Jesse Albert Stone (November 16, 1901 – April 1, 1999)
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 ...
musician and songwriter whose influence spanned a wide range of genres. He also used the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...
s Charles Calhoun and Chuck Calhoun. His best-known composition as Calhoun was "
Shake, Rattle and Roll".
Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegun (, Turkish spelling: Ahmet Ertegün; ; – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist.
Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and ch ...
once stated that "Jesse Stone did more to develop the basic rock 'n' roll sound than anybody else."
Early life
Stone was born in
Atchison,
Kansas
Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...
, United States,
and raised in Kansas. His grandparents were formerly enslaved in Tennessee.
Stone was influenced by a wide array of styles. He came from a musical family who put on
minstrel shows, and performed with them by age of five.
He was part of a
trained dog act at the age of four.
Career
By 1926, Stone had formed a group, the Blue Serenaders, and cut his first record, "Starvation Blues", for
Okeh Records
Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...
in 1927. For the next few years he worked as a pianist and arranger in
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...
, recording with
Julia Lee among others, and then in the 1930s organised a larger orchestra.
New York in the 1930s and 1940s
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...
got Stone's orchestra booked at the
Cotton Club in 1936, and Ellington put Stone up free of charge in his apartment for four months. Over the next few years Stone worked as a bandleader at the
Apollo Theatre, and more widely in Harlem as a songwriter and arranger, with
Chick Webb
William Henry "Chick" Webb (February 10, 1905 – June 16, 1939) was an American jazz and swing music drummer and band leader.
Early life
Webb was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to William H. and Marie Webb. The year of his birth is disputed. ...
's band (which included
Louis Jordan
Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...
),
Jimmie Lunceford, and many others. He made some recordings under his own name in the 1930s and 1940s.
In 1941, Stone became musical director for the
all-female jazz band, the
International Sweethearts of Rhythm
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was the first integrated all-women's band in the United States. During the 1940s the band featured some of the best female musicians of the day. They played swing and jazz on a national circuit that incl ...
. He left after two years.
Stone was interviewed in the 1986 documentary film ''
International Sweethearts of Rhythm
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm was the first integrated all-women's band in the United States. During the 1940s the band featured some of the best female musicians of the day. They played swing and jazz on a national circuit that incl ...
'' about his time with that band.
Stone's early writings show a deep blues influence. An early success was "Idaho", recorded by several artists, with the Benny Goodman version peaking at number 4 (pop) in 1942.
The recording by
Guy Lombardo sold three million copies. Jimmy Dorsey recorded his composition "Sorghum Switch", later retitled "Cole Slaw" by
Louis Jordan
Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...
.
Stone also recorded novelty blues records for
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...
, and wrote the standard "Smack Dab in the Middle".
Atlantic Records
In 1945, with his friend
Herb Abramson
Herbert C. Abramson (November 16, 1916 – November 9, 1999) was an American record executive, record producer, and co-founder of Atlantic Records.
Life and career
Abramson was born in 1916 to a Jewish family in Brooklyn. He studied to be a dent ...
, he went to work for
Al Green
Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...
at
National Records
National Records was a record label that was started in New York City by Albert Green in 1945 and lasted until early 1951.
Big Joe Turner was signed at the beginning and remained until 1947. Billy Eckstine was also a big seller for the label as w ...
, and two years later the pair joined the staff at
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...
.
At the time, Stone was the only black person on the Atlantic payroll.
Stone worked for Atlantic as a producer, songwriter, and arranger.
During a trip to the South in 1949 with Ahmet Ertegun and
Herb Abramson
Herbert C. Abramson (November 16, 1916 – November 9, 1999) was an American record executive, record producer, and co-founder of Atlantic Records.
Life and career
Abramson was born in 1916 to a Jewish family in Brooklyn. He studied to be a dent ...
, Stone discovered that Atlantic's records were not selling in the southern states because they lacked a certain danceable quality. Stone later said: "I listened to the stuff that was being done by those thrown-together bands in the joints down there, and I concluded that the only thing that was missing from the stuff we were recording was the rhythm. All we needed was a bass line. So I designed a bass pattern, and it sort of became identified with rock'n'roll - doo, da-DOO, DUM; doo, da-DOO, DUM - that thing. I'm the guilty person that started that."
