On June 12, 1926–99 years ago this week–the Chicago Coliseum hosted OKeh Records’ “Cabaret and Style Show,” featuring one of the greatest aggregations of Black talent in the history of show business. Sound like hyperbole? The ad for it appears at the top of this page, as saved in one of Louis and Lil Armstrong’s scrapbooks.
We posted that image on social media on the 99th anniversary and it kind of blew up, with dozens of comments and shares from folks who were gobsmacked by the assemblage of talent, with some requesting more information. Because I recently completed a book on this period of Armstrong’s career, Stomp Off, Let’s Go: The Early Years of Louis Armstrong (order a signed copy through the Louis Armstrong House Museum here!), I have been sitting on a lot of research that didn’t make it into the final work, so I figured I’d share it today!
But first, we should go back to OKeh’s first such all-star concert, “OKeh Race Record Artists Night,” which took place in the Coliseum North Annex on February 27. And yes, we have an ad saved by Louis and Lil for this one, too!
To go back even further, OKeh Records had been the leading label for what was then called “Race Records” ever since Mamie Smith recorded the monumental hit “Crazy Blues” in 1920. New York City was the center of the recording universe and thus, became the center of OKeh’s operation, with many of their race records overseen by the legendary figure, Ralph Peer.
By 1923, OKeh was making enough money from recording Black artists in New York that Peer began to set his sights outside of the City, recording African American talent around the United States. This brought him to Chicago, where he teamed up with Elmer A. Fearn of the Consolidated Talking Machine Company to supervise OKeh’s recordings of King Oliver’s Jazz Band and Erskine Tate’s Vendome Orchestra in the summer of 1923.
Flash forward to the end of 1925 and OKeh wanted to make Chicago the new center of their race record series. New Orleans-born pianist and composer Richard M. Jones was appointed director of the series, but the man really running things was E. A. Fearn. Here’s a photo of Fearn in the 1920s donated to the Louis Armstrong House Museum by his daughter in 1998:
Fearn sold OKeh Record through his Consolidated Talking Machine Company but he also started publishing the songs OKeh recorded and supervised the sessions that took place at his own studio space at 227-229 West Washington Street. That location no longer exists (as I learned firsthand during a 2022 trip to Chicago) but here’s a photo of what looked like in the 1960s, also donated by Fearn’s descendants:
In November 1925–yes, a centennial anniversary is coming down the pike–Louis Armstrong returned to Chicago and immediately hit OKeh’s studios to begin working as a sideman and, for the first time, a leader. Fearn asked Armstrong to assemble a “Hot Five” to mimic the success of Clarence Williams’s “Blue Five” in New York, utilizing the same trumpet-trombone-clarinet-piano-banjo setup as it was friendly to the acoustic recording process. “The minute Mr. Fern (the President [sic] of the OKeh Company) gave me the go sign, I hit the phone and called the Musician’s Union, and asked permission to hire Edward ‘Kid’ Ory, Johnny St. Cyr, and Johnny Dodds,” Armstrong recalled.
The Hot Five was born on November 12, 1925. After recording Lil’s composition “My Heart” and Louis’s “Yes! I’m in the Barrel,” Armstrong thought he was done for the day, until Fearn requested a blues. The result was “Gut Bucket Blues” and Fearn was so tickled by the results, he chose it to be the first Hot Five side to hit the market. Let’s give it a listen:
By the time “Gut Bucket Blues” was released in January 1926, Fearn was deep in the planning of the first “OKeh Race Record Artists Night.” Fearn had high hopes for both Armstrong and “Gut Bucket Blues” and was sure to feature both in the ad that Louis and Lil saved, as shared above. For ease of scrolling, here it is again:
The other artist featured in that ad was New Orleans-born guitarist and vocalist Lonnie Johnson, who won a recording contract with OKeh during a contest held in St. Louis in 1925. The ad spotlights Johnson’s “Mr. Johnson Blues”–here’s the audio:
That was the only ad that Louis and Lil saved but thanks to the big, beautiful digitized world we currently live in, we can access more advertisements that ran in the Chicago Defender. Here are two preserved in Franz Hoffman’s indispensable Jazz Advertised series (which can be accessed online here); the first one comes from January 30, 1926 and contains one of the earliest uses of Armstrong’s photo in a newspaper:
In case you can’t read it, the ad copy reads, “Hustle ‘round and get tickets for the first and only Race show of its kind that has ever come to Chicago. And hats off to Fort Dearborn Lodge! It’s their night and OKeh Race Artists! Oh, boy! What a show it’s going to be! There will be the same entertainers you enjoy on OKeh Records. They are the artists who stop the shows where they appear. Well, here’s your chance to see a big group of them at one time. Such a thing will probably never happen again. An early ticket and you’re sure of a place.”
