Roy Bunny Milton (July 31, 1907 – September 18, 1983) was an American R&B and

jump blues Jump blues is an up-tempo style of blues, usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues was renewed in the 1990s as ...

singer, drummer and bandleader.

Career

Milton's grandmother was

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classified as ...

. He was born in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, and grew up on an

Indian reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

before moving to

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. He joined the

Ernie Fields Ernest Lawrence Fields (August 28, 1904 – May 11, 1997)Laprarie, Michael Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture'' (accessed May 14, 2010). was an American trombonist, pianist, arranger and bandleader. He first became known for leadin ...

band in the late 1920s as singer and, later, drummer. After moving to Los Angeles, in 1933, he formed his own band, the Solid Senders, with

Camille Howard Camille Howard (March 29, 1914 – March 10, 1993) was an American rhythm and blues pianist and singer, who first came to prominence in Roy Milton's Solid Senders in the 1940s. Her most successful recordings included "R. M. Blues" (as Milton's pi ...

on piano. He performed in local

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

and began

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

in the 1940s, his first release being "Milton's Boogie" on his own record label. His big break came in 1945, when his "R.M. Blues", on the new

Juke Box A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...

label, became a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

, reaching number 2 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' R&B

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

and number 20 on the

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

. Its success helped establish Art Rupe's company, which he shortly afterwards renamed

Specialty Records Specialty Records was an American record label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by Art Rupe. It was known for rhythm and blues, gospel, and early rock and roll, and recorded artists such as Little Richard, Guitar Slim, Percy Mayfield, and Lloyd Pr ...

. In 1950, Milton and his Orchestra performed at the sixth famed Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...

in Los Angeles which was produced by

Leon Hefflin, Sr. Leon Norman Hefflin, Sr. (August 17, 1898 – November 20, 1975) was a pioneering African-American producer, director, business owner, furniture manufacturer, and entrepreneur. After losing his large and successful manufacturing business in the ...

on June 25. Also featured on the same day were

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

& His Orchestra,

Pee Wee Crayton Connie Curtis Crayton (December 18, 1914 – June 25, 1985), known as Pee Wee Crayton, was an American R&B and blues guitarist and singer. Career Crayton was born in Rockdale, Texas. He began playing guitar seriously after moving to California ...

's Orchestra,

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

, Tiny Davis & Her Hell Divers, and other artists. 16,000 were reported to be in attendance and the concert ended early because of a fracas in the crowd while Hampton's band played "Flying Home"."Cavalcade of Jazz Attended by 16,000" Review Los Angeles Sentinel June 29, 1950 Milton and his band became a major touring attraction, and he continued to record successfully for Specialty Records through the late 1940s and early 1950s. He recorded a total of 19 Top Ten R&B hits, the biggest being "Hop, Skip and Jump" (number 3 R&B, 1948), "Information Blues" (number 2 R&B, 1950), and "Best Wishes" (number 2 R&B, 1951). He left Specialty in 1955. However, releases on other labels were unsuccessful, and with the emergence of

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

his style of music became unfashionable by the middle of the decade. He continued to perform, appearing as a member of the

Johnny Otis Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes; December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was an American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, and talent scout. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He ...

band at the

Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jaz ...

in 1970, and he resumed his recording career in the 1970s with albums for

Kent Records Kent Records was a Los Angeles-based record label, launched in 1958 by the Bihari brothers. It was subsidiary of Crown Records Corporation. Kent was a follow-up to Modern Records which ceased operations in 1958. The label reissued Modern's singles, ...

(''Roots of Rock, Vol. 1: The Great Roy Milton'', Kent KST-554), and for the French label

Black & Blue Records Black & Blue Records was a record company and label founded in France in 1968 that specialized in blues and jazz. Black & Blue reissued music from small American labels before producing original releases. Some of these releases were by black mu ...

(''Instant Groove'', Black & Blue 33.114). Milton died in Los Angeles on September 18, 1983, aged 76.

