The Ebony Label
1947-1971

J. Mayo Williams, a retired record industry executive, operated a small Chicago-based independent label called Ebony. Ebony appears to have begun in 1947, when Williams branched out from his somewhat older Southern and Harlem labels, and went through several stops and restarts before it issued its last new single in 1971 or 1972. We have been able to identify three incarnations of the label.

When he first opened shop at Ebony, J. Mayo Williams had been in the music business for over 20 years. He was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on July 26, 1893 (or July 25, 1894—both dates have been given). His father was murdered when he was seven, and the family moved to his mother's hometown, Monmouth, Illinois. Williams initially became known as an athlete. In 1912, he took the Illinois high school state championship in the 50-yard dash and placed second in the 100. His football prowess eventually got him a scholarship to Brown University, where he played in 1917, 1919, and 1920. After graduating in 1921, he played in the fledging National Football League through 1926, making all-pro in 1923. "Ink" Williams, as he was known in his playing days, was one of the first three African-American athletes to play in the NFL.

But it was in the music business that J. Mayo Williams would make the rest of his career. In 1924, he began working for Paramount in Chicago, as a producer and talent scout for the label's race series. He also ran the house publisher, Chicago Music. In 1927, he went independent, opening the Chicago Record Company with the Black Patti label, but it folded in six months and most Black Patti releases are major rarities today. Subsequently, he went to work for the Vocalion and Brunswick race music series, again running the house publishing company. When Decca emerged in 1934 from various mergers and consolidations, Williams was the head of the race department. During the years when Williams occupied this high-profile position, however, Decca was doing do so little recording in Chicago that the studio was used as a storeroom several months out of the year.

Williams left Decca early in 1945, setting up as a freelance producer and indepedent label entrepreneur. His main ventures were the Southern and Harlem labels, which he initially ran out of a New York office located at 307 Lenox Avenue. Most of his recording activity, particularly during his first year of operation, took place in New York, although Williams was also doing some cutting in Chicago.

Williams maintained a somewhat strangely named Chicago label (with "Harlem Series" right on the logo, and "The Southern Record Corporation" in small print). Initially the output of the Southern company actually carried this Chicago imprint. It appeared on some 16 releases that we know about.

Below is our current listing of Chicago releases. Where we have been able to see the actual 78s, or scans of the labels, there is verbose label copy of the sort that Mayo Williams went for—and there are side designations. (The piece by the unknown gospel group was erroneously subsituted for the correct A side on some copies of Chicago 106.) No doubt many additions and corrections will be required...

Exactly when Williams began recording is not clear, but the memorial tributes to Franklin D. Roosevelt (such as C-19, and N-9 and 10) seem to be immediate responses to the president's death on April 12, 1945.

Many of the Chicago-label releases were recorded in different New York studios, as signaled by the N, IN, and N-500 matrix series. Those actually made in Chicago carried a C- prefix.

Among the sides recorded in Chicago were the first two to be released, on Chicago 100/101. Ann Sorter McCoy's title, "Tell It to the O. P. A.," a reference to the World War II price-fixing bureaucracy, is one of many indications that Williams was busily stockpiling sides while the war was still on. The James McCain side is said by Fancourt and McGrath to have been made in Chicago, with Memphis Slim accompanying on piano; its flip, by bluesman Big Joe Williams accompanied by one Clfford Dinwiddie on washboard, was also done in the Windy City. On the Lee Brown sides, the pianist was joined by Leroy Foster on barely audible guitar, Ernest "Big" Crawford on bass, Oliver Alcorn on tenor sax and very possible Leroy Foster working the drum pedals.

According to Hayes and Laughlin, the sides by John Sellers were done in Chicago in May 1945, but given the presence of N-500 numbers on two sides are we are highly skeptical about the Chicago part. In any event, the Sellers recorded with the Melba Pope Trio (Melba Pope, piano; Huey Long or Johnny Johns, guitar; and Allan Lott, bass), and both gospel and secular titles were included. The known blues sides that Sellers made for Williams carry IN and UN suffixes, indicating other dates in other New York studios. One of these appeared on Southern 128 and two on Queen 4114. Finally, two gospel sides from one of his 1945 sessions ended up in the hands of Decca after a transaction in early 1950 (see below). Sellers would go on to record in Chicago for Miracle, Victor, King, and Chance, among other labels.

Williams had a strong interest in gospel, which he would retain throughout his years as an indie entrepeneur. Among the groups he recorded in New York were the Evangelist Singers, who were entrusted with one of his Roosevelt tributes. "Tell Me Why You Like Roosevelt" extends over two sides, albeit with some stretching (the section on General Benjamin O. Davis is repeated).

Among those done without question in New York were two by Arnold "Doc" Wiley's combo, featuring Wiley on piano, Skippy Williams on clarinet and tenor sax; Eddie Gibbs on guitar; John Brown on bass; and George Turner on guitar. Wiley, whose basic style went back to the 1920s, would resurface on Apollo (recorded in New York in 1947), but is best known today for the marathon recording session he did in Detroit for Sensation later that year (see our Vitacoustic page).

It appears that the Chicago label used a 100 series that ran through 118 or 119, at which point the Southern imprint then took over. (Better documentation of the transition would, of course, be nice). 119, by Blues singer Dossie "Georgia Boy" Terry with the omnipresent Melba Pope Trio, has been listed as both a Chicago and a Southern release. Both labels referred (in the fine print around the rim) to the Southern Record Company, whose location was given as Chicago. We presently know of 14 releases on Southern.

Prominent among the artists featured on Southern was alto saxophonist Tab Smith. Born in Kinston, North Carolina in 1909, Smith was already a veteran of the Lucky Millinder and Count Basie bands when he estbalished a jump combo in New York City. A four-tune session led to two sides done in obvious emulation of the Basie band ("Jumpin' at the Track" was a close relation to "One O'Clock Jump," while "Morning Blues" featured the leader's vocals) and two more featuring singer Roebie Kirk.

The Harlem operation was a bit more ambitious, with 34 releases. Of these, 8 appeared in a 100 series (not to be confused with the other 100 series apparently shared between Chicago and Southern) and 26 in a more durable 1000 series. The label lasted long enough to go through 4 variants with gold print on a red background, plus a gold on purple variant of the second gold on red pattern.

The first two artists in the Harlem 1000 series were, er, familiar to Williams from his previous employment. Buddy Johnson's band, featuring Ella Johnson on vocals, was scoring hits for Decca in 1944 and 1945. However, there was a hiatus of over a year between his Decca session in 1944 and the follow-up in 1945, and this gave Williams room to move in. Moonlighting as Pedro, Buddy Johnson, whose name at birth was Woodrow Wilson Johnson, took on "Round the Clock Blues," a much-emulated number since Joe Williams had cut it for the Cincinnati label in the fall of 1944. At Buddy Johson's leisurely tempo, leaving room for a guitar solo, two sides of a 78 were just enough to get him to 7 o'clock. The other two sides from this session featured Ella Johnson, using her real name because she was not under separate contract to Decca.

Among the other New York-based artists featured in the 1000 series were uptown blues shouter Billie Langford and female vocalists Bea Booze and Betty Thornton,. Somewhat oddly, Bea Booze, a spirited blues singer who had recorded a number of sessions before World War II, shared Harlem 1003 with Betty Thornton, a contralto ballad singer with a rather lugubrious vocal demeanor.

Among instrumentalists, Williams was especially eager to record alto saxophonist Tab Smith. (Williams not only used sides that Smith's combo had cut for him in New York but also picked up some that he had done for a tiny Southern California independent called Bel-Tone. Williams also obtained gospel sides by the Soul Stirrers, aka the Five Gospel Souls, from this source.) Drummer Harry Dial and guitarist Huey Long, both veterans of the jazz scene, also contributed on the R and B side. Williams recorded several gospel ensembles in New York, most notably the Dixieaires.

While most Harlem releases originated in New York City, there was some Chicago-based product in the mix. Gospel-wise, there were two celebrated releases by the Famous Blue Jay Singers.

On the blues side, there was the legendarily enigmatic "Round About Boogie," recorded in Chicago in 1946 and wrongly attributed on the label to a Memphis Slim combo with Sunnyland Slim singing. Williams had used Memphis Slim as an accompanist for James "Jack of All Trades" McCain in 1945, but if he ever actually recorded anything on Sunnyland Slim, it never saw release; the side is in fact the recorded debut of bluesman Jimmy Rogers, singing and playing his first instrument, the harmonica. The accompaniment is by Lee Brown on piano, Alex Atkins on alto sax, probably Big Crawford on bass, possibly Leroy Foster on drums. The other side, "Bobbie Town Woogie," is by Lee Brown with a different lineup, but it is also a different version from the one that Williams had previously released on Chicago 104. The record did not come to the attention of blues collectors until nearly 50 years after its release, when George Paulus spread the word about it.

"Round About Boogie" is also distinctive for appearing on a purple label, otherwise known only from Harlem 1020, a single by New York-based female vocalist Ollie Potter.

Among the other blues recordings that the company did in Chicago were a series by J. T. Brown and his blues band, which feature a new style of label. Grant "Mr. Blues" Jones was one of the guest vocalists on the session. By the time these sides were made, in 1949, we strongly suspect that Williams had closed down his New York office.