Also note the “Special Feature”: “Leading Race Stars, co-operating with the General Phonograph Corporation will make records so that you can see just how recordings are made.”
“Gut Bucket Blues” and “Mr. Johnson’s Blues” are still featured, but the ad also now spotlight’s Alberta Hunter’s “Take That Thing Away” and Richard M. Jones’ Three Jazz Wizards’ recording of “Spanish Shawl.” Here are the YouTube links to those two performances:
The Chicago Defender ran that ad again on February 6, but one week later, on Februry 13, OKeh switched it up and placed a new ad spotlighting even more artists:
The two new spotlighted records are “Shake That Thing” by Clarence Williams’ Blue Five and “Kid Man Blues” by Bertha “Chippie” Hill featuring trumpet accompaniment by none other than Louis Armstrong, with Richard M. Jones on piano. Over to YouTube for the audio of both:
On the day of the actual event, the national edition of the Chicago Defender featured yet another new ad, this one spotlighting the popular comedy team of Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles, in town with George White’s Scandals and now announced as “headliners” for the evening:
Though billed as “Exclusive OKeh Record Artists,” Miller and Lyles didn’t make many records for the label; here’s “The Raid” from 1924 to give you a taste of their comedy:
Back to the above ad, Once again, if you can’t read the copy in the ad, it states:
“Remember the night. Take your calendar and draw a red ring around the 27th of February. It’s a Saturday. Sleep late Sunday. Tell your family you won’t be home ‘til morning. Date up your partner for the big frolic.
Look Who’s Here
You know Miller and Lyle, the “Shuffle Along” boys. Come and see them do their stuff. Hear what our friend, ex-Mayor William Hale Thompson, has to say after he is introduced by the Hon. E. H. Wright, commissioner of commerce. See how OKeh records are made, finished and played–all within fifteen minutes. And that’s not the half of it.
For the Ladies
Get in on the Beauty Contest. “It don’t cost nothin’.” Miller and Lyle, exclusive OKeh artists, now in the “Scandals” at the Illinois theater, will pick three winners and give them a chance to join a new company, like “Shuffle Along.” Don’t be bashful about your looks. These artists may size you up as the best ever. Send your entries to Fort Dearborn Lodge, 3920 Grand Blvd.
No Shufflin’ Here
Jazz–Joy-Pep. That’s the program. Cook and his Dreamland Orchestra will furnish the music for the Charleston, Fox Trot, One Step and all the rest. Dance as much as you like. Dance with the artists if you like. Keep it up till daylight. WGN, the Chicago Tribune Station on the Drake Hotel, will broadcast the merriment.
Biggest Affair of the Season
Held under the auspices of the Fort Dearborn Lode, No. 44
I.B.P.O.E. of W. Doors open at 8 o’clock. Admission 50 cents.”
That ad does spotlight two new records, which are worth sharing to set the scene (the best audio for these is found on the essential Discography of American Historical Recordings website, digitized from the Joe Bussard Collection by the Dust to Digital Foundation, so links will go there). There’s Lonnie Johnson’s latest, “Very Lonesome Blues,” recorded on January 19 and featuring the violin playing of both Lonnie and his brother James “Steady Roll” Johnson, backed with Johnson back on guitar on “Love Story Blues.” The other record, “Blessed With Trouble” and “Runnin’ Round” by comedian Billy King, is nowhere to be found on the internet.
