The Jelly Roll Kings were an American electric [1] Delta blues band. The members of the band were Frank Frost (keyboard/harmonica), Big Jack Johnson (guitar) and Sam Carr (drums). Some of their most well-known songs included "The Jelly Roll King", and "Catfish Blues". [2] [3]
The three had been playing together irregularly from 1962 and into the 1970s under the name The Nighthawks. [4] In 1979, they were invited by Michael Frank to record now as The Jelly Roll Kings; their debut album, Rockin' the Juke Joint Down, was the debut release of the Earwig Music Company. [5] [6] In the following years they kept performing separately, but were recorded again. Fat Possum Records released the Kings 1997 follow-up, Off Yonder Wall . It was produced by Robert Palmer, and included tracks such as "That's Alright Mama" and "Baby Please Don't Go." [2]
Frank Frost died in 1999, Sam Carr followed in 2009, and Big Jack Johnson in 2011.
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within the African-American community in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to African Americans, at a time when "rocking, jazz based music ... [with a] heavy, insistent beat" was becoming more popular. In the commercial rhythm and blues music typical of the 1950s through the 1970s, the bands usually consisted of a piano, one or two guitars, bass, drums, one or more saxophones, and sometimes background vocalists. R&B lyrical themes often encapsulate the African-American history and experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy, as well as triumphs and failures in terms of societal racism, oppression, relationships, economics, and aspirations.
Lester Franklin Melrose was a talent scout who was one of the first American producers of Chicago blues records.
The story of Tennessee's contribution to American music is essentially the story of three cities: Nashville, Memphis, and Bristol. While Nashville is most famous for its status as the long-time capital of country music, Bristol is recognized as the "Birthplace of Country Music". Memphis musicians have had an enormous influence on blues, early rock and roll, R&B, and soul music, as well as an increasing presence in rap.
R. L. Burnside was an American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He played music for much of his life but received little recognition before the early 1990s. In the latter half of that decade, Burnside recorded and toured with Jon Spencer, garnering crossover appeal and introducing his music to a new fan base in the punk and garage rock scenes.
Jack N. Johnson, known as Big Jack Johnson was an American electric blues musician, one of the "present-day exponents of an edgier, electrified version of the raw, uncut Delta blues sound." He was one of a small number of blues musicians who played the mandolin. He won a W. C. Handy Award in 2003 for best acoustic blues album.
James Lewis Carter Ford was an American blues musician who performed under the name T-Model Ford. He began his musical career in his early seventies and continuously recorded for the Fat Possum record label before eventually moving to Alive Naturalsound Records. His musical style combined the rawness of Delta blues with Chicago and juke joint blues styles.
David "Junior" Kimbrough was an American blues musician. His best-known works are "Keep Your Hands off Her" and "All Night Long". In 2023, he was inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame.
"Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So)" is a popular rock novelty song written in late 1954 by the rhythm and blues partnership of Forest Gene Wilson and Eunice Levy, and also credited to Jake Porter. One of the earliest rock and roll songs, it was probably "the most extensively recorded rock 'n' roll song of that time".
Frank Otis Frost was one of the foremost American Delta blues harmonica players of his generation.
Paul "Wine" Jones was an American contemporary blues guitarist and singer.
Robert Lee "Smokey" Wilson was an American West Coast blues guitarist. He spent most of his career performing West Coast blues and juke joint blues in Los Angeles, California. He recorded a number of albums for record labels such as P-Vine Records, Bullseye Blues and Texmuse Records. His career got off to a late start, with international recognition eluding him until the 1990s.
"Shake Your Moneymaker" or "Shake Your Money Maker" is a song recorded by Elmore James in 1961 that has become one of his best-known pieces. Inspired by earlier songs, it has been interpreted and recorded by several blues and other artists.
Sam Carr was an American blues drummer best known as a member of the Jelly Roll Kings.
Earwig Music Company is an American blues and jazz independent record label, founded by Michael Frank in October 1978 in Chicago.
Victor Mac who is better known as Little Victor, The Beale Street Blues Bopper, and also DJ Mojo Man, is an Italian-American blues and roots singer, guitarist and harmonica player, as well as a record collector, musicologist, entertainer, disc jockey and record producer. He is best known for his association with Louisiana Red, on the albums Back To The Black Bayou and Memphis Mojo.
Lonnie Shields is an American electric blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His primary influence was B.B. King. He has released seven albums to date, and one publication described his music as "bewitching, funk-influenced variations on the oldest country blues".
Daddy, When Is Mama Comin Home? is an album by the American musician Big Jack Johnson, released in 1990. He supported the album with a North American tour that included shows with Frank Frost. The title track is performed by Johnson in Robert Palmer's film Deep Blues: A Musical Pilgrimage to the Crossroads.
Off Yonder Wall is an album by the American band the Jelly Roll Kings, released in 1997. Although the trio had played off and on for more than 40 years, Off Yonder Wall was just their second album. The album was nominated for W. C. Handy Awards for "Comeback Blues Album" and "Traditional Blues Album".