After the last release off the J. T. Brown session, there would be one more on Harlem 1065, with one last change of label style. Harlem 1065 was made in Chicago with the Hi-De-Ho Boys, a string ensemble that remained ensconced at the Club DeLisa until May 1950. Williams had recorded an early version of the group for Decca, all the way back in 1936. The 1949-1950 edition of the group consisted of Lefty Bates and Wilbur Wynne on guitars along with a third guitarist and a string bass player. One of the Hi-De-Ho sides was a cover of "Drinking Wine Spo-De-Odee"; Mayo Wiliams was trying once again to cash in on the hit version that had appeared on Atlantic.

During the late 1940s, Williams was not fully in touch with musical trends in Chicago. He recorded Muddy Waters in 1946, but chose to accompany Muddy's version of "Mean Red Spider" with alto sax, clarinet, and a piano that Muddy's biographer Robert Gordon has described as "ragtimey." (The record was subsequently dealt to 20th Century, one of the companies that Williams had a relationship with, then incorrectly issued under the name of the pianist, James "Sweet Lucy" Carter.) The new blues style that recent Southern immigrants were bringing to Northern cities had not yet reached him. But he would do much better in the early 1950s, with such performers as Earl Dranes and Birmingham Junior.

Williams' peak year for recording activity was 1945, his first in the business. He recorded much less in 1946, so far as we can determined, and even less in 1947. In Chicago the "recording ban" imposed by the American Federation of Musicians was pretty effectively enforced during the first half of 1948, and flouted with great caution during the fall. The ban effectively killed some independents, like Hy-Tone, and delivered a blow to RCA Victor and Columbia's "race" recoding in Chicago that these operations never recovered from. Williams, however, seems to have had so little money to spend on new sessions that it made little difference to him.

Mayo Williams' late-1940s enterprises went through several short-term partnerships with other independent labels that had more capital or could offer better distribution.

Initially he had a lease arrangement with Syd Nathan of King Records; a fair amount of his 1945-1946 output actually came out on Nathan's "race" subsidary, Queen, and a couple more appeared on King after Nathan moved his "race" releases over to that label. The deal was not renewed in the summer of 1947, whereupon Williams took up with Ivan Ballen's 20th Century operation.

A few Queen releases (the earlier ones) carry the original matrix numbers from Williams' many series. However, by 1947 King had adopted a consistent policy of attaching matrix numbers in its own K-5000 series to everything the company released, even when the sides had been bought or leased from someone else. Therefore, there may be additional material released on Queen that was originally recorded for Mayo Williams. We are including the sides by bluesmen Johnny Temple and Jimmy Gordon because they were recorded in Chicago and Williams had ongoing relationships with both musicians (each had been an exclusive Decca artist and had recorded in Chicago while he was with the company).

The Johnny Temple session was quite lengthy, but the main beneficiaries have been the latter-day reissue labels. Just one single materialized from it, on Queen 4151. The instrumentation (trumpet, tenor sax, piano, bass, and drums along with Temple's guitar) comes from a jazz combo that Williams brought in to accompany the bluesman. One of the released sides ("Yum Yum Yum") is a new version of a raggy number that Temple first waxed with the Harlem Hamfats. Although the sides recorded for Williams' company were strong musically, they must have sounded dated to African-American record buyers in 1946.

Meanwhile Lee Brown, Tab Smith, and Teddy McRae had all released recordings on one of Williams' labels. The Lee Brown sides, on which his band's name is finally spelled correctly, feature Alex Atkins on alto sax, Leroy Foster on guitar, Big Crawford on bass, and the leader on piano. Brown helpfully identified Foster and Crawford on "Brownie's Boogie." This is probably the same session that yielded the Lee Brown side of Harlem 1021 and the mysterious Jimmy Rogers side of the same disk; both sides of Chicago 104 featured an earlier band with Oliver Alcorn on tenor sax. The sides that Queen chose for release were never issued on Harlem, Chicago, or Southern, and the original matrrix numbers are probably no longer recoverable. However, it is known that four Lee Brown sides recorded by Wiliams were assigned matrix numbers K 5138 through 5141 (none of these were released at the time) and another four, consisting of the 2 sides issued on Queen and 2 that are still unissued, were recoded as K5160 through 5163.

Among the first sides that Williams sent to that Philadelphia-based 20th Century operation were two from the first recording session by the Duke Groner Trio. The cover of "I Love You, Yes I Do" was aimed squarely at Nathan, which had recently scored a hit on King with Bullmoose Jackson's version of the ballad. Some of the items that Williams recorded were released only on 20th Century; others were reissued on the Philadelphia-based label (there is an Ebony 78 by Duke Groner, though it is much scarcer than its counterpart on 20th Century).

In 1948 Williams leased a Lil Palmore single (initially released on Ebony, so see below) to Bob Shad's Sittin' in with operation. In 1949, Williams leased two sides, by the Famous Blue Jay Singers, to Evelyn Aron and Leonard Chess's Aristocrat label. That same year, he leased a handful of sides to Dave Miller's Essex label, which was also headquartered in Philadelphia.

Williams made a couple of deals with his former employer. In late 1947, he had recorded Stick McGhee's original version of “Drinking Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee," which appeared on Harlem 1018. The number rapidly became a hit it was when re-recorded by Atlantic in early 1949. The Harlem record had used an older Southern master by Bob Camp for the reverse. Decca quickly released Williams' version on Decca 48104, backed with an unissued McGhee master, and subsequently either recorded or picked up a four song session by Camp in July. It's possible that Williams was doing additional freelancing for Decca around this time. In fact, he sold or leased his May 1945 John Sellers session to Decca, which slapped new matrix numbers on a couple of sides on February 9, 1950.

Also in 1949, Williams cut another deal with Ivan Ballen. By this point, Ballen had temporarily closed 20th Century (he would revive the imprint several years later) and started another label called Apex (not to be confused with the Chicago-based independent label from the late 1950s). Apex released a single by Booker T. Washington with a band led by tenor saxophonist J. T. Brown; no Harlem release is known. The last Harlem, two sides from the same sessions issued under J. T. Brown's name, also appeared on Apex. Two further sides from the same sessions appeared on Harlem under the name of the singer, Grant Jones; we have not located a corresponding release on Apex.

In 1947, Williams opened a very small strictly Chicago-based label, Ebony (in this phase, we will call it Ebony I). He ran it out of an office in the old South Side Record Row, at 4823 South Cottage Grove. There were only a handful of releases on Ebony I. All of those that we have seen were in a 1000 series. It's been tempting to assume that these Ebonys shared the series with Williams' Harlem label, but we suspect that in fact the two series were independent and the scattered Ebony releases could be misconstrued as filling a few gaps in the more densely populated but far from perfectly consecutive Harlem series.

Williams wasn't listed in Chicago phone directory under "Record Wholesalers and Manufacturers" until June 1947, when his operation showed up under the name of Harlem Records, further identified as national distributors of the Harlem-Southern-Ebony labels. The address was at 5056 South Michigan Avenue. The listing last appeared in the June 1949 phone directory, so we can be sure that Williams' first independent operation closed down around this time.

Eb1-1. Lil Palmore and Her Caldonia Boys

Lil Palmore (v -1, p) with other musicians unidentified

Chicago, c. September 1948

Williams had used the C matrix series for many of his Harlem releases. This single first appeared on Ebony in 1947; subsequently, Williams dealt it to Bob Shad's Sittin' in with operation. The New York-based label first put it out in 1948, on Sittin' in with 18000. When Shad established a regular 500 series, the single reappeared on SIW 540.

Sometimes billed as "Queen of the Blues," Lil Palmore was a popular vocalist and pianist in the late 1940s, playing innumerable clubs. She first appeared on the contract list maintained by Musicians Union Local 208 on February 3, 1944, when "Lillian" Palmore filed an indefinite contract with the Garrick Stage Bar. On May 11, 1944, she posted an indefinite contract at the Hurricane Show Lounge. She picked up another 3 weeks at the Hurricane on September 7, and no fewer than 13 weeks on October 19. In 1945, she spent some time at the Ritz Lounge (4-week contract posted on March 15). In May she was back at the Hurricane, filing a 4-week contract on May 17, 1945. In June, she began her association with Pitts Pub at the famed Point nightclub area (39th and Cottage Grove), posting a contract on June 21 for 4 weeks with options. On December 6, 1945, she filed an indefinite contract with the same establishment.

In 1946 Palmore enjoyed a long run at Pitts Pub; on May 16, 1946, she filed a contract with Local 208 for 4 1/2 months, and on October 3, she filed for another 16 weeks. Early in 1947 Palmore moved to the West Side at Ike's Oasis Lounge (1900 West Lake; this was really Martin's Corner temporarily functioning under another name). Her career was interrupted in February 1947, when she made tabloid headlines for shooting her husband to death in a domestic dispute.

Palmore apparently beat the charges, because she was soon back entertaining again, at George's Lounge in May; at the Hollywood Rendezvous (3849 Indiana) and the Ebony Lounge in July and September, and Pitts Pub in September and October (contract for 2 weeks with option filed on September 18, extended for 4 weeks on October 2). In November she was at Ralph's Lounge (indefinite contract posted on November 6, 1947). She finished the year at Pitts Pub once again (8 week contract filed on November 20).