On the day of the big affair, the Chicago Defender published a separate article, reproduced here:
OKEH ARTISTS’ NIGHT
Well, the big night is almost upon us, the night of all nights, the night we will all remember, the night that will make history in the music world, and that night is Saturday, Feb. 27 at the Coliseum North mall.
Many world renowned artists will positively appear and offer their bit to entertain the public. Hon. E. H. Wright will introduce Former Mayor William Hale Thompson, who will lbe the principal speaker and guest of honor.
The entire program will be broadcast over station WGN, the Chicago Tribune station on the Drake hotel. The actual making of the phonograph record will be one of the evening’s features. Miller and Lyle, the popular comedians of Shuffle Along, will pick from the audience chorus girls for their next season’s production, giving those who are ambitious to go on the stage the chance of their life to be selected as a part of this real production.
Clarence Williams, the great song writer, has wired that he will be in the city on Thursday, and with him will be Perry Bradford, producer and impresario de luxe. From Thursday on there will be a stream of nationally known artists arriving in the city from all parts of the country to take part in this great affair, sponsored by Fort Dearborn lodge No. 44.
All the crack OKeh jazz bands will play for the dance, and you know the wonderful rhythm these bands play.
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The big bash then took place on the evening of February 27–but oddly, there was little written about it after the event (so much so, that one historian once told me he didn’t think it actually occurred). The event did take place as Dave Peyton referenced it in his follow-up Chicago Defender column on March 6, writing, “Cook’s Dreamland orchestra played for the OKeh record star ball on Feb. 27 at the Coliseum north hall. I was never so surprised at the progress made by this organization since last I heard them. Cooke has them well trained and a dynamic unit are these players. They don’t sound like the average Race orchestra, perfect in attack and intonation; they sound like an honest-to-goodness American jazz orchestra. I must single out Freddie Keppard, the great versatile cornetist, capable of doing wonders with the trumpet and as strong as Sampson. The wood wind section is perfect in detail. I believe they all breathe together. Their solo work sounded like a gust of wind in harmonious atmosphere. One particular dance number the orchestra played was ‘Spanish Shawl.’ It was the novel eccentric arrangement by Cook, displayed in bright color and sharp rhythm, that caused the dancers to yell for more and more.”
In addition to the rave for Doc Cook (and Freddie Keppard), Peyton noted the participation of Richard M. Jones, though he corrupted Jones’s nickname, “Myknee,” writing “Mariney Jones, the song writer and orchestra leader, was much in evidence at the OKeh record ball. Jones is the composer of several jazz dance hits.” Peyton also noted which advertised band did not appear: “Benny [sic] Moten and his band were unable to appear at the record star ball on account of just taking a big hotel job in K. C. It was impossible to leave at that time.”
That was it in terms of coverage of the February 27 event, but OKeh was obviously proud of it, referencing it in a big ad they placed in the Defender on March 26, 1926, along with photos (and record listings) of their major artists; notice Louis in the lower right, having now taken his first famous publicity photo!
Here’s that photo, as saved in a scrapbook by Louis’s mistress Alpha Smith (we shared the entire contents of that scrapbook here):
The February 27 event was obviously enough of a success for OKeh to do it again on June 12. This time Fearn would dream big and attempt to stage it in the main hall of the Coliseum, as reported in Dave Peyton’s May 8 Defender column:
Musicians’ Local to Strut
Chicago Race musicians’ local 208 will strut to its heart’s content in early June, which it will give in the public, in conjunction with the OKeh Record company, a grand hall and promenade at the Main Coliseum, 15th St. and Wabash Ave. Never before in the history of the big city has there been an affair like this one is to be. Never before has an affair like this been played for by the greatest orchestras in the country.
