From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jesse Stone
Jesse Stone
Jesse Stone Ellington put Stone up free of charge in his apartment for
four months. Over the next few years Stone worked as
Birth name Jesse Stone a bandleader at the Apollo Theatre, and more widely in
Also known Charles (or Chuck) Calhoun Harlem as a songwriter and arranger, with Chick Webb’s
as band (which included Louis Jordan), Jimmie Lunceford,
and many others. He made some recordings under his
Born 16 November 1901(1901-11-16)
Atchison, Kansas, United States own name in the 1930s and 1940s.
In 1941, Stone became musical director for the all fe-
Died 1 April 1999(1999-04-01) (aged 97) male band, the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. He
Altamonte Springs, Florida, United States
left after two years.
Genres Rhythm and blues, jazz, rock and roll, pop Stone’s early writings show a deep blues influence.
Occupations Pianist, arranger, songwriter, record
An early success was "Idaho", recorded by several artists,
producer with the Benny Goodman version peaking at # 4 (pop)
in 1942. The recording by Guy Lombardo sold three mil-
Instruments Piano
lion copies. Jimmy Dorsey recorded his composition
Years active c.1920–1956 "Sorghum Switch", later retitled "Cole Slaw" by Louis Jor-
dan. Stone also recorded novelty blues records for RCA
Labels Atlantic Records, others
Records, and wrote the standard "Smack Dab in the Mid-
Associated The Blue Serenaders, Chick Webb, Big Joe dle".
acts Turner, others
Website http://www.soul-patrol.com/soul/ Atlantic Records
jessiestone.htm In 1945, with his friend Herb Abramson, he joined Na-
tional Records, and two years later the pair joined the
Jesse Stone (November 16, 1901 – April 1, 1999) was an staff at Atlantic Records. At the time, Stone was the only
American rhythm and blues musician and songwriter black person on the Atlantic payroll.
whose influence spanned a wide range of genres. He also Stone worked for Atlantic as a producer, songwriter,
used the pseudonyms Charles Calhoun and Chuck Cal- and arranger. During a trip to the South in 1949 with Ah-
houn.
houn met Ertegün and Herb Abramson, Stone discovered that
Ahmet Ertegün once stated that "Jesse Stone did Atlantic’s records were not selling in the southern states
more to develop the basic rock ’n’ roll sound than any- because they lacked a certain danceable quality. Stone
body else."[1] later said: "I listened to the stuff that was being done by
those thrown-together bands in the joints down there,
Biography and I concluded that the only thing that was missing
from the stuff we were recording was the rhythm. All we
needed was a bass line. So I designed a bass pattern, and it
Origins and early career
sort of became identified with rock’n’roll - doo, da-DOO,
Born in Atchison, Kansas, United States, Stone grew up DUM; doo, da-DOO, DUM - that thing. I’m the guilty per-
in Kansas where he was influenced by a wide array of son that started that."[1]
styles. He came from a musical family who put on min- In 1953 he wrote Ray Charles’ hit "Losing Hand"
strel shows, and performed with a trained dog act at the (1953), and also wrote "Money Honey", which became the
age of 4. By 1926 he had formed a group, the Blue Ser- first hit record for The Drifters, topping the national R&B
enaders, and cut his first record, "Starvation Blues", for chart for 11 weeks. The following year, he arranged "Sh-
Okeh Records in 1927. For the next few years he worked Boom" by The Chords.
as a pianist and arranger in Kansas City, recording with
Julia Lee among others, and then in the 1930s organised a As Charles Calhoun
larger orchestra.
On Ertegün’s advice, Stone used the pseudonym of
Charles E. Calhoun, a name appropriated from an un-
New York in the 1930s and 1940s
knowing local builder, on his BMI tunes to avoid conflict
Duke Ellington got Stone’s orchestra, which included with his membership in the other music licensing soci-
Coleman Hawkins, booked at the Cotton Club in 1936, and
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jesse Stone
ety, ASCAP. His best known composition as Calhoun was • Huey Lewis and the News covered "Your Cash Ain’t
"Shake, Rattle and Roll". The song was first recorded by Nothing but Trash" on their 1994 album Four Chords
Big Joe Turner in 1954 for Atlantic and was a major hit & Several Years Ago.
for the rhythm and blues artist, often cited as one of the • Count Basie wrote in autobiography that Stone had
first rock and roll records. An even bigger success was a the reputation as the best piano player in Kansas
cover version of the song recorded later in 1954 for Decca City when Basie first performed there in 1920.