Lil (sometimes spelled "Lill") Palmore was at Howard Brothers Lounge toward the end of January 1948 (indefinite contract posted on January 22), extending her contract with what was now called Howard's on February 5. In April, she returned to Pitts Pub, filing a contract for 12 weeks on April 15, extended for another 12 weeks on July 15. She held down a gig at the Music Box Lounge (408 East 63rd) for some time in 1948. In October of that year, when she was performing at the well known blues establishment the 708 Club (708 East 47th; 6 week contract filed on October 7), she was billed as a "recording artist." Apparently around that time she made these sides for Ebony. Mayo Williams' fondness for female performers doing boogies may have started with the boogie side of Ebony 1004.

In December 1948, Palmore returned to her home away from home, Pitts Pub, for another 12 weeks (she filed her contract with Local 208 on December 2). She scored another 12-week deal with Pitts on May 19. She moved to the Sago Lounge for a 12-week gig in November 1949 (contract filed by Local 208 on November 17). In 1950, a lean year for many South Side musicians, she filed no contracts with Local 208. In 1951 she was at Jimmy's Palm Garden (indefinite contract posted on January 18).

Palmore kept a low profile for several years, filing no contracts with Local 208 from 1952 through 1955. She would not record again until 1956, when she appeared on two sides for the Verro label, peculiarly using the new name of Cal Palmer. She sang two sort of pop songs written by Hobart Dotson, who was also responsible for playing trumpet and arranging the sides; a band led by drummer Buddy Butler accompanied her. If we hadn't realized that the Cal comes from "Lil's Caldonia's Boogie," we might've suspected a sex change. In 1959, Williams' third and final Ebony series would include three more sides on her, again as "Cal Palmer."

Eb1-2. Mabel Robinson with Alan Nurse's Blues Band

Mabel Robinson (voc), with tp, ts, Alan Nurse (p), b, d

New York, 1945

This was one of the recordings that Williams made in New York. The UN prefix appears on a number of Southern and Chicago releases. UN-23 and 30, recorded in New York by Brother John Sellers, were dealt to Queen and released in 1945. The Ebony release is probably from 1948 or 1949.

By 1950, Williams had his office at the South Center Building, located at 417 East 47th Street, on Bronzeville's main business drag. That building contained not only the famed South Central Department Store, but also the Negro Chamber of Commerce, and the offices of lawyers and other professionals. HIs Harlem-Southern-Ebony complex had closed down, and Williams probably maintained the office to keep up with his publishing, support any freelance producing that he was doing, and to gear up for a future relaunch. His company in the December 1950 directory was listed under the name, "Williams, J. Mayo," and then under there was a line that said, "Harlem Records-Artists Representatives."

During this fallow period, we suspect Williams' involvement with at least one freelance production that appeared on another label. Early in 1950, Lee Egalnick and Lew Simpkins' Miracle operation, then on its last legs, announced the signing of bluesman Johnny Temple. And one single on Temple did appear, on Miracle 156, right before the company went broke. Temple was not a typical Miracle artist, his sides were recorded in a cheap studio not otherwise used by the label, and the matrix series, 2000 and 2001, is otherwise unknown. Meanwhile, Williams had recorded Temple back in 1946 (two sides from a long session appeared on Queen) and his last Harlem release had sported matrix numbers 1000 and 1001.

Ebony relaunched as an imprint in 1952, again using 417 East 47th Street as its business address. Throughout the lifetime of Ebony II (and its successor, which we will call Ebony III), Williams barely distributed his releases and probably sold handfuls on most of them. But he lived well during this time. Apparently he was drawing enough legacy income from his Decca years and his songwriting credits, which included "Corrina Corrina," "Fine Brown Frame," and Louis Jordan's "Mop Mop." The Chicago Defender considered Williams a society figure, and regularly reported on his vacation trips to California and the East, and visits to his Michigan summer home.

Like Ebony I, Ebony II was a boutique label. In fact, it was smaller and more local than its predecessor. To our knowledge all of Williams' new recording in the 1950s took place in Chicago. As Williams entered his 60s, his nose for talent was still fully functional, but his sense of what would sell had long deserted him, and the sonic quality of some of his company's sessions could be on the rugged side.

Nonetheless, the second Ebony label was responsible for a number of valuable sides by bands and singers, then active on the Chicago scene, that would otherwise be completely forgotten today. It also recorded some new artists, like saxophonist Red Holloway, who would quickly move on to greater renown.

The second incarnation of Ebony had such weak distribution that an occasional deal with another company was the only way to get a record in front of more potential buyers. So far we have been able to document partnerships with Art Sheridan and Ewart Abner's Chance label, as well as Joe Brown's JOB—but again much remains unexplored.

To keep confusion at a maximum, Williams used a 1000 series for most of his releases on Ebony I (and on Harlem) in the 1940s. He used a 1000 series for all known releases on Ebony II, and would continue reusing the 1000 series during the Ebony III period as well. And some of the Ebony IIs reissued material from Ebony I, or one of Williams' other1940s labels...

Williams was tardy getting into 45s. So far as we know, his releases were exclusively on 78 until 1957, whereupon he rapidly shifted over to producing 45s only. Less than a handful of the Ebony IIs were released in both formats.

All Ebony II 78s carried the same logo in silver print on a dark red background. The earliest among them carried no further blurb. Wiliams next tried hawking his 78s as "Vibraphonic," before he settled on calling them "High-Fidelity," a much more widespread advertising claim in the 1950s. The "High-Fidelity" would remain in the logo on all subsequent Ebony IIs, and was carried over when Wiliams started pressing 45s.

Eb2-1. The Princess Lady and Her Fraternity Boys

Anita Brown (voc), with ts, p, b.

Chicago, unknown date.

Fancourt and McGrath list this session in their blues discography. But they also combine the two Anita Brown releases. Rather strangely, she was designated as "The Princess Lady" on the Ebony 1000 release and as "Anita 'The Brown'" on the Ebony 1008 in this series.

Eb2-2. Anita "The Brown" and Her Blues Boys^ / Genius Jack and His Blues Boys %

Anita Brown (voc ^); Genius Jack (voc %); with ts, p, b.

Chicago, unknown date.

The flip side has the vocal by Genius Jack, about whom we know nothing more. We're assuming that the same group accompanied both performers, but more research is needed on that.

Eb2-3. Mata Roy The Personality Girl and Her Boogie Beats

Mata Roy (voc,p); other musicians unidentfied.

Chicago, prob. 1952

Mata Roy, a piano player and singer, was active in the Chicago Clubs from 1941 through 1952. Partly because of her odd name, the story has circulated that she was a female impersonator, but Dave Penny has seen a photo of Mata Roy and rejects the report.

Mata Roy first shows up on the Musicians Union Local 208 contract list on July 24, 1941, when she posted a contract with the Yes Yes Club. In August 1941, Roy was working at Elmer's Cocktail Lounge (contract accepted and filed on August 14). After that, Roy dropped off the list for several years. She may have traveled elsewhere, but Dave Penny has pointed out to us that by 1944 was definitely in Southern California. On August 21, 1944 she appeared on the very first session for Art Rupe's Juke Box Records (the unimaginative name was soon changed to Specialty), which was cut in Los Angeles. As a member of the Sepia Tones, Roy sang on "When He Comes Home to Me," which was released on Juke Box 100. She was also featured on a piano boogie with the group: "Boogie #1" was released on Juke Box 100 and 500, as well as Specialty 500. The other members of the group were veteran jazzman Paul Howard (clarinet and tenor sax), Nina Russell (organ), and George Vann (drums). Juke Box 101, later Specialty 101, featured Vann's blues singing. Mata Roy participated in all five surviving sides from the session.

Mata Roy returned to Chicago in 1948. On May 6 of that year she filed for 2 weeks at the Moderne. The contract list for December 16, 1948, puts her at Square Lounge for 2 weeks with an "indefinite option." On February 3, 1949, the Board meeting minutes of Local 208 listed Mata Roy's 2-week contract at Alexandria Cocktail Lounge; on March 17 Roy filed a 1-week contract with the Talk of the Town Lounge, following up with an indefinite contract on April 7. In November 1949 Mata Roy worked at the Nob Hill and Mooney's Lounge (1-week contracts with each filed on November 3). On January 5, 1950, Local 208 posted Mata Roy's 4-week contract with Mooney's Lounge. By April 6 of that year, Roy was holding forth at Show Time Lounge, where she posted a 2-week contract, plus an indefinite stint at the Copa Lounge. On April 3, 1952 Roy posted a contract for one week with options at the Lullaby of Broadway. On May 1, 1952, her contract for 2 weeks at the St. Moritz Tap Room was accepted and filed.

In the second half of 1952, Mata Roy disappeared from the Local 208 contract lists. We don't know whether she returned to the West Coast. Her absence from Chicago after mid-1952 is further evidence that her single was released in the earliest days of Ebony II.

This Ebony release is Mata Roy's only solo record. Williams liked to record female performers doing talking boogies (starting with Lil Palmore in 1948; for Anna Lee's contribution to "Nature Boy Blows It," and Lillian Campbell's "Money Talking Boogie," see below). In this case, the boogie takes up both sides of the 78.

Eb2-4. Handsome Ransoms | Three Brown Buddies with vocal by Bill "Sweet William" Lacey^ / Olivette "The Harp" Miller | Her Rhythm Boys %

On ^, Bill Lacey (voc, prob. eg); unidentified (p, b, d).