There will be 10 or 12 of the Race’s finest orchestras to dance to, and they will positively be there, because all are members of the Musicians’ union, and President Vernon Biggs says: “Leave it to me; they will all be there.” The capacity of the big Coliseum is about 10,000 and from the way calls are now coming in at the local for seat reservations it looks as if there isn’t going to be room enough. The OKeh Record company will have its recording stars on hand to add to the evening’s pleasure.
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Peyton continued beating the drum in future columns. “There will be a hot time at the Coliseum on June 12, when the Musicians’ union give their great ball,” he wrote on May 15. “All of the big orchestras are going to take part on the program. Watch for detailed announcement.”
The “detailed announcement” came in the form of a large advertisement that ran in the May 22, 1926 edition of the Chicago Defender:
Only Sara Martin and the team of Butterbeans and Susie are pictured in the May 22 ad, but that changed on May 29, when the Defender published the version of the ad saved by Louis and Lil; here it is again:
It’s tough reading the little quotes so here’s a transcription:
My band and I are all set to “stop” that show. -James A. Bell
The old cornet is just itchin’ to make blue music, mister, so I just can’t stay away. -Louis Armstrong
Will I be there? Just try and stop me- that’s all. -Sammy Stewart
Shooting is too good for the foolish person who tried to keep me and my boys away.- Erskine Tate
I wouldn’t miss that night for love nor money. -Clarence Williams
My band and I will be there with EVERYTHING. -Chas. Elgar
When my band and I get hot, boy it’s going to be “too bad.” -Geo. A. Smith
Watch me spank that Steinway and my boys blow real bloos. -Clarence M. Jones
I’m saving my best for June 12th, so brother, tell the boys and girls I’ll be there with my band. -Joseph King Oliver
I’m gonna paint that Coliseum bloo-hoo-hoo. -Sara Martin
Can hardly wait for the big show to break loose. Wait’ll you hear my latest number. -Bertha “Chippie” Hill
Better tie the Coliseum down, ‘cause we’re all set to blow music as is music- and how. -Richard M. Jones
You can tell the world that Butterbeans and Susie’s gonna burn up the track for Chi for the big doings. -Butterbeans and Susie
That same May 29 issue featured another plug from Peyton: “The Musicians’ ball, to be held June 12 in the main Coliseum in conjunction with the Okeh Record company, is the talk of Chicago and surrounding towns. Twenty-five thousand dollars will be given away in valuable prizes and every well-known orchestra will play on the program that night. All of the record stars will be there to sing and cheer you up. Never before has Chicago housed such an entertainment. Every effort of Musicians’ local 208 and the Okeh Record company is being excited to make this affair the greatest in the history of America.”
Ironically, though he had recorded for OKeh in 1923 and 1924, King Oliver was now a Vocalion artist; the May 29 Defender even featured ads for his latest Vocalion sides. That didn’t stop the Defender from using Oliver to help promote the event with this June 12 article:
“King” Joe Oliver Will Be There to Thrill Crowd
One of the extraordinary features of the evening’s entertainment will be the accompaniment of the Plantation Revue, which will open the show, by the dean of orchestra leaders, Joe “King” Oliver, and his Plantation Serenaders.
Joe and his gang will be on hand when the show is opened, promptly at 9 p.m. to play for the extraordinary act. And only the King and his men could do real justice to this difficult job.
Joe Oliver’s name is as well known in the city of New Orleans, the town of jazz, as is that of the famous Mississippi river. He has a world of imitators, but not one who can equal his celebrated performance on the trumpet. Joe’s rubber lip is famous from coast to coast, he having filled engagements in the past at some of the foremost dance palaces and cafes in the country.
Many Imitators
It is no uncommon sight nightly to see orchestra men from all over the city carefully studying some of Joe’s characteristic breaks on the old clarinet in the hope that they will be able to go home and practice up to the perfection this “king” has received.
A Real Good Fellow
Notwithstanding all of his tremendous popularity and success, the “King’s” head has not expanded one little bit over its normal growth and he is the friend and good fellow to all who know him, and that seems to be just about everybody in the Windy city, because Joe’s list of acquaintances reads like the city directory.
