The Razzy Dazzy
Spasm Band was an early
band regarded by some as the first jazz band. The band was a group of young street urchins led by Emile "Stalebread Charlie" Lacoume. Other members of the group were Harry Gregson, Emile "Whiskey" Benrod, Willie "Cajun" Bussey, Frank "Monk" Bussey and a boy known only as "Warm Gravy." They also had another member who was known as "Chinee" and a singer known as "Family Haircut." This band performed in the streets of
Storyville in the 1890s and early 1900s. According to a 1936 book by the crime writer
Herbert Asbury
Herbert Asbury (September 1, 1891 – February 24, 1963) was an American journalist and writer best known for his books detailing crime during the 19th and early-20th centuries, such as ''Gem of the Prairie: An Informal History of the Chicago U ...
, when another band appropriated their name and musical style for a performance at the Haymarket Dancehall, the original band members pelted the stage with rocks, leading the venue's owner to change the name of the second band on all advertising to the Razzy Dazzy Jazzy Band, which some claim is the first time the word ''
jazz'' was used in connection with music.
[David Gold () cites ]Herbert Asbury
Herbert Asbury (September 1, 1891 – February 24, 1963) was an American journalist and writer best known for his books detailing crime during the 19th and early-20th centuries, such as ''Gem of the Prairie: An Informal History of the Chicago U ...
, "The French Quarter", 1936, without approval of his uncited story.
The band is referred to in chapter seventeen of Anne Rice's Novel "The Witching Hour".
References
American jazz ensembles from New Orleans
Dixieland ensembles
{{US-jazz-band-stub