Chicago, unknown date

On %, Olivette Miller (harp); unidentified (p, b).

Chicago, prob. 1947

Ebony [II] 1012 pairs two disparate sides. Although the label is the same silver on red used during the lifetime of Ebony II, it carries neither the "Vibraphonic" logo that appears on a couple of Ebony II 78's, or the "High Fidelity" moniker that appears on most of the rest. It was probably one of the first Ebony II's to see issue.

The Three Brown Buddies may have used Willie Lacey, who played guitar on a number of late 1940s blues sessions, as their lead singer. One wonders as well whether this is the same group as Buddy Brooks' Three Brown Buddies, who showed up on the Local 208 contract list for May 20, 1954 (when they were signed to a gig of indefinite length at the Normandy Lounge). All to be researched... The XYZ prefix could indicate that the side was recorded during the lifetime of Ebony I. More likely it was an ad hoc way of differentiating this side from its diskmate.

The Three Brown Buddies side reappeared on a 45-rpm release, confusingly numbered 1010, from the Ebony III days.

Olivette Miller was active as a harp player in Chicago. She was the daughter of the Broadway show producer, Flournoy E. Miller, who achieved fame for Shuffle Along and Runnin' Wild. She appears to have performed mainly at society affairs, making very sporadic forays into the club scene.

In 1947, she worked for a time at Colosimo's, filing a contract with Local 208 for two weeks with an indefinite option on May 15. In August, she took a gig at the Capitol Lounge ("indefinite" contract posted on August 21). On October 5, 1947, she landed a radio appearance on the NBC network, alongside Louis Armstrong. On December 4, she posted a contract for 3 weeks at Club Detour. In March 1948, she took up a 2-week gig at the Beige Room in the Pershing Hotel (contract posted on March 4, extending her stay for another 2 weeks on March 18). In October she landed another 4 weeks at the Beige Room (contract accepted and filed on October 7). When her spot at the Beige Room was taken by Gene Wright and his Dukes of Swing, she took up a 2-week engagement at the Sherman Hotel (contract posted on October 21).

During 1949 and 1950, Miller took no nightclub engagements that we know of. She was completely absent from the Local 208 contract list.

In 1951, Olivette Miller marked her return to the club scene with a well advertised gig at the high-toned Harry's Show Lounge (423 East 63rd); her contract for 2 weeks with options was accepted and filed on October 4. She shared the bill with guitarist Ike Perkins and His Hawaiian Band, and was billed as "America's Foremost Swing Harpist." Williams probably took this as a propitious occasion to release some of what he had recorded.

After her Ebony release, Miller continued to work in Chicago, though her club gigs were the exception rather than the rule. In April 1952, she landed a gig at the Blackhawk Restaurant (2-week contract posted on April 3). In 1953, she worked at the Black Orchid (contract for one week with an option for a second week, filed on June 18) and appeared on the Danny O'Neill Show on WBKB-TV (contract filed with Local 208 on October 15). 1954 found her completely absent from the Local 208 contract list. In 1956 she teamed up with dancer Bert Gibson, performing at Roberts Show Lounge (6622 South Parkway). Gibson had previously been with the comedy dance trio the Chocolateers. With Gibson as her partner, in 1957 she produced a 90-minute revue called Highlights, based on scripts and scores she obtained from her father. It featured a cast of 35, which included both her father and the noted black actor, Mantan Moreland.

The CHI prefix on the matrix number was one that Williams had used on a few sessions in the late 1940s; for instance, CHI-101 and 102 were two sides by the Famous Blue Jay Singers, recorded in early 1947. Williams most likely recorded Olivette Miller in 1947, when she was making fairly regular appearances on the club scene, and held the side till later, or he may have revived the CHI series in 1951.

During the remainder of 1952 and the first half of 1953, Williams promoted his records as "Vibraphonic." We know of 5 of these vibraphonic entities: 2 in the blues field, 2 in gospel, and one in vocal-group ballad singing.

Eb2-5. The Clantones (Tear-Jeakers) with Guitar Accompaniment

The Clantones (vocal group); unidentified (g).

Chicago, early 1952

The Clantones were a different kind of vocal group, specializing in ballads. "The Quaker City Boys Singing Pretty for the People" is Williams' other descriptor for them.

"It's No Sin" is a schmaltzy number recorded around this same time (as an instrumental) by Tab Smith for United.

McGrath lists another Clantones single on Ebony 1021. He claims it was originally released in 1964, on the third incarnation of Ebony. McGrath also attributes ownership of Ebony III to Charles Priest, which is clearly incorrect. There is still work to do clarifying things.

Eb2-6. Brother George Curry | The One Man Gospel Train with the Gospel-Aires

George Curry (voc); others unidentified.

Chicago, 1952

Brother George Curry was billed as the "One Man Gospel Quartet." In the studio, multi-tracking was the key. How he could achieve any such effects in live performance remains a little difficult for us to figure, but Williams, whose promotional budget must have been microscopic, actually took out an advertisement in the Chicago Defender to promote bookings for him.

Hayes and Laughton in The Gospel Discogaphy 1943-1970 claim that this session was made "c. 1948." A shellac pressing with the first Ebony label on it would be persuasive... Actually it was in 1948 that a secular-singing George Currie (as he spelled his name then) was briefly featured in the Chicago Defender. The blurb said of him, "boasting of four singing voices has recorded several numbers by singing bass, baritone, tenor, and lead that are solid. Recording carries all four numbers, sounding as real as if sung by Mills Brothers or Ravens." We don't know who Curry made his first record with.

According to Hayes and Laughton, Curry recorded one gospel single at an unknown date for Elko, and two in Hollywood, also at an unkown date, for a label called Phoenix. Both labels were active in the 1950s.

This is the first gospel release that we know of on the second Ebony label. Williams had previously been quite active recording gospel for his 1940s enterprises.

Eb2-7. The Melody Jubilee Singers of Chicago

The Melody Jubilee Singers of Chicago (vocal group).

Chicago, poss. late 1952

Williams also identified this group as "The Saginaw Singers."

Bob McGrath, in the second edition of The R&B Indies, lists Ebony 1031 by The Melody "Gospel" Singers of Chicago and Ebony 1033 by The Melody Jubilee Singers of Chicago. He attributes both to the first incarnation of Ebony. Hayes and Laughton, concur, giving "c. late 1948" as the recording date for those items; they, too, do not mention Ebony 1034.

Williams may have recorded the Melody Jubilee Singers in 1948. However, the group was on his active artists' roster in 1953, as we learn from another one of his sporadic Defender ads.

Eb2-8. The Guitar Wonders | Edward El and Earley Drance [sic] | The Froggy Bottom Boys

Edward El (eg); Earl Dranes (eg); other musicians unidentified.

Chicago, c. 1952

Eddie El, a veteran blues guitarist, and Earl Dranes (whose name was subjected to quite a variety of spellings during his career) had worked, along with pianist Willie Mabon, in the first editiion of a group called the Blues Rockers, which recorded for DJ Al Benson in 1949; two sides from the session were released on Aristocrat.

Dranes went on to record a second session for Aristocrat with the Blues Rockers in 1950; by this time, El had left the group. In 1954, "Early Drane" worked the Be Bop Lounge (his indefinite contract was accepted and filed by Local 208 on April 15; a second indefinite contract was posted on May 20). In August of that same year, he recorded as a side man on the James Bannister/Alfred Harris session for States. Dranes used the Blues Rockers name one more time for a session that he made in Nashville for the Excello label (1955). His last club appearances in Chicago that we know of took place in 1956.

Fancourt and McGrath list this session, claiming that the two guitars are the only intruments on it, and giving a date of "early/mid 1950s."

Eb2-9. Georgia Boy McCain with The Blues Blowers / Georgia Boy Terry with The Blues Blowers

Georgia Boy McCain (voc^); Dossie Terry (voc); other musicians unidentified.

Chicago, c. 1952

Dossie Terry had previously recorded for Mayo Williams; he was responsible for releases on Chicago 117 and Chicago / Southern 119, both done in 1945. And a side that he had cut for the Southern California company Bel-Tone was acquired by Williams and subsequently appeared on 20th Century 20-46. Terry next surfaced on RCA Victor, recording two sessions in New York in December 1951, and another, which was left in the can, in February 1953. Assuming these recordings for Williams were new ("New Moon Blues" was not a title that Terry had previously released), they were probably made in between the RCA Victor outings. After being dropped by Victor, Terry next signed with King, which recorded him twice in New York City in 1957. He subsequently made one single each for the small New York-based operations of X-tra (1957), Amp (1958), and Bonus (1959).

During the second half of 1953, Mayo Williams replaced the Vibraphonic slogan with High-Fidelity.

Eb2-10. Birmingham Junior and His Lover Boys

Wright Birmingham [Birmingham Junior] (voc on ^, hca); Freddy Robinson (eg); Charles Jones (eg); Billy Davenport (d).

Chicago, c. 1954

An advertisement in the city edition of the Chicago Defender, seeking bookings for Birmingham Junior, came out in 1957, but stylistically this session appears to have been done earlier, in the wake of Little Walter's success with his band the Jukes.

