James Louis Blythe (May 20, 1901 – June 14, 1931) was an American

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 major ...

and

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pian ...

pianist and composer. Blythe is known to have recorded as many as 300 piano rolls, and his song "Chicago Stomp" is considered one of the earliest examples of boogie-woogie music to be recorded.

Biography

Blythe was born in South Keene, Kentucky to former slaves turned-

sharecroppers Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...

Richard and Rena Blythe. He was the youngest of five children to survive birth and became interested in the piano after observing local

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...

players. In 1917, he moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he worked in the Mavis Talcum Powder Company and studied the rudiments of piano, playing under the tutelage of orchestra leader Clarence M. Jones, who found some success as an arranger. Although Blythe's life between 1919 and 1922 is obscured, it is speculated that he began preparing compositions in Jones's recording studio and performed at nearby music clubs. In early 1922, Blythe was hired by the Columbia Music Roll Company to record piano rolls that were accessible at home and early nickelodeons. Modeling some of his style after the teachings of Jones, he applied an increasingly popular

octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

and

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 ...

bass, with signature rhythmic

breaks Break or Breaks or The Break may refer to: Time off from duties * Recess (break), time in which a group of people is temporarily dismissed from its duties * Break (work), time off during a shift/recess ** Coffee break, a short mid-morning rest ...

, to credited recordings for Columbia and, later the Capitol Music Roll Company of Chicago. Writer Bill Edwards remarks that, despite the limitations of piano rolls, Blythe "was able to take simple popular songs and create an engaging performance from them in short order. Many of these were taken from the simple sheet music and expanded to include blues riffs, stride or boogie-woogie bass, and even pseudo-novelty figures. Musicians around Chicago and beyond worked to emulate his engaging style as his fame grew". In April 1924, Blythe entered the recording studio with co-writer Alex J. Robinson to record for

Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramount Records was formed in 19 ...

. One of the songs, "Chicago Stomp", became Blythe's most popular recording and made him the earliest boogie-woogie pianist to be recorded. It has also been suggested that his 1925 recording of "Jimmie Blues" influenced the work of Clarence "Pine Top" Smith and

Albert Ammons Albert Clifton Ammons (March 1, 1907 – December 2, 1949) was an American pianist and player of boogie-woogie, a blues style popular from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s. Life and career Ammons was born in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were pi ...

. Blythe recorded with his own studio groups, including Blythe's Sinful Five, Jimmy Blythe and his Ragamuffins, and Blythe's Washboard Band, which usually featured clarinetist

Jimmy O'Bryant J. A. "Jimmy" O'Bryant (c. 1896 – June 24, 1928) was an American jazz clarinetist. Career O'Bryant played with the Tennessee Ten in 1920 and 1921, then in a group with Jelly Roll Morton and W. C. Handy in 1923. In 1924, he played with Kin ...

. He accompanied recording sessions by

Johnny Dodds Johnny Dodds (; April 12, 1892 – August 8, 1940) was an American jazz clarinetist and alto saxophonist based in New Orleans, best known for his recordings under his own name and with bands such as those of Joe "King" Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, ...

Ma Rainey Gertrude "Ma" Rainey ( Pridgett; April 26, 1886 – December 22, 1939) was an American blues singer and influential early blues recording artist. Dubbed the "Mother of the Blues", she bridged earlier vaudeville and the authentic expression of s ...

, and

Jimmy Bertrand Jimmy Bertrand (February 24, 1900 – August 1960) was an American jazz and blues percussionist. Background Bertrand was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, and was active on the Chicago blues and jazz scene of the 1920s. Bertrand recorded with Louis ...

, and made duets with Buddy Burton and Charlie Clark. In some instances when he penned songs with Robinson and other musicians such as

Trixie Smith Trixie is a shortened form of the given names Beatrix or Beatrice (given name), Beatrice or Patricia or adopted as a nickname or used as a given name. Trixie may refer to: People * Trixie Friganza (1870–1955), American vaudeville performer a ...

, he used the pseudonyms "Duke Owens" and "George Jefferson". In 1930, Blythe substantially decreased his recording activity, appearing on two sides of Robinson's group, Knights of Rest. He was living with his sister and her husband when Blythe contracted

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

. Blythe died on June 14, 1931 aged 30. In November 2021 the Killer Blues Headstone Project placed a headstone for Jimmy Blythe in Beverly cemetery in Chicago,IL.

References

External links

*
Jimmy Blythe (1901-1931)
at the Red Hot Jazz Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Blythe, Jimmy 1901 births 1931 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists Boogie-woogie pianists Deaths from meningitis Neurological disease deaths in Illinois Infectious disease deaths in Illinois Jazz musicians from Kentucky People from Jessamine County, Kentucky 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians