Joel Adams (c. 1918 – February 27, 1988),
sometimes credited as Doctor Jo Jo Adams, was an American
jump blues singer, comedian, dancer, and
MC, who recorded in the 1940s and 1950s.
Career
He was born in a rural area of
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
, and sang with the Big Four Gospel Jubilee Singers before moving to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
in the early 1940s. He then began performing in clubs on the
South Side of Chicago
The South Side is an area of Chicago, Illinois, U.S. It lies south of the city's Loop area in the downtown. Geographically, it is the largest of the three sides of the city that radiate from downtown, with the other two being the north and w ...
, adopting a style derivative of
Cab Calloway, wearing a
tuxedo
Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element ...
with extended
tails that would swing around while he danced. He said: "I introduced color to the stage. My tailor-made tails that were 55 inches long - when I spun around you could shoot dice on them!"
[ Dave Penny, "Jo Jo Adams", ''Black Cat Rockabilly'']
Retrieved 2 April 2014
In 1946 he made his first recording, "Jo Jo Blues", with bandleader Freddie Williams for the Melody Lane
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
, soon to be renamed
Hy-Tone. He also recorded for Hy-Tone with guitarist
Floyd Smith
Floyd Robert Donald Smith (born May 16, 1935, in Perth, Ontario) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and coach.
Biography
Smith grew up in Galt, Ontario, playing junior hockey with the Galt Black Hawks. He made his National Ho ...
, including the
marijuana-related song "When I'm In My Tea"; and recorded for the
Aladdin label in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
with
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 ...
' band. After returning to Chicago, he recorded under
Tom Archia
Ernest Alvin Archia, Jr. (November 26, 1919 – January 16, 1977) known as Tom Archia, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
Early life
Archia was born in Groveton, Texas, moving with his family as a child to Rockdale and then Baytown, ...
's supervision for the
Aristocrat label run by
Leonard Chess
Lejzor Szmuel Czyż (March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969), best known as Leonard Sam Chess, was a Polish-American record company executive and the co-founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues, Chicago bl ...
.
[ J. C. Marion, "Doctor Jo Jo Adams", ''Jamm Upp'' #46, 2008]
. Retrieved 2 April 2014 His recordings there included "Cabbage Head", a version of the folk song "Our Gudeman", also known as "
Seven Drunken Nights
"Seven Drunken Nights" is a humorous Irish folk song most famously performed by The Dubliners. It is a variation of the Scottish folk song " Our Goodman" ( Child 274, Roud 114). It tells the story of a gullible drunkard returning night after n ...
".
[
Adams appeared in the 1949 all-]African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...
film ''Burlesque in Harlem ''Burlesque in Harlem'' (also released as Rock & Roll Burlesque and A French Peep Show) is a 1949 revue film directed by William D. Alexander that features a cast of singers, dancers and comedians who were prominent on the so-called Chitlin' Circu ...
'', performing a risqué version of "The Hucklebuck
"The Hucklebuck" (sometimes written "The Huckle-Buck") is a jazz and R&B dance tune first popularized by Paul Williams and His Hucklebuckers in 1949. The composition of the tune was credited to Andy Gibson, and lyrics were later added by Roy ...
". The following year, he began appearing regularly with Memphis Slim
John Len Chatman (September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988), known professionally as Memphis Slim, was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxopho ...
and Terry Timmons Terry Timmons (born Teresa Walker, 12 April 1927 – 3 August 1970)
. Accessed 18 November 2012 was an American in clubs in Chicago, and at the end of the year performed at a New Year's Eve show with Lester Young
Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist.
Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most ...
and others. He also performed in his own revue, the "Jo Jo Show", which at various times featured singers Joe Williams, Willie Mabon
Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to:
People Given name or nickname
* Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...
, Bill Pinkard, and the Melvin Moore Combo.[ He made his last recordings in 1952 and 1953, for the ]Chance
Chance may refer to:
Mathematics and Science
* In mathematics, likelihood of something (by way of the Likelihood function and/or Probability density function).
* ''Chance'' (statistics magazine)
Places
* Chance, Kentucky, US
* Chance, Mary ...
and Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoide ...
labels; some of the latter recordings were arranged by Sun Ra
Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...
.[
]
Later life and death
He continued to appear with his revue in Chicago nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
s through most of the 1950s. His last credited performance was in 1958. After that, he gave up the music business except for occasionally playing in his local neighborhood. He died in Chicago in 1988, aged about 70.[
]
Anthology of early recordings
His early recordings were anthologised on CD by the French label, Chronological Classics, in 2004.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Jo Jo
1910s births
1988 deaths
20th-century African-American male singers
American male dancers
Jive singers
Jump blues musicians
Singers from Alabama
20th-century American dancers