-
-
-

Lucky Millinder

(born Lucius Millinder, August 8, 1900, Anniston, Ala.; died September 28, 1966, New York, N.Y.)

In the 1940s, the Lucky Millinder Orchestra provided a vital link between big band swing and rhythm & blues. Although Millinder didn't play an instrument and reputedly couldn't even read music, he nonetheless played a crucial role in the early development of jump blues.

Miilinder was born in Alabama but Raised in Chicago. He got his start in music as a emcee. In 1934 Millinder took over the directorship of the Mills Blue Rhythm Band, one of the early black swing bands in the 1930s. Millender worked with Bill Doggett's band in 1938 after the Blue Rhythm Band dissolved, and then formed the Lucky Millinder Orchestra in 1940. The Orchestra became one of the most rhythmically exciting bands on the swing circuit.

The Millinder band was especially popular in Harlem as it gradually shifted away from swing and more toward early rhythm & blues. Among the orchestra's many noted members were Dizzy Gillespie and Bull Moose Jackson. Millinder eventually secured a recording contract with Decca; from 1942 to 1945 the orchestra landed four records at the top of the charts. One of the hits, "When The Lights Go On Again (All Over The World)" featured Gillespie on trumpet.

Along with other black bands such as those led by Cab Calloway and Count Basie, The Millinder band paved the way for the R&B Boom of the late 1940s. Robert Santelli - The Big Book of Blues


ALABAMA MUSIC



1900s  / 1910s  / 1920s  / 1930s / 1940s
1950s / 1960s  / 1970s  / 1980s  / 1990s

www.southernmusic.net

-
Southern Music Today
Click Here

State Guide

LIVE MUSIC
Asheville l Athens l Atlanta l Austin
Biloxi l Birmingham l Clarksdale l Charleston
Charlotte l Gainesville l Jacksonville l Key West
Lexington l Little Rock l Louisville l Memphis
Miami l Mobile l Montgomery l Nashville
New Orleans l Oxford l Saint Louis
Savannah l Tallahassee l Tunica

DIXIE

BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC



MY MUSICAL LIFE
By Carl P. McConnell

Mabel McConnell talks about the Carter Family, Doc & Carl,
The Original Virginia Boys and the early days of radio.


Music Videos
-
New Orleans Jazz
CLICK HERE

Blind Mississippi Morris
Brad Webb And Friends
CLICK HERE

Madeleine Peyroux
Live On Beale Street, Memphis, TN
CLICK HERE

Garrison Keillor
A Prairie Home Companion
Behind The Scenes In Memphis
CLICK HERE

RAY CHARLES
Promo for Ray: The Movie / Genius Love Company
CLICK HERE

SPONGER MONEY
CLICK HERE

JAZZ ETUDE
Watch

Fowl Ball: An impressive flock of local and international showbirds gathered recently for an impromptu musical performance at the James D. Martin Wildlife Park in Gadsden, AL. You are cordially invited to watch.

Historic America
Alabama l Alaska l Arizona l Arkansas l California l Colorado l Connecticut l Delaware l Florida
Georgia l Hawaii l Idaho l Illinois l Indiana l Iowa l Kansas l Kentucky l Louisiana l Maine
Maryland l Massachusetts l Michigan l Minnesota l Mississippi l Missouri l Montana
Nebraska l Nevada l New Hampshire l New Jersey l New Mexico l New York
North Carolina l North Dakota l Ohio l Oklahoma l Oregon l Pennsylvania
Rhode Island l South Carolina l South Dakota l Tennessee l Texas
Utah l Vermont l Virginia l Washington l West Virginia
Wisconsin l Wyoming l Washington D.C. l Home

-