Records by Bill Haley & His Comets. This version became • Kansas City jazz historian Frank Driggs wrote that
one of the first rock and roll recordings to sell a million Stone did the first written horn arrangements for a
copies and be an international success (predating Haley’s jazz band, and was instrumental in modernizing the
better-known "Rock Around the Clock" by nearly a year). form to be performed in 4/4 time.
Stone also co-wrote "Flip, Flop and Fly" with Turner, • He was named one of the 2010 recipients of Ahmet
which was another hit (Haley was also fond of the song Ertegun Award from the Rock and Roll Hall of
and recorded it no less than three times during his ca- Fame.[4]
reer). Stone also had additional Haley connections: an- • Ry Cooder covered "Money Honey" on his 1971
other Haley hit, 1955’s "Razzle-Dazzle", was written by album, Into the Purple Valley.
Stone under the Calhoun pseudonym. Stone is also cred- • Wanda Jackson covered "Like a Baby" on her 2011
ited as co-writer (along with James E. Myers a.k.a. Jimmy album, The Party Ain’t Over.
DeKnight, co-writer of "Rock Around the Clock") of "Rat-
tle My Bones", a song recorded in 1956 by the Comets
spin-off group, The Jodimars.
References
As a bandleader, Stone recorded several singles in the [1] ^ Nick Tosches, Unsung Heroes Of Rock ’n’ Roll (2nd
late 1940s and mid 1950s, on RCA Victor, Atlantic and ed. 1991), page 12-21.
other labels, either under his own name or as "Chuck", [2] "Atlantic Records Discography: 1960". Jazz
"Charles" or "Charlie" Calhoun. Discography Project. http://www.jazzdisco.org/
atlantic-records/discography-1960/. Retrieved Dec.
Later career and retirement 3, 2009.
In 1960, he served as arranger and orchestra director for [3] Associated Press (April 4, 1999). Jesse Stone, 97,
a session for LaVern Baker which produced four songs in- Developer of Rock’s Early Hits.
cluding the hit "Bumble Bee".[2] In 1961, after a brief and [4] "Congratulations to the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of
temporary retirement, Stone was recruited to run Randy Fame Inductees!". http://www.rockhall.com/
Records in Chicago. However, he left after a few years, induction2010/. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
moving first to New York and then Florida.
Stone was honored by the Rhythm and Blues Founda- External links
tion in 1992 with a Pioneer Award. Stone died at age 97 in
• Jesse Stone memorial via soul-patrol.com
Altamonte Springs, Florida.[3]
• The Godfather of Rock & Roll, Jesse Stone! via the
African-American Registry
Legacy Persondata
• Sam Cooke performed Stone’s "Shake, Rattle and Name Stone, Jesse
Roll" on his Night Beat album in 1963. Alternative Calhoun, Chuck
• The Jerry Garcia Band performed Stone’s "Don’t Let names
Go" live in concert at least 154 times, between March
30, 1976 and April 21, 1995.[citation needed] Short de- American rhythm and blues musician
• The Steve Miller Band covered "Your Cash Ain’t scription and songwriter
Nothing but Trash" (written as Charles Calhoun) on Date of birth 16 November 1901
the 1973 album The Joker. It was also released as a Place of birth Atchison, Kansas, United States
single in 1974.
Date of death 1 April 1999
• Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
covered "Don’t Let Go" on their eponymous 1975 Place of Altamonte Springs, Florida, United
album. death States
• Isaac Hayes covered "Don’t Let Go" on Polydor’s
album by the same name in 1979.
• Jeff Lynne covered "Don’t Let Go" as track 2 on his
1990 solo album Armchair Theatre.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jesse_Stone&oldid=464262312"
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jesse Stone
Categories:
• 1901 births
• 1999 deaths
• American rhythm and blues musicians
• African American musicians
• American music arrangers
• Songwriters from Kansas
• Okeh Records artists
• New York blues musicians
This page was last modified on 5 December 2011 at 19:44. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-
ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of
the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.Contact us
Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Mobile view
3