Personnel as per Fancourt and McGrath; as Birmingham Jones, Wright Birmingham made one more session in 1965, consisting of four tunes, for Vivid. It went unreleased at the time but has since appeared on a Floating Bridge LP and a Charly CD.

Eb2-11. Tab Smith and his Orchestra with Robie [sic] Kirk and The Ruppert-Aires^ / Tab Smith and His Orchestra

Roebie Kirk (voc on ^); Tab Smith (as, dir); other musicians unidentified.

location uncertain, 1945 (see note below)

The combo led by alto saxophonist Tab Smith (1909-1971) had been under contract to Mayo Williams for a time in 1945. Roebie Kirk sang on two of the four sides that Smith's group recorded for the very small Beltone label in Los Angeles (August 1945); material from this session was quickly acquired by Williams and released on Harlem and 20th Century. A session cut in New York City around September 1945 featured a different Smith combo and Roebie Kirk; the initial releases were on Southern. Kirk did not continue with Smith after these outings; Smith, meanwhile, made one more session for Harlem and the first incarnation of Ebony in November 1945. Smith then moved on to the New York-based Hub and Manor labels and, for one session in 1949, to a brand-new outfit called Atlantic. In the later part of 1947, sides from all three of the 1945 sessions under Williams' control were dealt to King Records, which put out several reissue singles. Whether this was a lease or a purchase is not known.

Eb2-12. Tab Smith and his Orch. with Robie [sic] Kirk and The Ruppert-Aires^ / Tab Smith and His Orchestra

Roebie Kirk (voc on ^); Tab Smith (as, dir); other musicians unidentified.

location uncertain, 1945 (see note below)

This is a straight 45-rpm version of Ebony [II] 1008. The only difference is that "Orchestra" had to be abbreviated on the Side A label.

"Romance-Time" is definitely a 1945 recording, and "Tab's Rocker" is probably a retitle job on another item made that year for Southern. See our listing for the Ebony II 78 for further details.

After moving to Saint Louis, Tab Smith began recording again in 1951: first for Premium, with some success, then for United, where his first single, "Because of You," was a big hit, and his subsequent releases were reliable sellers. Obviously, at some point between late 1953 and 1956, Williams sensed an opportunity to cash in on Tab Smith's popularity. However, his prospects of making new recordings with Smith (who remained under contract to Leonard Allen of United until the company folded in 1957) were nil. So he dusted off some sides from 1945.

"Romance-Time" originally appeared on Harlem 1008-A back in 1945. "Tabs Rocker" is almost certainly a retitle job on an instrumental from one of the 1945 dates. Which one it was remains to be determined. The B side of Harlem 1008 was "Purple Heart," reissued on King as "Tab's Purple Heart."

Eb2-13. Sunnyland Slim and His Boys from the Big Foot Country / Nature Boy "JT" Brown and His Home Boys

Anna Lee (voc); Sunnyland Slim (p -1); J. T. Brown (ts -2); unidentified (eg -1); unidentified (maracas -1); unidentified (perc -1); other musicians unidentified.

Chicago, late 1953 or early 1954

The A side of Ebony 1009 features Sunnyland Slim on piano and vocals, someone (possibly Sunnyland's regular bassist Big Crawford) shaking maracas, a drummer (possibly Sunnyland's regular drummer Alfred Wallace) doing hand percussion only, a guitarist (not Junior Lockwood, and not J. B. Lenoir) who is hard to hear, and one Anna Lee responding to Sunnyland's pleas. The recording quality proves that the side was not made anywhere near Universal Recording.

Joe Brown picked up the Sunnyland Slim side and reissued it on JOB 1105, which came out around August 7, 1954. Anna Lee was not credited on the JOB. Because of the JOB connection, the side has been further reissued on Westside WESA 910, Sunnyland Slim & Friends: Sunnyland Special: The Cobra & JOB Recordings 1949-1956, a British CD released in 2001. Classics 5171, Sunnyland Slim 1952-1955, was released on CD in 2006. Neither of these reissues cites the side's original appearance on Ebony.

Although Joe Brown recorded J. T. Brown and released a single on him, the recording quality on 1009B was apparently too raw to interest him.

Eb2-14. Lillian "Money-Honey" Campbell with Norma Shelton and Her Rhythm Boys

Lillian Campbell (voc) acc. by Norma Shelton (p, ldr); Hilliard Blanchard (tp -2); Warren Smith (as -1; cl -2); unidentified (eg -1); Jimmy Cooper (d).

Chicago, prob. late 1953 or early 1954

The Lillian Campbell 78, the second Ebony 1010 to be released in the 1950s, has a 323 in the trail-off vinyl that is not present on the Mata Roy (an Ebony 1010 that was pre-Vibraphonic as well as pre-High Fidelity). "Money Honey" by the Drifters was released in September 1953, so this recording is most likely from the last quarter of that year.

One wonders whether Mayo Wiliams had anything to do with placing a photo of Norma Shelton's band in the Chicago Defender. The band was not booked in the South Side clubs at the time, and the dance it had just played was not a high-profile event...

Norma Shelton was born Norma Rowlett in Fulton, Kentucky. Her parents were Iverson Rowlett and Mary Magdalene Rowlett. After Iverson's death in 1912, Mary Magdalene Rowlett moved to the South Side of Chicago, bringing Norma and her two sisters with her. Norma, who was basically self-taught, began playing the piano when she was 8 years old.

Norma married Alfred Shelton, who served as her band's manager; they had six children. By the early 1930s, Norma Shelton was performing regularly with her Rhythm Boys; they reportedly appeared at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933. One wonders whether Norma Shelton and Mayo Williams might have crossed paths back when he was working for Decca; by 1953, she had been performing in the Chicago area for at least 20 years.

Our thanks go to Karen Shelton, Norma Shelton's great-granddaughter, for this biographical information (email of March 30, 2009).

Eb2-15. Freddie "Bama Boy" Hall and His Gadsden Band

Freddie Hall (voc); unidentified (ts); unidentified (p); unidentified (b); unidentified (d).

Chicago, prob. early 1954

Freddie Hall was a blues shouter. From the florid label copy on his Ebony release, we gather that he was originally from Gadsden, Alabama. We have seen no photos, but Ebony confidently proclaims him to be "Gadsdens [sic] Gift to the Girls."

According to Fancourt and McGrath, Hall played piano on this session, and was accompanied by tenor sax, bass, and drums. "This Crooked World" is definitely inspired by Willie Mabon's "I Dont' Know," maybe even by some of its knockoffs. So the record cannot have been made before 1953.

Apparently Joe Brown, who had collaborated with Chance in 1953, brokered a deal with label owner Art Sheridan, because in August 1954, the single was reissued (sans boasts about gifts to the girls) as Chance 1159. Until the recent discovery of the original release on Ebony 1011, we had only the matrix numbers HF-1011A and HF-1011B on the Chance single to indicate Ebony as the source.

Freddie Hall would next record in a rock and roll-influenced style for Abco (a label co-owned by Joe Brown) in 1956. His last known recordings were made in 1959, and consisted of three singles for the C. J. label.

Eb2-16. Dickie Adams and His Orchestra | Marguerite with the Group^ / Dickie Adams and His Orchestra

Marguerite (voc ^); Dickie Adams (ldr, poss. voc^) with unidentified (as); unidentified (ts); unidentified (ts); unidentified (p); unidentified (b); unidentified (d).

Chicago, prob. early 1954

Dickie Adams, about whom nothing more is known, led a sturdy jump combo with solo contributions from the alto saxophonist, one of the tenors, and the piano. The lack of down-home references in the label copy suggests that Adams was a native of the Chicago area. "Rock It Little Daddy" is a variant of "Rock Daddy Rock," as done by Bertha Henderson for Chance, and by a number of other performers for other labels; "Indiana Blues" is a slow instrumental.

The sonics are clear but the recording balance is not what one would expect from one of the top studios in town.

Eb2-17. The Eagle-Aires with Red Hollaways [sic] Buttermilk Bottom Band | Bob Dunbar with Ensemble^ / The Eagle-Aires with Red Hollaways Buttermilk Bottom Band | Eddie Clark with Ensemble

The Eagle-Aires: Robert Dunbar (voc); Eddie Clark (voc); ... Jones (voc); ... Brent (voc); acc. by James "Red" Holloway (ts); Lewis Carpenter (p); prob. Lefty Bates (eg); Hawk Lee (d); Robert "Hendu" Henderson (d).

Chicago, c. February 1954

The two records by The Eagle-Aires are Williams' only known venture into doowop. The group was first-rate, but Williams apparently didn't sustain his interest in the genre. Again, the balance between the singers and the instrumentalists is not what would ensue from an outing at Universal Recording.

One of Williams' many eccentricities was a predilection for attaching the Aires suffix, then commonplace in the gospel world, to the names of secular vocal groups. See also the Ruppert-Aires, who performed on Ebony 1008.

Ebony 1014 was quickly dealt to Joe Brown, who reissued it (with a whole lot less label copy) as JOB 1104. The matrix numbers Until recently, most collectors were familiar only with the JOB, on account of the rarity of the original release; at present just three copies of the Ebony are known.

Eb2-18. The Eagle-Aires | The Tan Yard Bottom Boys | Dunbar - Clark | Jones - Brent

The Eagle-Aires: Robert Dunbar (voc); Eddie Clark (voc); ... Jones (voc); ... Brent (voc); unidentified accompaniment.