Great credit is also due the men of Joe’s organization, because one seldom sees the equal of a group of such truly fine and well-trained musicians in one unit. Each one has been selected only after a third-degree test, all Joe’s own, and when a man passes this test it can safely be said that he ranks with the finest in the country.
Undoubtedly Joe will have time to play one or two dancing selections before he will have to depart from the Coliseum to take up his regular duties for that night at the cafe, and if so, brother and sister, be there, that’s all!
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Oliver was then holding court at the Plantation Cafe. The same June 12 issue of the Defender had a separate article, “Whole Plantation Show Will Open Huge Bill At Coliseum,” noting:
“An indication of the management’s efforts to leave not one single stone unturned to give the audience the biggest show of its kind is shown by their aggressiveness in going after the Plantation management to obtain their permission to allow their costly and extravagant revue to open the show on this night of nights.
Twenty people in the cast will be on hand at 9 o’clock to stage their latest and most popular edition, “A Night in Old Japan. “They will wear the same costumes that they use nightly at the Plantation cafe and will be accompanied by that peerless director and his orchestra, Joe “King” Oliver.
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The Defender also published a long article solely about how the Coliseum would be decorated for the show, complete with quotes from E. A. Fearn. A few folks on social media remarked that the event would be a good setting for a movie–send this to the set designers!
Coliseum Will Resemble a Scene From ‘Arabian Nights’
By Mildred Ann Henson
With the big main Coliseum being gradually converted into a gay carnival city of brilliant lights and festive booths, riotous banners, and an army of carpenters, stage builders, electricians, decorators and property men and feverishly rushing to a close the elaborate preparation for Music union local 208’s monster cabaret and style show to be staged here June 12th.
Plans for accommodating the crowds that will storm the Coliseum from late afternoon till early morning are the most extensive that have ever been conceived for a like event in Chicago. Neither effort nor money are being spared by the promoters in the installation of every imaginable contrivance for the comfort and entertainment of the twenty-five thousand people who are expected to witness the gala funfest.
With the monster movable stage to be erected, the mannequin gangway, a platform to be built out into the auditorium on which the models will parade, to be built, with dressing room accommodations, stage sets and tons of apparatus to be furnished for a galaxy of stars and their performances, the large working force that is now so busy putting on finishing touches has been working steadily for the last ten days, and the big Coliseum for the past week has been the center of much hustle and bustle.
Elaborate buntings and countless banners of bright hues, interlaced with thousands of varicolored toy balloons, already deck the high ceilings of the spacious building. The walls and the newly erected reserved boxes are festooned alike with gay streamers and carnival colors.
The much heralded “Dream Stage” with its wonder lighting fixtures, which is being erected at a tremendous cost and is scheduled to be one of the evening’s most elaborate offerings, is near completion. The stage, it is said, is being patterned after the now famous movable one at the newly built Oriental theater here. All of its properties, sets and fixtures have been imported from New York city.
Artist Lighting.
Probably the most artistic and costly lighting system ever undertaken for such an entertainment at the Coliseum is now being installed by a special staff of electricians who are working day and night. Special lighting effects are being designed both for the Dream Stage sets and for the mannequin platform.
In order that every person in the vast audience, whether he is seated in the front row or in the topmost balcony will hear every word sung or spoken during the performance, a specially built amplifying system, consisting of control board weighing three tons and requiring two operators’ attention has been installed. All night on the evening of the carnival one of these operators will spend his time constantly testing each one of a battery of 20 horns, and by telephonic communication he will advise the other operator, who will be stationed at the control board proper so as to make the adjustments necessary to insure the audience’s enjoyment of the show.
The incorporation of these many expensive and unusual features in preparing for this event is being widely commented upon in view of the fact that such extensive facilities are seldom brought into use for one night’s entertainment. A circus engagement that is scheduled to run at least a 10-day engagement ordinarily would make these same preparations and spend the same amount of money.
