Rosco N. Gordon III (April 10, 1928 – July 11, 2002), sometimes billed as Roscoe Gordon, was an American blues singer, pianist, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit songs "Booted," (1952), " No More Doggin'" (1952), and " Just a Little Bit" (1960). Gordon was a pioneer of the

Memphis blues The Memphis blues is a style of blues music created from the 1910s to the 1930s by musicians in the Memphis area, such as Frank Stokes, Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie. The style was popular in vaudeville and medicine shows a ...

style. He played piano in a style known as the "Rosco rhythm," with the emphasis on the off-beat. This rhythm was an influence on later musical styles such as Jamaican

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

Biography

Gordon was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

on April 10, 1928, the youngest of eight children. He learned to play piano from his sister who took lessons. Gordon became associated with

Johnny Ace John Marshall Alexander Jr. (June 9, 1929 – December 25, 1954), known by the stage name Johnny Ace, was an American rhythm-and-blues singer. He had a string of hit singles in the mid 1950s. Alexander died of an accidental self-inflicted guns ...

Bobby Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was descr ...

and

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

, sometimes referred to as

the Beale Streeters The Beale Streeters were a Memphis-based R&B coalition of musicians, which at times included John Alexander, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, B.B. King, Earl Forest, Willie Nix, and Rosco Gordon. Initially, they were not a formal band, but they playe ...

. In 1946, Gordon moved to Chicago "after getting in trouble in Memphis." He returned to Memphis in 1949, and won first place at an amateur show at the Palace Theatre on

Beale Street Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, t ...

in 1950. Emcee of the show Rufus Thomas invited Gordon to play on his radio show at

WDIA WDIA (1070 AM) is a radio station based in Memphis, Tennessee. Active since 1947, it soon became the first radio station in the United States that was programmed entirely for African Americans. It featured black radio personalities; its success i ...

. Soon after, Gordon had his own show as well. In 1951, WDIA manager, David Mattis, introduced Gordon to producer

Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, ...

. Around this time, Gordon was scouted by

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and ...

, talent scout for the

Bihari brothers The Bihari brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American businessmen of Hungarian Jewish origins. They were the founders of Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries, such as Meteor Records, based in Memphis. The Bihari brothers w ...

, to record for Modern Records. His first hit single, "Saddled the Cow (and Milk the Horse)," released on RPM Records (subsidiary of Modern) reached No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. Gordon's next single "Booted" was recorded at Phillips' Memphis Recording Service. Phillips licensed the record to the Chess brothers at Chess Records, which was released as a single in December 1951. Gordon also recorded a version for the Biharis brothers at RPM, released in January 1952. The RPM release reached number-one on the ''Billboard'' R&B record chart in March 1952. The Chess and the Bihari brothers later settled the conflict, with the Biharis getting exclusive rights to Gordon and Chess signing

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

to an exclusive contract. For years, Gordon did not receive royalties for his songs. "Sam Phillips gave me one hundred dollars. One hundred. No royalties. No nothin'. But, I did it for the Biharis, now they gave me six hundred dollars. No royalties. No nothin'. But like I say, I didn't know any better," he said. Gordon also had a successful record with " No More Doggin'" (No. 2 R&B) which was also released by RPM in 1952. Between 1952 and 1959, Gordon released numerous singles on

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

, Flip, and

Vee-Jay Records Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...

. His last single to reach the charts was " Just a Little Bit" (No. 2 R&B, No. 64 Pop) in 1960. He was paid $250 for the song which became an R&B standard, covered by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

, Etta James,

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, and

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (born December 8, 1939) is an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and retired politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame i ...