Chicago, prob. 1954

The second Eagle-Aires release was never picked up by JOB and has consequently remained even more obscure. Since Joe Turner's "Honey Hush" was recorded and released in 1953, and the record also testifies to Mayo Williams' continuing fascination with "Money Honey," first released by the Drifters in September 1953, we can be pretty sure about the data. The copy of 1015 in the hands of George Paulus is the only one known to survive.

Eb2-19. The Harmonettes

The Harmonettes: Dorothy Herron O'Bryant, Princess Stewart, Sara Bell, Annalee Boyd (voc.)

Chicago, October 1954

The Chicago Defender for October 9, 1954 ran a photo of J. Mayo Williams with his new recording group, the Harmonettes. This was a female gospel group under the direction of well known gospel impresario, Dorothy Herron O'Bryant; it had been around since the late 1940s. The group was reported to have been signed by Williams the previous week to record "A Letter to Santa Claus."

We don't know whether this record actually saw release. In the photo both Dorothy O'Bryant and Mayo Williams are holding Ebony 78s, but the label copy cannot be read. Note how all of the Ebony records on the wall behind them are 78s.

Eb2-20. Jack "Cowboy" Cooley and his Rock and Rollers^ / Jack "Cowboy" Cooley with Tab Smith and his Orchestra

Jack Cooley (voc on ^, d); acc. by Tab Smith (as); other musicians unidentified.

Chicago, 1945

Jack Cooley was a singing waiter in Chicago who also played drums. He often wore cowboy hats and liked to perform numbers with titles like "Mr. Two-Gun Pete." Never a recording star, Cooley enjoyed steady work in the South Side clubs from 1944 until 1960. He was on Williams' talent roster back in 1945. Subsequently he would record for the tiny Square Deal label (1948 or 1949), for Apollo (as a member of Israel Crosby's Quartette), for his own C&G label (1950), for Nashboro (1951), and (as close as he was going to get to the big time) for States (1953).

The heavy rock and roll promotion attendant on Ebony 1001 indicate a release in 1955 or 1956, later in Ebony II's run. Williams would not have been able to get Tab Smith's band into a studio at that date (Smith was under contract to United).

Both sides are said by McGrath (2nd edition) to have appeared on Ebony [I] 1010, but as with so many issues pertaining to Ebony I, this needs verifying.

Eb2-21. Little Brother Montgomery and His Bogalusa Boys with Brother George Blunt Calling the Licks^ / Little Brother Montgomery and His Bogalusa Boys

Eurreal "Little Brother" Montgomery (p, voc on %); Ransom Knowling (b); Booker T. Washington (d); George Blunt (shouts on ^).

Chicago, 1957

When Williams recorded Little Brother Montgomery he was calling on the services of a veteran blues performer whose discograhy extended all the way back to 1930. Montgomery's piano technique was still intact, and he performed well on a number of 1950s sessions, including this one and his 1953 outing for JOB.

The bassist and drummer are as identified in Fancourt and McGrath's Blues Discography 1943-1970. Fancourt and McGrath place the session in 1956. However, a Chicago Defender blurb from 1957 hyperbolically announces that Montgomery's new recording of "Pinetop's Boogie" is a hit.

Sonically, both sides of Ebony 1005 are definitely from the 1950s. Washington's well-recorded drums practically surround the piano in the sonic image.

This 78 was reissued on a 45 with the same titles, credits, and issue number.

Eb2-22. Little Brother Montgomery and His Bogalusa Boys with Brother George Blunt Calling the Licks^ / Little Brother Montgomery and His Bogalusa Boys

Eurreal "Little Brother" Montgomery (p, voc on %); Ransom Knowling (b); Booker T. Washington (d); George Blunt (shouts on ^).

Chicago, 1957

Eb2-23. Vocal Dance Ensemble | Goodie Watkins - Alfrena Shelton - Larry Shaw | The Sheltons under direction of Norma Shelton^ / Vocal Dance The Humming Tones with The Sheltons under direction of Norma Shelton

Goodie Watkins (voc ^); Alfrena Shelton (voc ^); Larry Shaw (voc ^); The Humming Tones (vocal group); acc. by Norma Shelton (p, dir); other musicians unidentified.

Chicago, 1956 or 1957

Norma Shelton, who was born in Kentucky and moved to the South Side of Chicago in 1912, played piano and began leading a group called the Rhythm Boys in the early 1930s. Williams had already recorded her with the Rhythm Boys on the Lillian Campbell single (this was the second Ebony 1010, recorded in 1953; see above). The reference to Elvis Presley makes 1956 the likely date of recording as well as release.

The Shelton Sisters were three of Alfred and Norma Shelton's daughters; they often performed with their mother's combo during this period.

Norma Shelton died in November 1972. We are indebted to Karen Shelton, her great-granddaughter, for basic information about her life and work (email communication, March 30, 2009).

Goodie Watkins, who sings on "Mama Don't Allow," was by this time a veteran of the South Side club scene. For instance, the Board meeting minutes of Musicians Union Local 208 list her as appearing at Mickey's Tavern and the Q Lounge in November 1948; she filed contracts for an indefinite period at the Q and 3 nights at Mickey's on November 18. Watkins posted an indefinite contract with Ralph's Club on January 6, 1949. In April, she moved to Sago's Lounge, posting an indefinite contract on April 21. In July she was holding down a gig at the Boogie Woogie Inn (indefinite contract accepted and filed on July 7), plus a one-day fill-in at the Bon Air Lounge (posted July 21).

Watkins posted another indefinite contract with Ralph's Club on January 5, 1950. On October 19 of the same year, Watkins posted an indefinite contract with the Boogie Woogie Inn. On July 5, 1951, she posted an indefinite contract with the Caldonia Lounge, and on September 6, 1951, an indefinite contract with Phil's Lounge. On June 19 and July 3, 1952, she posted indefinite contracts with the 317 Club, followed by another on December 4. In March 1953, she was back at Ralph's Club, posting an indefinite contract on March 5, and following up with another for 2 weeks on June 4. She also picked up a gig at the 34 Club (indefinite contracts accepted on June 4 and 18, 1953, plus another for 3 nights on July 2). In August Watkins was at the 317 Club (indefinite contract posted on August 20, 1953 for a gig that began on the 7th). On November 5, 1953, she posted an indefinite contract with the New Look Lounge, following with another on December 17. On April 1, 1954, she posted an indefinite contract with the Ship Show Lounge, renewing it on June 17. In July she moved to the 2600 Club (indefinite contract accepted and filed on July 15). On April 7, 1955, she filed an indefinite contract with the Happy Home Lounge. On June 2, 1955, Goodie Watkins posted a contract for a gig of indefinite length at Club 34; in July she moved to Club 26 (indefinite contract filed on July 7). On January 5, 1956, she posted an indefinite contract with a joint called the Big Top Hat. We are not aware of any other recordings by Goodie Watkins.

In 1957, Mayo Williams made an abrupt shift from producing 78s to producing 45s only.

Two of these 45s ("Pinetops Boogie" b/w "Arkansas Blues" by Little Brother Montgomery, and "Romance-Time" b/w "Tabs Rocker" by Tab Smith) corresponded to existing 78s. Otherwise, however, release numbers already used in the 1000 series for Ebony Is or IIs were reassigned, and new issues appeared on 45 rpm only.

Eb2-23. "Plunkie" Montgomery | Little Brother Montgomery and His Vicksburgers

Little Brother Montgomery (voc, p); Oliver Acorn (ts); Jack Cooley (d)

Chicago, 1957

Little Brother Montgomery was extensively recorded during the 1950s. However, a lot of his output consisted of home taping not released until much later. Fancourt and McGrath give this session a 1956 year, but the say the same of the "Pinetop's Boogie Blues" session, which we now know was done in 1957. So the later date is a safer bet.

From here on out, all Ebony releases would appear on 45 rpm only.

Just two confuse matters further, Williams decided to mix and match one side from Montgomery's Ebony 1005 with another previously unreleased side from the same session. And he put them on another ... Ebony 1000.

Eb2-24. Little Brother "Big Head" Montgomery with Brother George Blount Calling the Licks^ / Little Borther "Big Head" Montgomery and His Juke Band From New Orleans

Little Brother Montgomery (p, voc); Ransom Knowling (b); Booker T. Washington (d); George Blunt (shouts)

Chicago, 1957

Robert Stallworth says, "This is a different recording than the above mentioned 'Cow Cow Blues.' The arrangement and instrumentation is very different. This version has 'shouts' occasionally in the background. It is possible, in fact, that the "Cow Cow Blues" listed here was really done with the same lineup as the "Pinetop's Boogie" and "Arkansas Blues" covered above under Ebony II.

Eb2-25. Harmonica "Blues King" Harris and His Mississippi Band

Alfred Harris (hca, voc); unidentified (eg); unidentified (eg); unidentified (d).

Chicago, 1956 or 1957

Alfred Harris could sing in the manner of B. B. King. He often billed himself as "Blues King," where King was meant as a surname, not a title. He had previously cut one track in Memphis for Modern. His best-known session was an outing he shared drummer James Bannister for States, on August 9, 1954. At the time, Harris was holding down a 6-month gig at the Be-Bop Lounge (contract posted with Local 208 on June 17, 1954); guitarist Earl Dranes, who had been working at the Be-Bop, was also on the session. in March 1955, Harris was working the H & H Tavern (contract for 6 weeks posted on March 20). The Ebony session, for which the details remain obscure, seems to have been done in 1956 or 1957. Harris dropped completely off the Chicago scene in 1959, and his subsequent movements remain unknown.

