The
Mound City Blue Blowers were an American
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
ensemble active in the 1920s and 1930s, co-founded by
Red McKenzieRed McKenzie was an American jazz musician. He was the best-known, and one of the only, comb players in jazz history....
and
Jack BlandJack Bland was an American jazz banjoist and bandleader.Born in Sedalia, Missouri, Bland co-founded the Mound City Blue Blowers with Red McKenzie in 1924 in St. Louis. Their first hit record was "Arkansas Blues", a success in Chicago and the Midwest...
.
First assembled in 1923, the group's original members were Red McKenzie playing
combA comb or hair polarizer is a toothed device used in hair care for straightening and cleaning hair or other fibers. Combs are among the oldest tools found by archaeologists, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlements dating back to 5000 years ago in Persia.-Description:Combs can...
and
tissue paperTissue paper is a lightweight, light crêped paper. Tissue can be made both from virgin and recycled paper pulp.-Properties:Tissue paper is used to make a huge range of products with different properties and quality demands...
, Dick Slevin on
kazooThe kazoo is a wind instrument with a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when one vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton—a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane.-Playing:...
, and Jack Bland on
banjoThe banjo is a stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments.The name banjo is commonly thought to be derived from the Kimbundu term mbanza...
. The band also included, in lieu of a drum kit, a traveler's suitcase played with foot and whisk brooms. Their debut recording, the 1924 release "Arkansas Blues" b/w "Blue Blues", was a hit in the Midwest.
The
Mound City Blue Blowers were an American
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
ensemble active in the 1920s and 1930s, co-founded by
Red McKenzieRed McKenzie was an American jazz musician. He was the best-known, and one of the only, comb players in jazz history....
and
Jack BlandJack Bland was an American jazz banjoist and bandleader.Born in Sedalia, Missouri, Bland co-founded the Mound City Blue Blowers with Red McKenzie in 1924 in St. Louis. Their first hit record was "Arkansas Blues", a success in Chicago and the Midwest...
.
First assembled in 1923, the group's original members were Red McKenzie playing
combA comb or hair polarizer is a toothed device used in hair care for straightening and cleaning hair or other fibers. Combs are among the oldest tools found by archaeologists, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlements dating back to 5000 years ago in Persia.-Description:Combs can...
and
tissue paperTissue paper is a lightweight, light crêped paper. Tissue can be made both from virgin and recycled paper pulp.-Properties:Tissue paper is used to make a huge range of products with different properties and quality demands...
, Dick Slevin on
kazooThe kazoo is a wind instrument with a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when one vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton—a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane.-Playing:...
, and Jack Bland on
banjoThe banjo is a stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments.The name banjo is commonly thought to be derived from the Kimbundu term mbanza...
. The band also included, in lieu of a drum kit, a traveler's suitcase played with foot and whisk brooms. Their debut recording, the 1924 release "Arkansas Blues" b/w "Blue Blues", was a hit in the Midwest. They recorded twelve tunes in 1924 and 1925;
Frankie TrumbauerFrankie "Tram" Trumbauer was one of the leading jazz saxophonists of the 1920s and 1930s. He played C-melody saxophone, which in size is between an alto and tenor saxophone. He also played alto saxophone. He was also a composer and was one of the major jazz bandleaders of the 1920s and 1930s...
and
Eddie LangEddie Lang was an American Jazz guitarist, regarded as the most important Chicago jazz guitarist and the Father of the Jazz Guitar...
played on some of the tracks.
In 1929-1931 the group also made at least two short performance films: The Opry House (1929) and Nine O'Clock Folks (1931), which included "
I Ain't Got Nobody"I Ain't Got Nobody" was a c.1915 song, written by Spencer Williams. Publisher Roger Graham received co-composer credits. It became a perennial standard, recorded many times over following generations, in styles ranging from pop to jazz to country music....
","Let Me Call You Sweeheart," "My Gal Sal" and "St. Louis Blues."
After 1925, McKenzie recorded under his own name as a vocalist, but returned to the Mound City name in 1929 for several sessions with jazz stars including
Jack TeagardenWeldon Leo "Jack" Teagarden , known as "Big T", was an influential jazz trombonist, bandleader, composer, and vocalist.-Early life:...
,
Coleman HawkinsColeman Randolph Hawkins was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Hawkins was the first important jazz musician to use the instrument. As Joachim E. Berendt explained, "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn"...
,
Glenn MillerGlenn Miller , was an American jazz musician, arranger, composer, and band leader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1942, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
, and
Pee Wee RussellCharles Ellsworth Russell, much better known by his nickname Pee Wee Russell, was a jazz musician. Early in his career he played clarinet and saxophones, but eventually focused solely on clarinet...
. In 1931, the group recorded with McKenzie, Hawkins,
Muggsy SpanierFrancis Joseph Julian "Muggsy" Spanier was a prominent white cornet player based in Chicago. He was renowned as the best trumpet/cornet in Chicago until Bix Beiderbecke entered the scene....
, and
Jimmy DorseyJames "Jimmy" Dorsey was a prominent American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, and big band leader. He was known as "JD"...
. The last recordings to bear the Mound City name, 25 songs from 1935-1936, included appearances from
Nappy LamareNappy Lamare was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist and vocalist born in New Orleans, perhaps best-known for his work from 1930-1935 with the Ben Pollack band, and from 1935-1943 with the Bob Crosby band ....
, Spooky Dickenson,
Billy WilsonBilly Wilson was an Australian rugby league player. He was a front-row forward with the St. George Dragons during their 11 year consecutive premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966...
,
Bunny BeriganRowland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan was an American jazz trumpeter who rose to fame during the swing era, but whose virtuosity and influence were shortened by a losing battle with alcoholism that ended in his early death at age 33. He composed the jazz instrumentals "Chicken and Waffles" and "Blues"...
,
Yank LawsonJohn Rhea "Yank" Lawson was a jazz trumpeter known for Dixieland and also some swing music....
, and Eddie Miller.
In popular culture
- Mentioned in an episode of Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to July 4, 1971, on the CBS network. Starring Bob Crane as Colonel Robert E. Hogan, the show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War...
: Col. Klink (Werner KlempererWerner Klemperer was a comedic actor, best known for his role as Colonel Klink on the CBS television sitcom, Hogan's Heroes.-Early life:...
) is screaming to be heard over Col. Hogan (Bob CraneRobert Edward "Bob" Crane was an American disc jockey and actor, best known for his performance as Colonel Robert E. Hogan in the television sitcom Hogan's Heroes from 1965 to 1971, and for his unsolved death....
) beating on a pair of kettle drums. When he turns to see Klink, he exclaims: "Oh Col. Klink, I'll bet you didn't know I was a member of the Mound City Blue Blowers."