Confections Galore
Twenty truck loads of food supplies will furnish carnival confections to the 25,000 funfesters Saturday night. Several carloads of favors, fun-makers and surprise contrivances to make a merry evening merrier have already arrived.
The money expenditure necessary for the financing of this show is at present inestimable. When asked concerning the seemingly lavish outlay, Mr. E. A. Fearn, producer of the show and president of the Consolidated Talking Machine company, smiled confidently and said that no money expenditure would be spared in making this event the biggest of its kind ever staged here.
“The Musicians’ union here is a most deserving group,” said Mr. Fearn, commenting on his work in the direction of the show. “There is no reason why any movement or event that that organization sponsors should not always be the biggest of its kind. We have spared no expense because both the production and the union merit it.”
Mr. Fearn, whose motive in directing and financing this project is due wholly to his interest in ambitious and talented Race musicians, is a philanthropist. The undertaking of personally managing and directing the event will not net either himself or the Consolidated Talking Machine company any money profit whatsoever. The entire proceeds will be turned over to Musicians union local 208.
This monster never-to-be-forgotten show which Chicago is going to enjoy here Saturday night is scheduled to assemble more talent, more nationally and internationally known stars, more famous performances and more actual carnival features than any other like undertaking that preceded it. In spite of the fact that only twenty-five thousand spectators can see the show in one evening it will be impossible to even duplicate the performance, so be sure that your tickets have already been secured.
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We don’t have any photos of how the Coliseum looked on June 12, 1926, but courtesy of Wikipedia, here’s the exterior:
And here’s a photo of the interior during the 1920 Republican National Convention:
Imagine that room filled with thousands jazz fans, enjoying a rare public appearance by the Hot Five? The mind reels.
A lot had changed for Louis Armstrong since the February 27 night at the Coliseum. The day before, February 26, Armstrong and the Hot Five recorded six soon-to-be classics, including “Heebie Jeebies,” the record that really helped make him a star. It was already being advertised in the Defender on May 1 and was fast becoming the soundtrack of Black Chicago in the weeks leading up to the “Cabaret and Style Show.” To help set the scene, here’s that record:
Louis was the centerpiece of yet another ad that ran in the Defender for the June 12 event:
How fascinating! In case you missed it:
“You Are Going to Have an Opportunity to See How It Was Done
Louis Armstrong AND HIS HOT FIVE
Will Actually Make an OKeh Record Right on the Stage of
Heebie Jeebies Dance (OKeh Record No. 8300)”
Underneath is a “playlist” of the songs that would be performed at the show. Fearn was no dummy; it’s not breaking news, but Louis and the Hot Five were not paid royalties for the original compositions they recorded. Fearn would offer up a cash bonus for the rights and then publish the songs himself through his Consolidated Music Publishing House. Louis always maintained that he didn’t regret the decision at the time as the extra recording cash went a long way, but after the Hot Five recordings were reissued by Columbia and rediscovered in the 1940s, he regretted his decision. Columbia producer George Avakian eventually negotiated a deal with Armstrong’s manager Joe Glaser for Armstrong to finally start receiving royalties for these 1920s masterworks in the 1950s.
But on June 12, 1926, Fearn wanted to push the songs he controlled, which included almost the entirety of the Hot Five’s February 1926 output. As a soundtrack to this post, here are the songs Fearn promised would be performed that evening in an ultra-rare live appearance by the Hot Five.
Cornet Chop Suey:
“Oriental Strut”:
“Come Back Sweet Papa”:
“Muskrat Ramble”:
In addition to the above Hot Five numbers, the ad also promises Richard M. Jones’s “Sweet Little Mammy,” advertised as “THE BIGGEST SELLING RECORD EVER KNOWN” and “The Greatest Song Hit Since ‘Mother’).” For all of that hype, a search only yields two versions on OKeh–OKeh 40612 by Buster Johnson’s Pickaninnies on May 4, 1926 and OKeh 40591 sung by Ernest Hare in March 1926–with the latter being the one listed in the ad. And bizarrely, “the biggest selling record ever known” is nowhere to be found on the internet! Also, the final song on the list, “My Little Sweetie,” by Melvin Johnston and Clarence Jones, doesn’t have an OKeh record associated with it in the ad–because there never was one. Fearn must have bought the publishing rights and hoped to make it into a hit, but somewhere along the way, he forgot to have someone record it.
