Home » Music » R&B History » New Orleans - Part 1

New Orleans - Part 1

© Barney Quick

New Orleans is arguably America's most exotic city. No other urban center boasts such a rich ethnic mix, swampy, low-lying terrain and distinctive cuisine. Certainly it's among the nation's most historic places, the scene of such events and phenomena as the importation from France of opera and the cotillion, the importation of Caribbean agricultural products during Spanish governance, the importation of voodoo from the Caribbean, the flamboyant Sunday afternoon Congo Square drumming sessions in the 1840s, the establishment (and later shutting down) of the notorious Storyville district, and the birth of jazz.

The rest of the world loves to go to New Orleans and soak up the unique atmosphere. Ironically, several of those who created that atmosphere left for greater opportunities elsewhere. This is true of the Crescent City's great musical figures from Sidney Bechet, Kid Ory and Louis Armstrong through Earl Palmer and Dr. John to Wynton Marsalis. Still, a stellar pool of talent has remained there through the years.

Several sections of the city have had their own lore and demographic makeup. The Ninth Ward, an area known for poverty and a rough-and-tumble atmosphere, the French Quarter, the original sixty-six-block grid of the city, distinguished by cobblestone streets and wrought-iron balconies, and the Treme, with its lively array of small businesses, selling shoeshines, haircuts and po boy sandwiches (and catering to most known human vices), each brought a distinctive element to the cultural mix.

The first generation of New Orleans jazz musicians showed the world something quite revolutionary. Subsequent waves of jazz musicians originated from a wider variety of places. In fact, during the 1930s and 40s, New Orleans didn't make many significant contributions to the evolution of black American music. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other cities replaced it as premier jazz hubs.

The New Orleans jazz players who served militarily in World War II and returned home afterward were hungry and eager to rev things up musically. Most had caught the bebop bug, but they were realistic about its commercial limitations and did what their counterparts in other cities did: play jump blues.

Trumpeter Dave Bartholomew and pianist Paul Gayten had the best bands in town in the late 1940s. They were favorites at clubs such as the Hideaway, the Dew Drop Inn, the Caldonia and the Crystal.

Local radio reflected the changing tastes in black music. One of the main ways to stay abreast of r&b and jazz developments was to listen to a white disc jockey named Poppa Stoppa on WJMR. His on-air patter was written for him by a black former art professor named Vernon Winslow. Eventually, Winslow stepped in front of the mike and, as Dr. Daddy-O, developed his own style of letting the city know what was happening. He called his show "Jivin' With Jax." It was sponsored by the Jackson Brewing Company. Dave Bartholomew's band would play live during the program.

The copyright of the article New Orleans - Part 1 in R&B History is owned by . Permission to republish New Orleans - Part 1 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.