Albennie Jones

Albennie Jones
Background information
Also known as Albinia Jones
Born (1914-11-29)November 29, 1914
Errata, Mississippi, United States
Died June 24, 1989(1989-06-24) (aged 74)
The Bronx, New York City, US
Genres Blues, jazz, R&B
Occupation(s) Singer
Years active 1930s – early 1950s
Labels National, Decca
Associated acts Sammy Price

Albennie Jones[1][2] (29 November 1914 – 24 June 1989), also credited as Albinia Jones,[3] was an American blues and jazz singer who recorded in the mid and late 1940s.

Biography

She was born in Errata, Mississippi.[1] She grew up in Gulfport where she sang in the Mount Holy Baptist Church, before moving to New York City in 1932. Her first professional engagement as a singer was at Elk's Rendezvous Club, where she was so successful that she was retained for nine months. She also sang in other clubs, including the Club Harlem, the Village Vanguard and Murrains Café.[4]

She first recorded, as Albinia Jones, for National Records in late 1944, with a band that included electric guitarist Leonard Ware and pianist Cliff Jackson.[5] The following year, her accompanists also included trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, saxophonist Don Byas and pianist Sammy Price.[6] She was promoted at the time as the "New Queen of the Blues",[7] and toured widely with Blanche Calloway, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Tiny Bradshaw and the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra.[4] As Albennie Jones, she recorded again with Price for Decca Records in 1947 and 1949. One of her last recordings with Price in February 1949 was a rocking R&B number, "Hole In The Wall", co-written by record producer Milt Gabler and featuring the line "we're going to rock and roll at the Hole in the Wall tonight", a notably early use of the phrase.[8][9][10]

Following an onstage fall in the early 1950s, she had to use a crutch at her club performances, and shortly afterwards retired from the music business. She later suffered from leukaemia.[4] She died in The Bronx, New York City, in 1989, at the age of 74.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Mississippi Blues Trail: Jones County Blues. Retrieved 10 March 2013
  2. 1 2 Social Security Death Index 075-18-6433
  3. ↑ Robert Ford, A Blues Bibliography, Routledge, 2007, p.551
  4. 1 2 3 Biography by Rovi at Allmusic. Retrieved 10 March 2013
  5. ↑ Savoy Records Discography: 1931-1944. Retrieved 10 March 2013
  6. ↑ Savoy Records Discography: 1945. Retrieved 10 March 2013
  7. ↑ Jones County, Mississippi: "Singin' The Blues". Retrieved 10 March 2013
  8. ↑ Sammy Price, What Do They Want?: A Jazz Autobiography, Continuum International Publishing Group, 1 Nov 1995, p.114
  9. ↑ 78discography.com; Decca 48000 series Numerical Listing. Retrieved 10 March 2013
  10. ↑ Albennie Jones with Sam Price, Hole In The Wall on YouTube
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