It was no matter as Armstrong ended up being the star of the show. One week later, Dave Peyton wrote in his June 19 column, “Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five broke up the big hall June 12 with their hot playing. Some jazz band. I tell ‘em so.” Peyton added, “Chicago musicians triumphed June 12 in the big Main Coliseum. The big cabaret and style show was a tremendous success. Fully 20,000 people passed through the gates. It was the greatest affair the Windy city has ever witnessed. Given in conjunction with the Okeh Record company and the Consolidated Talking Machine company, this affair will long be remembered. Fifteen orchestras played the dance music and all the well-known record stars were on the program.”
A question did remain: did Fearn actually make a record of “Heebie Jeebies” on stage? The answer appears to be yes. New Orleans-born pianist and trombonist Oscar “Chicken” Henry was in town for the event, working with banjoist Johnny St. Cyr. On July 11, 1959, William Russell interviewed Henry on behalf of Tulane University (an interview that can be listened to here). Henry told Russell, “And the first job I played music with Johnny St. Cyr–well, I didn’t play with him, I was on the same program with him playing with a different outfit in Chicago when he and Louis Armstrong made some records. That was in ’26. The Elks had a big affair one night and Louis Armstrong was to make some records. Well, we opened up the performance for them and then bands come on right after another. And after one band would come on, another one and another one until Louis Armstrong came on last and made the records.” Russell then asked him to confirm the location, at which time Henry recalled it was actually the Coliseum, not the Elks.
Could such a record have existed? It certainly seems like it must have, but knowing how deeply 20-year-old Yale student George Avakian dug through the Columbia vaults in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1939, it must have been gone by that point. Fearn’s daughter donated photos and business papers to our Archives in 1998, but didn’t mention anything about a record. All I can say to the collectors out there is look out for test pressings and acetates marked “Heebie Jeebies” because one never knows!
After the show, Fearn prepared Armstrong’s next Hot Five record for release, choosing “Cornet Chop Suey” after it had been performed at the event (Fearn initially marked it “Recommended for rejection” but changed his mind, perhaps after “Heebie Jeebies” took off). In an ad placed in the Chicago Defender on July 3, Fearn made sure to reference Armstrong’s success at the Coliseum in June; here’s an entire page from Louis and Lil’s scrapbook (perhaps the subject of a future post?):
“Louis Armstrong the sensation of the Big OKeh Cabaret and Style Show held June 12th in the Main Coliseum blows the meanest cornet ever heard,” it reads.
On June 16, 1926, four days after the Coliseum show, Fearn brought the Hot Five back into the OKeh studio to record some tracks that showed off Armstrong’s personality to good advantage. He released the first two, “I’m Gonna Gitcha” and “Don’t Forget to Mess Around” in August and once again referenced the Coliseum show in his Chicago Defender ad:
And yes, judging by the illustration, the famed Hot Five studio portraits had now been taken by this time; here’s Louis’s copy of the above image:
Armstrong was well on his way to stardom yet in all the tapes and manuscripts he left behind, he never referenced those star-studded extravaganzas held at the Coliseum in 1926. This is the best I could do in a short period of time to share all the surviving details I could find and hope you have found it useful–now if you need me, I’ll continue looking into the science time travel because if I ever come into contact with a time machine, I’m setting it to the Coliseum on June 12 and heading there, stat!
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Laginappe! About to press “publish,” I recalled that OKeh ad from March 1926. This one:
It’s almost impossible to read the text–so I typed it all out since it lists so many records. If anyone out there (hey, Colin Hancock!) wants to make a YouTube playlist of the following, I wouldn’t turn it down!
