LUKE JORDAN
(January 28, 1982 – June 25, 1952)
One of the most intriguing of the Piedmont blues players, Luke Jordan was born in Bluefield, West Virginia. As a teenager, he relocated to Lynchburg, Virginia, which was to remain his home base the rest of his life. A blues guitarist and vocalist, Jordan was a musician of some renown in his local area of Lynchburg.
His professional career started at age 35, when he was noticed by Victor Records, and went to Charlotte, North Carolina in 1927 to make several recordings. These records sold moderately well and Victor decided to take Jordan to New York in 1929. He recorded a total of 12 tracks for Victor, ten of which have survived on 78s, including his classic versions of "Church Bell Blues," "Pick Poor Robin Clean," and "Cocaine Blues."
Of the many things not known about this street performer is how he managed to get a recording stint with a major record label. One theory goes that he was referred to a label rep by a Richmond piano dealer; another that he simply hopped a freight to New York City unsolicited, as several white country artists had. However he did it, the wry Jordan was the first Virginia folk-blues artist to record professionally, a shadowy songster who left behind a sparse but classic discography
Not really a bluesman, the World War I veteran’s tongue-in-cheek approach to his tunes had more in common with minstrelsy and bawdy vaudeville. A synthesis of African-American and faux-black sources, the recordings sold well with both blacks and rural whites, and Jordan apparently sang for all of Lynchburg until the ‘40’s, when he lost his voice.
Exhibiting a clean, precise guitar style, Jordan also possessed an elegant tenor voice that conveyed a sort of wry, good-natured feel and his material, drawn from a repertoire of ballads, gambling tunes, ragtime, and minstrel tunes, perfectly defines the Piedmont blues. He was immensely influential on the blues players in his region, and he truly deserves to be better known outside the blues community.
Luke Jordan died in Lynchburg in 1952. His song, "Church Bells Blues" was later recorded by Ralph Willis.
His professional career started at age 35, when he was noticed by Victor Records, and went to Charlotte, North Carolina in 1927 to make several recordings. These records sold moderately well and Victor decided to take Jordan to New York in 1929. He recorded a total of 12 tracks for Victor, ten of which have survived on 78s, including his classic versions of "Church Bell Blues," "Pick Poor Robin Clean," and "Cocaine Blues."
Of the many things not known about this street performer is how he managed to get a recording stint with a major record label. One theory goes that he was referred to a label rep by a Richmond piano dealer; another that he simply hopped a freight to New York City unsolicited, as several white country artists had. However he did it, the wry Jordan was the first Virginia folk-blues artist to record professionally, a shadowy songster who left behind a sparse but classic discography
Not really a bluesman, the World War I veteran’s tongue-in-cheek approach to his tunes had more in common with minstrelsy and bawdy vaudeville. A synthesis of African-American and faux-black sources, the recordings sold well with both blacks and rural whites, and Jordan apparently sang for all of Lynchburg until the ‘40’s, when he lost his voice.
Exhibiting a clean, precise guitar style, Jordan also possessed an elegant tenor voice that conveyed a sort of wry, good-natured feel and his material, drawn from a repertoire of ballads, gambling tunes, ragtime, and minstrel tunes, perfectly defines the Piedmont blues. He was immensely influential on the blues players in his region, and he truly deserves to be better known outside the blues community.
Luke Jordan died in Lynchburg in 1952. His song, "Church Bells Blues" was later recorded by Ralph Willis.
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