The Solid Senders (band members)

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

- Roy Milton *

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

* bass - Edward David Robinson, Clarence Jones (1947), Dallas Bartley (1947–50), Billy Hadnott (1951–52) *

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

- Johnny George "Junior" Rogers (1947–53), James Davis (1954) *

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

- Earl Simms, Caughey Roberts, Clifton Noel (1947–48), John Kelson (AKA

Jackie Kelso John Joseph Kelson Jr. (February 27, 1922 – April 28, 2012), known professionally as Jackie Kelso, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, and clarinetist. Biography Born in Los Angeles, California, Kelson was the eldest child of John Josep ...

) (1948–52) *

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

- Lorenzo "Buddy" Floyd, Bill Gaither (1947), Benny Waters (1948–50), Eddie Taylor (1950–52) *

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

- Hosea Sapp,

Jimmy Nottingham James Edward Nottingham, Jr. (December 15, 1925 – November 16, 1978), also known as Sir James, was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He was born in New York, United States, and started performing professionally in 1943 in Brookl ...

, Aaron Arthur Walker (1948–50), Charles Gillum (1950–52)

Discography

* ''Rock 'n' Roll Versus Rhythm and Blues'' (Dooto, 1959) split album with

Chuck Higgins Charles Williams Higgins (April 17, 1924 – September 14, 1999) was an American saxophonist. Higgins relocated from his birthplace of Gary, Indiana to Los Angeles in his teens, where he played trumpet and went to school at the Los Angeles Con ...

* ''Roots of Rock, Vol. 1: The Great Roy Milton'' (Kent, 1971) produced by

* ''R.M. Blues'' (Specialty, 1974) * ''Roy Milton & His Solid Senders'' (Sonet, 1976) * ''Great Rhythm & Blues Oldies, Volume 9: Roy Milton'' (Blues Spectrum, 1977) * ''Instant Groove'' (Black & Blue, 1977; reissue: Classic Jazz, 1984) * ''The Grandfather of R&B'' (Jukebox Lil, 1981) * ''Big Fat Mama'' (Jukebox Lil, 1985)

CD releases

* ''ROY MILTON & HIS SOLID SENDERS'' (Specialty 7008; Ace CHD 308) * ''GROOVY BLUES: Roy Milton & His Solid Senders, Vol. 2'' (Specialty 7024; Ace CHD 435) * ''BLOWIN' WITH ROY: Roy Milton & His Solid Senders, Vol. 3'' (Specialty 7060; Ace CHD 575) hese 3 volumes include material that Roy and his band recorded for the Specialty label between 1947 and 1953, plus the 4 earlier recordings he made for Juke Box Records in 1945.* ''DOOTONE ROCK 'N' RHYTHM AND BLUES'' (Ace CHD 839) various artists label sampler/overview that includes all of Roy's Dootone material.* ''The Chronological ROY MILTON 1945-1946'' (Classics "Blues & Rhythm Series" 5041) ncludes Roy's 4 Hamp-Tone recordings, his 4 Juke Box recordings, and the numerous recordings he made for his own Roy Milton and Miltone labels before he signed with Specialty Records in 1947.* ''Roy Milton's MILTONE RECORDS STORY'' (Acrobat ADDCD 3016) [1946-1948 recordings from Roy's own specialty labels: Roy Milton, Miltone, Ace, and Foto, featuring various vocalists/artists with backing by Roy and his bandmates (under the guise of 'The Blenders'); also includes outside source material licensed from DeLuxe Records and distributed by Miltone.]

References

External links

*[ Milton biography] at AllMusic {{DEFAULTSORT:Milton, Roy 1907 births 1983 deaths People from Wynnewood, Oklahoma Musicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma Singers from Los Angeles American rhythm and blues musicians Jump blues musicians Specialty Records artists Kent Records artists West Coast blues musicians American people of Chickasaw descent 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century Native Americans