In 1953 he wrote
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
' hit "Losing Hand" (1953), and also wrote "
Money Honey", which became the first hit record for
The Drifters
The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/ soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed i ...
, topping the national R&B chart for 11 weeks. The following year, he arranged "
Sh-Boom" by
The Chords.
As Charles Calhoun
On Ertegun's advice, Stone used the pseudonym of Charles F. Calhoun, a name appropriated from an unknowing local builder, on his
BMI tunes to avoid conflict with his membership in the other music licensing society,
ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
. His best-known composition as Calhoun was "
Shake, Rattle and Roll". The song was first recorded by
Big Joe Turner
Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American singer from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." His greatest fame was due to ...
in 1954 for Atlantic and was a major hit for the
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 ...
artist,
often cited as one of the
first rock and roll records. An even bigger success was a
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...
of the song recorded later in 1954 for
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...
by
Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band founded in 1947 that continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...
. This version became one of the first rock and roll recordings to sell a million copies and be an international success. It predated Haley's better-known "
Rock Around the Clock
"Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was record ...
" by nearly a year.
Stone also co-wrote "
Flip, Flop and Fly
"Flip, Flop and Fly" is a song recorded by Big Joe Turner in 1955. Called a "prototypical rocker", it was recorded by several early
rock and roll performers. In 1973, a version by the Downchild Blues Band reached the record singles chart in Canad ...
" with Big Joe Turner, which was another hit. Haley was also fond of the song, and recorded it three times during his career. Stone also had additional Haley connections. Haley's hit, 1955's "Razzle-Dazzle", was another written by Stone under the Calhoun pseudonym. Stone was also credited as co-writer (along with
James E. Myers
James Edward Myers (October 26, 1919 – May 10, 2001) was an American songwriter, music publisher, actor, director, producer, and raconteur.
Myers is best known as the credited co-writer of "Rock Around the Clock" for which he used the pseudony ...
aka Jimmy DeKnight, co-writer of "Rock Around the Clock") of "Rattle My Bones", a song recorded in 1956 by the Comets spin-off group,
The Jodimars
The Jodimars was an American rock 'n' roll band that was formed in the summer of 1955 and remained active until 1958. The band was created by former members of Bill Haley & His Comets who had quit that group in a salary dispute. The name of the g ...
.
As a bandleader, Stone recorded several singles in the late 1940s and mid 1950s, on
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
, Atlantic and other labels, either under his own name or as "Chuck", "Charles" or "Charlie" Calhoun.
Later career
In 1960, he served as arranger and orchestra director for a session for
LaVern Baker which produced four songs including the hit "Bumble Bee". In 1961, after a brief and temporary retirement, Stone was recruited to run Randy Records in Chicago. However, he left after a few years.
Honors and awards
Stone was honored by the
Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1992 with a Pioneer Award. He was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame in 1992. He was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...
in 2010.
Personal life
After leaving Randy Records, Stone relocated to New York and then Florida. In 1975, he married Evelyn McGee
(1922–1996), formerly of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.
Stone died "after a long illness" at age 97 in
Altamonte Springs
Altamonte Springs is a suburban city in central Florida in Seminole County, Florida, United States, which had a population of 46,231 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is in the northern suburbs of the Greater Orlando, Orlando–Kissimmee ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
.
Discography
;Jesse Stone & His Band
* "Hey Sister Lucy" / "An Ace In The Hole",
RCA-Victor, 1947
* "Who Killed 'er ?" / "Mister Jelly Fingers",
RCA-Victor, 1948
* "Don't Let It Get Away" / "The Donkey And The Elephant",
RCA-Victor, 1948
* "Who's Zat ?" / "Bling-a-ling-a-ling",
RCA-Victor, 1948
* "Get It While You Can" / "Keep Your Big Mouth Shut",
RCA-Victor, 1949
* "Cole Slaw" / "Do It Now !"