An unusual feature on this release is the Calypso number on Side B. Calypso enjoyed a niche market in the African-American community during this period. Williams' colleague Joe Brown recorded three different Calypso singles by drummer Zona Sago for release on JOB; in 1956 Sago made one further single for the Chess brothers' Argo subsidiary.

Fancourt and McGrath list this session, putting a 1956 date on it. According to them, the other instruments on the session were guitar and drums.

Eb2-26. Cool Breeze and His Band with the Little Cool Breezes

Joe Bell (b), with prob. Bobby "Jazzy" Blevins (p); Oliver Sain (ts); Little Gates (d); Jimmy Petty (voc); Rupert Jones (voc); The Senders (voc).

We haven't heard "Down Stairs," and are guessing at the band, based on the makeup of Cool Breeze's working ensemble during this period. According to some sources, Frank Butler was the lead vocalist on "Down Stairs." Jimmy Petty, Rupert Jones, and the Senders are mentioned on the label. Obviously the vocal credits stand in need of straightening out.

Eb2-27. The Senders with Cool Breeze and His Little Cool Breezes

Joe Bell (b), with prob. Bobby "Jazzy" Blevins (p); Oliver Sain (ts); Little Gates (d); Jimmy Petty (voc); Rupert Jones (voc); The Senders (voc).

Again, we're assuming Bell's lineup from the fall of 1957, and we're not sure whether Frank Butler sang on one of these sides.

Bass player Cool Breeze had had a long career before he made these sides for Williams. He was born Fred Walker, went by the name of Joe Bell, but in public was always known as "Cool Breeze." He began his career in 1939 in a rhythm vocal group called the Five Breezes, which got its first work at Martin's Corner (1500 West Lake). Other members of the group were bass player Willie Dixon, Willie Hawthorne, Gene Gilmore, and pianist/guitarist Leonard Caston. They recorded for Bluebird in 1940. The group broke up in 1942, when Dixon was imprisoned for resisting the draft.

By 1947, Bell, now the bass player in the groups he participated in, was leading a group called the Three Breezes, working regularly on the club scene, most notably playing at the Subway Lounge (3525 South Indiana). The following year his group had beefed up to a total of under the name Cool Breeze and His Four Breezes, playing at Little Joe's 217 Club (217 E. 35th) and for six weeks at the Brookmont Lounge (3935 Michigan). In December 1947, Cool Breeze got to sing on one of Chicago All-Stars sessions for Columbia, but his feature numbers weren't released.

In April of 1949, the group was playing at the Hob-Nob Lounge (5358 Wentworth) with a lineup of Joe Bell on bass, Eddie "Sugarman" Penigar on piano, Cyril "Cozy " Eggleston on tenor sax, and Rudy Pernell on drums. The presence of this stellar cast of musicians indicates that the Bell's group had evolved from a rhythmic vocal group into a straight jazz combo.

The following year they were at the L-Bow Lounge (55th and Michigan). By 1952, the size of the group was indeterminate, under the billing of Cool Breeze and His Breezes; they were playing at Little Joe's Hi-Hat Club (6223 Cottage Grove).

In 1953, Cool Breeze and his group were playing at the Grove Circle Inn (61st and Cottage Grove). Bell also played bass on a Willie Mabon session for Chess, though there is no reason to think that he joined Mabon's group. In July Cool Breeze and His Four Breezes had just completed a tour of the East and were playing at the Club 34 (3117 West Roosevelt). The Chicago Defender reported that they were recording for United at this time, and that the unit consisted of Joe Bell on bass, Cecil Howell on sax, Nate Burton on drums, and Eddie Malone on piano. The group moved to the Club Evergreen in October, with a new piano player, Laney McDonald, replacing Eddie Malone. The following year the group was playing at the Savannah Club (350 East 51st). Nothing ever came of the plan to record for United, so during this time Joe Bell put out three releases on his own custom Bell label, some of the sides featuring Frank Butler on vocals.

During the early months of 1957, Bell and his quartet held down a regular gig at Duke Slater's Vincennes Lounge; they were replaced when Richard Ingram's rock and roll band with Johnny Houser returned. From November 1957 through January 1958, Cool Breeze worked as the house band for the newly opened at Sid's 3022 Club (3022 West Madison), being billed as "Cool Breeze and His Recording Band." Members were listed as Bobby "Jazzy" Blevins (piano), Oliver Sain (sax), Cool Breeze (bass), and Little Gates (drums). This was probably the group that made these four sides for Williams. The identity of the Senders is unknown.

In May 1958, the group was back to Club 34, and Bell was supported by Johnny Cameron on tenor sax, Laney McDonald on piano, and Bob Shropshire on drums.

Vocalist Frank Butler recorded a single on Mel London's Chief label in 1957. Year later, in 1970, Butler would made a couple of records for Jimmy Bracken's feeble attempt to get back into the music business after the collapse of Vee-Jay Records: one for Bracken's Ra-Bra label, and another for his J. V. label.

Eb2-28. Cal "Caldonia" Palmer | Verna "Baby Sis" Rogers | Little Brother Montgomery's Lousiana Juke Band with Lee Roi "Lips" Nabors

Lil Palmore (voc) with Verna "Baby Sis" Rogers (voc); Little Brother Montgomery (p); Lee Roi Nabors (tp); others unidentified.

Chicago, 1959

Lil Palmore was used just on vocals, leaving Little Brother Montgomery to do the keyboard work.

Eb2-29. Little Archie "Schoolboy" Taylor With Little Brother Montgomerys [sic] Continental Jazz Band | Archie "Schoolboy" Taylor With Little Brother Montgomerys Continental Jazz Band and the Hardin-Aires

Archie Taylor (voc); Little Brother Montgomery (p); others unidentified.

Chicago, c. 1959

This Ebony 1002 appears to come from the last days of Ebony II. There is a transitional label design not seen on other releases, and the involvement of the Continental Jazz Band puts the recording around 1959.

Eb2-30. Bill Lacey with Lil Armstrong and Her Ebony-Aires -1/ June O'Brien with Lil Armstrong and Her Ebony Aires -2

Bill Lacey (voc -1); June O' Brien (voc -2); Lil Armstrong (p); others unidentified.

Chicago, 1959

With this Christmas record, Mayo Williams was on his fourth Ebony 1010. Bill Lacey had previously sung on another Ebony release; June O'Brien was a White pop singer. There is no composer credit on "Rudolph" (did Williams really think it was traditional?) but Lil Armstrong is credited with arranging it.

Eb2-31. Jimmy "Boo Boo" Blazer with "Geechie" Hicks and His Creole Combo / Cal "Caldonia" Palmer

Jimmy Blazer (voc) with ts, org, g, b, d, sound effects / Lil Palmore (v) with Jimmy Blazer (voc), tp, ts, Little Brother Montgomery (p), b, d

Chicago, late 1958 or early 1959

This Ebony release was picked up by Trend; since Trend 30-016 was advertised in November 1958, the sessions took place in late 1958 or early 1959. The Trend release has an artist title that sounds like it came from a Williams project.

Lil Palmore, under her Cal Palmer moniker, is used just on vocals, leaving Little Brother Montgomery to do the keyboard work.

In 1959, Ebony II came to a sudden end. Williams became ill and had to suspend his record business for some months.

The third and final incarnation of the Ebony label opened in 1959, still at the same business address. Ebony III was a 45-rpm label, although some of the releases were EPs and one even got a miniature LP cover. Ebony III was still active in the late 1960s and the last release was probably the memorial to Louis and Lil Armstrong, in 1971. While there was a flurry of new recording from 1959 to 1962, of course Williams was also continuing to repackage items from both previous incarnations of the label. And, of course, he was, once again, reusing the 1000 series.

Williams was away from the record business for a while in 1959. In July 1959, the "Nosey Says" gossip column in the Defender mentioned that Williams "hospitalized recently has recovered sufficiently to be back at his office in the South Center Building." A month later, the columnist reported in the August 5 edition that "J. Mayo Williams, former football great at Brown University now in the record business is all set to release new and revised discs of oldies that were favorites years ago." There does appear to have been a minor surge of activity on Ebony during 1959-60. Williams led off with a release by Lil Palmore, who was now calling herself Cal Palmer.

Eb3-1. "Caldonia" Palmer and "Brother" John Sellers with Little Brother And His Jazz Blues Band / Cal "Caldonia" Palmer With Little Brother Montgomery's Blues Band^

Lil Palmore (v) with John Sellers (v-1), Le Roi Nabors (tp), Little Brother Montgomery (p); Robert Lockwood Jr (g); Ransom Knowling (b); Jack Cooley (d)

Chicago, 1959

Lil Palmore was again used just on vocals, leaving Little Brother Montgomery to do the keyboard work. What is probably a reissue of this "Busy Bootin" appeared on Ebony 1095; 1095 credits the release to Brother John Sellers but mentions Cal Palmer on the label.

