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

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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

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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