Louis Jordan was the biggest African-American star of his era thanks to his infectious, good-time, boogie-based blues performances, in the studio, in person, and on the screen. Jordan has been called the father of rock ‘n’ roll, rhythm & blues, jump blues, and rap. In 1945 his humor and energy propelled ‘Caldonia’ to the top of the Race Records chart, as it was known prior to the introduction of term Rhythm & Blues in 1949. ‘Caldonia,’ recorded by Jordan with his Tympany Five for Decca Records in New York on January 19, 1945, has been covered by B.B. King, James Brown, and many other Jordan followers. Authorship of the song has always been attributed to Jordan’s wife, Fleecie Moore, although Jordan claimed that he wrote the number and used her name for contractual reasons.
