Dew Drop Inn may refer to: *Dew Drop Inn (New Orleans, Louisiana) *Dew Drop Inn (Mountain View, Arkansas) *Dew Drop Inn (musical), 1923 Broadway musical {{disambiguation ...

. Sax man

Red Tyler Alvin Owen "Red" Tyler (December 5, 1925 – April 3, 1998) was an American R&B and neo-bop jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger, regarded as "one of the most important figures in New Orleans R&B". Biography Born and raised in New Orleans, Ty ...

, a member of

Dave Bartholomew David Louis Bartholomew (December 24, 1918 – June 23, 2019) was an American musician, bandleader, composer, arranger, and record producer. He was prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century. Originally ...

's Orchestra, remembered, "Jewel sang with us quite often. She was tall, attractive, and had a lot of stage presence. She worked real hard and was a good draw." She made some unissued recordings in 1948, and returned to record in November 1949 at

Cosimo Matassa Cosimo Vincent Matassa (April 13, 1926 – September 11, 2014) was an American recording engineer and studio owner, responsible for many R&B and early rock and roll recordings. Life and career Matassa was born in New Orleans in 1926.Komorowsk ...

's studio. The session was produced by local bandleader

for

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 ...

, and was one of Bartholomew's first productions. Musicians included Bartholomew, Herb Hardesty,

Ernest McLean Ernest J. McLean (March 23, 1925 – February 24, 2012) was an American rhythm and blues and jazz guitarist. Career Born in New Orleans, McLean was the son of musician Richard McLean, who played banjo in a government music project band, a ...

Frank Fields Frank Nomer Fields (May 2, 1914 – September 18, 2005) was an American double bass player who was involved in many R&B, rock and roll and jazz recordings made in New Orleans. He was born in Plaquemine, Louisiana. In the 1930s, he played wi ...

, and

Earl Palmer Earl Cyril Palmer (October 25, 1924 – September 19, 2008) was an American drummer. Considered one of the inventors of rock and roll, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Palmer was one of the most prolific studio musicians of al ...

. Biography, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 2 April 2019 One of the tracks recorded, "3 x 7 = 21", written by Bartholomew and with a saxophone solo by Tyler, John Broven, ''Rhythm and Blues in New Orleans'', Pelican Publishing Company, Inc., 2016
/ref> became a hit, reaching number 4 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

. Imperial Records set up a tour for King, headlining over

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 ...

, who also had his first hit record at the time, but King withdrew at the last minute because her husband, Paul Gayten's guitarist Jack Scott, refused to let her tour with Bartholomew's band. Although Imperial released several further singles by King, they were not successful. She continued to tour in Texas and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, and performed regularly with Scott's band, appearing in clubs in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, Texas, in the mid-1950s. She died in San Antonio in 1997. Dik de Heer, "Jewel King", ''Black Cat Rockabilly''
Retrieved 2 April 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Jewel 1910 births 1997 deaths American women singers American rhythm and blues singers 20th-century American women 20th-century American people