1. Wynonie Harris was an American blues shouter best remembered as a singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics.
25 Facts About Wynonie Harris
1. 2.
Wynonie Harris had fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952.
3.
Wynonie Harris's "Good Rocking Tonight" is mentioned at least as a precursor to rock and roll.
4.
Wynonie Harris's wife, Olive E Goodlow, and daughter, Patricia Vest, said that his father was a Native American named Blue Jay.
5.
In 1931, at age 16, Wynonie Harris dropped out of high school in North Omaha.
6.
Ollie worked as a barmaid and nurse; Wynonie Harris sang in clubs and took odd jobs.
7.
Wynonie Harris formed a dance team with Velda Shannon in the early 1930s.
8.
In 1935, Wynonie Harris, having become a celebrity in Omaha, was able to earn a living as an entertainer, in the depths of the Great Depression.
9.
Wynonie Harris began traveling frequently to Kansas City, where he paid close attention to blues shouters, including Jimmy Rushing and Big Joe Turner.
10.
Wynonie Harris was spotted by Lucky Millinder, who asked him to join his band on tour.
11.
Wynonie Harris joined on March 24,1944, when the band was in the middle of a week-long residency at the Regal in Chicago.
12.
On May 26,1944, Wynonie Harris made his recording debut with Lucky Millinder and His Orchestra.
13.
Millinder called Wynonie Harris and agreed to pay his asking price of one hundred dollars a night.
14.
Since the contract with Decca was with Millinder, Wynonie Harris was a free agent and could choose from the recording contracts with which he was presented.
15.
In July 1945, Wynonie Harris signed with Philo, a label owned by the brothers Leo and Edward Mesner.
16.
Wynonie Harris' band was assembled by Johnny Otis, and the group recorded the 78-rpm record "Around the Clock".
17.
Wynonie Harris went on to record sessions for other labels, including Apollo, Bullet and Aladdin.
18.
In 1946, Wynonie Harris recorded two singles with the pianist Herman "Sonny" Blount, who later earned fame as the eclectic jazz composer and bandleader Sun Ra.
19.
Some reviewers state that "Good Rocking Tonight", by Roy Brown or by Wynonie Harris is one of the contenders for the title of "first rock'n'roll record".
20.
Wynonie Harris transitioned between several recording contracts between 1954 and 1964.
21.
Wynonie Harris became more indebted and was forced to live in less glamorous surroundings.
22.
In 1964 Wynonie Harris resettled for the last time in Los Angeles.
23.
Wynonie Harris died of esophageal cancer on June 14,1969, aged 53, at the USC Medical Center Hospital in Los Angeles.
24.
Wynonie Harris was the subject of a 1994 biography by Tony Collins.
25.
Elvis Presley may well have seen Wynonie Harris perform in Memphis in the early 1950s, although this is not documented.