RCA-Victor 22–0026, 1949
;Jesse Stone
* "Oh, That'll Be Joyful" / "Runaway",
Atlantic, 1954
;The Charlie Calhoun Orchestra
* "Smack Dab In The Middle" / "(I Don't Know Why) The Car Won't Go",
MGM, 1955
;Jesse Stone & His Houserockers
* "Night Life" / "The Rocket",
Atco, 1955
;Charles Calhoun
* "Jamboree" / "My Pigeon's Gone",
Groove, 1956
;Chuck Calhoun
* "Hey Tiger" / "Barrelhouse",
Atlantic, 1956
Legacy
*
Jim Dale covered "Don't Let Go" on the 'b' side of 'Sugartime' (Parlophone R 4402) in 1958.
*
Roy Hamilton performed Stone's "
Don't Let Go" in
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
. It reached number 2 on the ''
Billboard'' US
R&B charts, and number 13 on the
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' ( ...
charts.
*
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...
performed Stone's "Shake, Rattle and Roll" and "Flip, Flop and Fly" in a medley on the January 28, 1956 broadcast of the Dorsey Brothers Stage Show. He also recorded "Money Honey" in 1956 and "Like a Baby" in 1960.
*
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is common ...
performed Stone's "
Shake, Rattle and Roll" on his ''
Night Beat'' album in 1963.
*
Shirley Ellis recorded a version of "Don't Let Go" on her 1965 album ''The Name Game''.
*
Davy Graham recorded "
Money Honey" on his 1966 album ''
Midnight Man''.
*
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis mad ...
recorded many of Stone's songs including "Don't Let Go", "Flip, Flop, and Fly" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll".
* The
Jerry Garcia Band performed Stone's "Don't Let Go" live in concert at least 154 times, between March 30, 1976, and April 21, 1995.
* The
Steve Miller Band covered "Your Cash Ain't Nothing but Trash" (written as Charles Calhoun) on the 1973 album ''
The Joker''. It was also released as a single in 1974.
*
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen covered "Don't Let Go" on their
eponymous album (1975).
*
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songw ...
covered "Don't Let Go" on Polydor's
album by the same name in 1979.
*
Jeff Lynne
Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, he has cont ...
covered "Don't Let Go" as track 2 on his 1990 solo album ''
Armchair Theatre''.
*
Huey Lewis and the News
Huey Lewis and the News are an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually achieving 19 top ten singles across the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Adult Contempo ...
covered "Your Cash Ain't Nothing but Trash" on their 1994 album ''
Four Chords & Several Years Ago''.
*
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
covered "Shake, Rattle and Roll", which was released in 1996 on ''
The Beatles Anthology 3''
*
Count Basie wrote in autobiography that Stone had the reputation as the best piano player in
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...
when Basie first performed there in 1920.
*
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...
jazz historian
Frank Driggs wrote that Stone did the first written horn arrangements for a
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
band, and was instrumental in modernizing the form to be performed in 4/4 time.
* One of the 2010 recipients of the
Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegun (, Turkish spelling: Ahmet Ertegün; ; – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist.
Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and ch ...
Award from the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...
.
* One of the 2010 inductees in the
Songwriters Hall of Fame.
*
Ry Cooder
Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, a ...
covered "Money Honey" on his 1971 album, ''
Into the Purple Valley'', and "Smack Dab in the Middle" on ''
Chicken Skin Music''.
*
Wanda Jackson covered "Like a Baby" on her 2011 album, ''
The Party Ain't Over
''The Party Ain't Over'' is the thirtieth studio album by American singer Wanda Jackson, produced by Jack White, the lead vocalist of The White Stripes. ''The Party Ain't Over'' peaked at number 17 on Top Rock Albums. The album also peaked at nu ...
''.
*
38 Special covered "Money Honey" on their 1980 album, ''
Rockin' into the Night
''Rockin' into the Night'' is the third studio album by the southern rock band 38 Special, released in 1979.
With this album, 38 Special incorporated some arena rock elements into its sound.
The title track, written by three members of Surviv ...
''.
*
The Manhattan Transfer covered "Don't Let Go" on their 1976 album ''
Coming Out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
''.
References
External links
Jesse Stone and his Blues SerenadersRed Hot Jazz Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Jesse
1901 births
1999 deaths
American rhythm and blues musicians
African-American songwriters
American music arrangers
Big band bandleaders
Songwriters from Kansas
Okeh Records artists
New York blues musicians
People from Atchison, Kansas
20th-century American musicians
International Sweethearts of Rhythm members
20th-century African-American musicians