. Gordon didn't receive royalties from the millions of copies sold in cover versions, because producer

Ralph Bass Ralph Basso Jr. (May 1, 1911 – March 5, 1997), known as Ralph Bass,The birth surname of Ralph Bass's paternal grandfather, who was born in Italy, was DuBasso. was an American rhythm-and-blues record producer and talent scout for several indepen ...

at King Records stole the song from a demo Rosco sent and had it copyrighted before him. In the late 1950s, Gordon toured internationally, reaching South America and the Caribbean, where his off-beat rhythmic technique influenced the sound of early

and

. In 1962, Gordon quit the music industry and moved to

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York with his new wife, where he purchased a partnership in a laundry business after winning a poker game with a pair of deuces. In 1969, Gordon formed his own label, Bab-Roc, operated from his home, but he did not perform again until 1981. In 1983, he released the album ''Rosco Rocks Again'', recorded live at the 100 Club in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Following his wife's death in 1984, he returned to touring. In 2000, Gordon teamed up with blues guitarist

Duke Robillard Michael John "Duke" Robillard (born October 4, 1948) is an American guitarist and singer. He founded the band Roomful of Blues and was a member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Although Robillard is known as a rock and blues guitarist, he also pla ...

to release the album ''Memphis Tennessee''. In 2002, Gordon was invited by the filmmaker Richard Pearce to be included in a documentary film about several blues musicians returning to Memphis for a tribute to Sam Phillips in conjunction with the May 2002 W.C. Handy Awards. The documentary, '' The Road to Memphis'', aired on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

television. Six weeks after filming finished, Gordon died at the age of 74 from a heart attack at his apartment in

Rego Park, Queens Rego Park is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. Rego Park is bordered to the north by Elmhurst and Corona, to the east and south by Forest Hills, and to the west by Middle Village. Rego Park's boundaries include Queens ...

on July 11, 2002. He was survived by three daughters, Victoria, Deborah, and Ruby; three sons, Marrc, Rosco III, and Keith; a sister, Ella Gordon Jefferson; and 10 grandchildren. He was interred in the Rosedale Cemetery in Linden, New Jersey.

Discography

Albums

* 1983: ''Rosco Rocks Again'' (

JSP Records JSP Records is a British record label, founded in 1978 by John Stedman (John Stedman Promotions), releasing recordings by blues musicians such as Professor Longhair, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Witherspoon, Louisiana Red, Deitra Farr, Charlie Sayles, ...

) * 2000: ''Memphis Tennessee'' ( Stony Plain Records) * 2004: ''No Dark in America'' (

Dualtone Records Dualtone Records is an American record label specializing in folk, Americana, and indie rock. It was founded in 2001 by Scott Robinson and Dan Herrington. The company is run by Robinson and the label's president, Paul Roper. Albums are distribut ...

)

Compilations

* 1977: ''The Legendary Sun Performers: Rosco Gordon'' (

Charly Records Charly Records is a British record label that specialises in reissued material. Among the labels whose original releases are reissued by Charly are Vee-Jay, Sun, Immediate, BYG, Tomato, and Fania. History Charly Records was founded in Fra ...

) * 1980: ''The Best of Rosco Gordon Volume One'' ( Ace Records) * 1982: ''Volume 2: The Memphis Sessions'' (Ace Records) * 1993: ''Just a Little Bit'' (

) * 1996: ''Rosco's Rhythm'' (Charly Records) * 1998: ''Bootin' (The Best of the RPM Years)'' (Ace Records) * 2004: ''A Proper Introduction to Rosco Gordon - No More Doggin (

Proper Records Proper Records is an English record label founded by Proper Music Group Chairman - Malcolm Mills and Paul Riley. Commencing with a handful of releases, including the Balham Alligators and Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers, the label grew in ...

) * 2009: ''Let's Get High: The Man About Music From Memphis'' (JSP Records) * 2016: ''Just A Little Bit'' (

Jasmine Records Jasmine Records is a London-based record label that specialises in jazz reissues. History The label was founded in 1982 as part of Hasmick Promotions, issuing LPs and cassettes of jazz and popular vocalists. Jasmine diversified into country mu ...

)

References

External links

Rosco Gordon
on

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

PBS website for ''The Road to Memphis''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Rosco 1928 births 2002 deaths African-American pianists Memphis blues musicians American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American blues pianists American male pianists Sun Records artists Chess Records artists Charly Records artists RPM Records (United States) artists Vee-Jay Records artists Duke Records artists Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee Singer-songwriters from Tennessee 20th-century American pianists African-American male songwriters 20th-century African-American male singers African-American male singer-songwriters