Sippie Wallace
OKeh 8243 Suitcase Blues / Murder’s Gonna Be My Crime
OKeh 8276 Advice Blues / Bring Down Don’t Worry Me
OKeh 8252 The Man I Love / I’m Sorry for It Now
OKeh 8288 I Am Leaving You / I’ve Stopped My Man
Margaret Johnson
Okeh 8230 I’m a Good Hearted Mama / I Love You, Daddy, ut You Don’t Mean Me No Good
Charles Anderson
OKeh 8208 Dirty Mistreating Blues / Charles Anderson Walking Blues
Laura Smith
OKeh 8246 Humming Blues / Disgusted Blues
Shelton Brooks
OKeh 40385 The Spiritualist / Work Don’t Bother Me
OKeh 40528 The New Professor / Jail Birds
Virginia Liston
OKeh 8247 Make Me a Pallet / Monkey Jungle Blues
OKeh 8234 I Ain’t Gonna Play No Second Fiddle / I’m Sick of Fattening Frogs for Snakes
Bennie Moten’s Kansas City Orchestra
OKeh 8277 Kater Street Blues / Sister Honky Tonk
Robinson and Mack
OKeh 8298 It’s All the Same to Me / Make Room for Someone Else
Louise Vant
OKeh 8293 Do Right Blues / I’ve Learned to Do Without You Now
Davenport and Carr
OKeh 8284 Fifth Street Blues / Black Girl Gets There Just the Same
OKeh 8244 He Don’t Mean No Harm / Good Woman’s Blues
Richard Jones “Three Jazz Wizards”
OKeh 8290 Wonderful Dream / New Orleans Shags
Hociel Thomas
OKeh 8297 Lonesome Blues / Deep Water Blues
Sam Manning
OKeh 65009 Barbadoes Blues / Sweet Mama Ring-Ding-Ding
OKeh 65008 Sly Mongoose / Brown Boy
Miller and Lyles
OKeh 40373 Forty Below / The Three Halves
King Oliver’s Jazz Band
OKeh 8235 Mabel’s Dream / Sweet Baby Doll
Billy and Mary Mack
OKeh 8296 You Don’t Want Muc h/ How Could My Good Man Turn His Back On Me
Louis Armstrong
OKeh 8299 You’re Next / Oriental Strut
Alberta Hunter
OKeh 8268 Take That Thing Away / Your Jelly Roll is Good
George McClennon
OKeh 8236 Anybody Here Want to Try My Cabbage / Home Alone Blues
Butterbeans and Susie
OKeh 8209 Sue, I Don’t Want You No More / I’ve Had Those Lonesome Journey Blues All Day
OKeh 8219 Hydrant Love (Turn It On, Shut It Off) / Brown Skin Gal
OKeh 8224 If You Can’t Bring It You’ve Got to Send It / I’ll Put You Under the Jail
OKeh 8233 Don’t Start Nothin’ Here Tonight / You Ain’t Talkin’ to Me
Sammy Lewis
OKeh 8285 Just Too Late / Somebody I Can Call My Own
Clarence Williams and Eva Taylor
OKeh 8286 Pile of Logs and Stone / I’ve Found a New Baby
OKeh 8272 Just Wait ‘Til You Hear My Baby Do the Charleston / Livin’ High
OKeh 8267 Shake That Thing / Get It Fixed
OKeh 8254 Squeeze Me / Santa Claus Blues
Bertha “Chippie” Hill
OKeh 8273 Kid Man Blues / Low Land Blues
Sara Martin
OKeh 8262 Alabamy Bound / Yes Sir, That’s My Baby
OKeh 8270 I’m Gonna Hoodoo You / You’re Going Ain’t Giving Me the Blues
OKeh 8292 Some of These Mornings / Forget Me Not Blues
OKeh 8283 Down at the Razor Ball / What More Can a Monkey Woman Do?
Lonnie Johnson
OKeh 8291 Sun to Sun Blues / Bed of Sand
Louise Vant
OKeh 8293 Do Right Blues / I’ve Learned to Do Without You Now
What a fantastic post! thanks for the time travel!