Eb3-2. Brother John Sellers and His Tambourine with Sonny Archer -1/ Brother John Sellers and His Tambourine with Soul Sister Caldonia -2

John Sellers (voc -1); Sonny Archer (-1); Lil Palmore (voc -2) Le Roi Nabors (tp), Little Brother Montgomery (p), Robert Lockwood Jr (eg); Ransom Knowling (b); Jack Cooley (d)

Chicago, 1959

Brother John Sellers first recorded for Williams in 1945, when a side was released on the Southern label, and two sides appeared on Queen, an imprint of King Records in Cincinnati. He did extensive recording afterwards for a number of labels, before reappearing on Ebony.

Sellers was born May 27, 1924 in Clarksville, Mississippi. While in the South he performed in Minstrel shows, but by the early 1940s in Chicago Sellers was singing gospel with Mahalia Jackson. As John Sellers he recorded blues for the Southern and King labels during 1945, for the RCA Victor label in 1947 (backed by Willie Dixon), and for King Records again in 1951. As Brother John Sellers he recorded gospel for Miracle in 1947 and 1948. He joined John "Schoolboy" Porter, recording two blues sides for Chance in May 1952. His next session for Chance was a marathon--eight sides in November, all blues--backed by the band of local trumpet player King Kolax.

After his Chance sessions, Sellers moved to New York and became involved in the folk club scene (apparently coming back to Chicago for this Ebony release). He built a career on the same model as Big Bill Broonzy, Josh White, and the Reverend Gary Davis, presenting a repertoire that melded folk, blues, and gospel. He later made LPs for Vanguard (1954), British Decca (1957), and Monitor (1959). Sellers died on March 27, 1999, in New York.

Eb3-3. Little [sic] "Hardin" Armstrong & the Hardin-Aires -1 / Oscar Brown Jr. with the Harden-Aires -2 / The Hardin-Aires and Lil Armstrong's Continental Band with Lee Roi "Lips" Nabors -3 / Little Archie "Schoolboy" Taylor with the Hardin-Aires & Band -4

Lil ]Hardin Armstrong (voc, p); Oscar Brown Jr. (voc); Little Archie Taylor (voc); Lee Roi Nabors (tp); others unidentified.

Chicago, 1959

Williams established another alliance, the last one we know of, with a label called Trend. Trend was a subsidiary of Kapp, which in turn was named after Williams' former boss when he worked at Decca, Jack Kapp. The alliance seems to have been responsible for two releases on Trend.

Pianist-singer Lil Hardin Armstrong was of course not unknown to Williams, who recorded her regularly while he was at Decca in the 1930s. She was born Lillian Hardin in Memphis on February 3 1898 (or 1902). She got her formal musical training at Fisk University, and moved to Chicago in 1917. There she worked as a songplugger and in various legendary bands of the Jazz Age: Freddie Kepppard, King Oliver, Sidney Bechet, and finally with Louis Armstrong (whom she married in 1924). She made the first session under her own name in 1926, recording a thinly disguised version of her husband's Hot Five as Lil's Hot Shots. Her most extensive recording period was for Decca, in six sessions during 1936-40, under Mayo Williams' aegis. In the immediate postwar years, made three sessions in Chicago for Black & White (1945), Eastwood (1947), and Gotham (around 1950). Then she was off to Paris, where she worked during the early 1950s.

Armstrong returned to Chicago in the fall of 1956, where she resumed her residence and her career. She worked on both the North Side clubs and the South Side clubs. Ms. Armstrong found herself entertaining at private parties, such as the one in July 1957 celebrating deejay Freddie Williamson's birthday, where she "played and sang a score of her French songs to the delight of the guests."

We do not know when Williams again resumed his connection with Armstrong, but Lord gives the date of the "Memphis Man" as 1959. He places one side of the Trend release on the same session, but we see no reason why both sides should not be there. This may have been shortly before she put together a sizable band, the "Continental Band," which included Roy Lang (trombone), Eddie Lynch (guitar), Chris Clifton (trumpet), Odell Rand (clarinet), and Jasper Taylor (drums). Ms. Armstrong later cut two albums for Riverside during 1960-61. She made a dramatic life exit on August 27, 1971, when she collapsed and died while performing at a Louis Armstrong tribute concert.

Oscar Brown Jr. was born October 10, 1926 in Chicago, the son of a lawyer. After working as a disc jockey in the early 1950s and serving in the U.S. Army from 1954-56, he entered the world of the performing arts. His interest was in writing songs with a social or political theme, and he often presented them in self-written, self-directed musical plays. Brown's music touches on the world of jazz, folk, and soul, often putting lyrics to jazz instrumentals. We reported that Brown first recorded for Tommy Jones' Mad Records in 1960. This Ebony release may actually predate the Mad.

The politically active Brown ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Illinois legislature on one occasion, and for Congress on another. Although his recording career ended in the 1970s, he continued to perform and act in plays and cabaret performances, sometimes working with his daughter, singer Maggie Brown. Oscar Brown, Jr., died in Chicago on May 29, 2005, after a brief illness.

Oscar Brown Jr. was survived by four daughters and one son. A second son, Oscar Brown III, played bass and piccolo bass with Phil Cohran's Chicago-based ensembles and with the Sun Ra Arkestra of the 1980s. Oscar Brown III died in the late 1990s.

Eb3-4. Saint Louis Jimmy with Jimmy Odens [sic] Blues Soul Stirrers / Sleepy John Estes with Jimmy Odens Blues Soul Stirrers [sic]%

Jimmy Oden (voc) with Ltttle Brother Montgomery (p); unidentified (b); unidentified (d).

Chicago, unknown date (see below).

John Estes (voc, g); Son Bonds or Charlie Pickett (g). %

New York City, April 22, 1938.

Maddeningly, Mayo Williams was now duplicating release numbers virtually at will, within an incarnation of his label. So how many different singles were issued as Ebony 1000?

"Going Down Slow" was first recorded by St. Louis Jimmy in 1941, for Bluebird. He cut some sides for Decca in the late 1930s while Mayo Williams was there, but what became his signature number was not included among them. However, "Going Down Slow" was one of three titles that Oden recorded for Southern in December 1945 (Fancourt and McGrath say these were done in Chicago, but the master numbers are in the UN series, indicating that they were done in New York). Southern didn't release them; the were leased to King, and King assigned its own master numbers but didn't release them either. Obviously, the 1945 version of "Going Down Slow" would have been available to Mayo Williams. Of course, we don't know who accompanied him on it. Williams could also called Oden back and made a new recording in the late 1950s with Little Brother Montgomery--Oden ended up redoing the piece many times. To be researched...

We can be a little more definite about the Sleepy John Estes side. "Some Day Baby" is actually "New Someday Baby," released on Decca in 1938. The original matrix number was 63652-A and the first release was on Decca 7473. Fancourt and McGrath place this Ebony release somewhere between 1956 and 1960; from the style of label employed, we estimate it was later. Fancourt and McGrath put the same Estes side on a release from around 1964, where Hammie Nixon and other musicians were brought in for overdubs.

Eb3-5. The Original "Sleepy John" Estes with his "Jug Buddy" Hammie Nix & "Father Jazz" Booker T. Washington

Sleepy John Estes (voc, g), Son Bonds or Charlie Pickett (g); overdubbed: Hammie Nixon (jug, hca); Booker T. Washington (d).

New York, April 22, 1938; overdubs recorded Chicago, 1964.

This is actually the original Decca recording of "New Someday Baby" b/w "Brownsville Blues," released on Estes in 1938, to which Williams added harmonica, drums, and reverb. According to Dixon, Godrich, and Rye, the original Decca matrix numbers were 63652-A and 63653-A, and both sides were originally released on Decca 7473.

Hammie Nixon recalled the circumstances to interviewer Jim O'Neal: "That was when we come back—we had just come back from overseas [on the 1964 American Folk Blues Festival]. He took us right there to his office on 47th Street, didn't he? Same place we did back in the 1930s, where he took us. He had some pictures took. Man, they took pictures for about three or four days. He said we had a whole lot of money or something, and he gon' get it for us, but we didn't get it." (Nixon's recollection of recording in Chicago seems to pertain to a 1935 session for Decca, not the 1938 session at which these tracks were originally laid down.)

Eb3-6. The Original "Little David" Alexander with Father Jazz "Booker T. Washington"

David Alexander (voc, p) with Hammie Nixon (hca -1); Booker T. Washington (d)

Chicago, date unknown

This item has often been listed as a late 1940s product (i.e., an Ebony I) but we suspect that it is in fact a 45-rpm release from the mid-1960s on Ebony III. It wouldn't hurt to see a copy, now would it?

Fancourt and McGrath's Blues Discography reports that these are probably overdubbed prewar masters. This may well be, but Alexander is not listed either in Dixon, Godrich, and Rye, or in Lord. As we so frequently say, to be researched...

Eb3-7. Tommie "Blind Tom" Malone with "Bill" Reese and His Ebony Studio Band

Tommie Malone (voc) with Cee Pee Johansen, Ben Hughes, Bill Reese, Little Arch (Archie Taylor) (shake calling -1)

Chicago, c. 1960

Fancourt and McGrath give a date of 1960 for the release, and do not identify the musicians, only saying that the lineup consists of tenor sax, piano, guitar, bass, and drums. Malone had made an earlier recording with Reese on the Pennant label, in 1955.

Eb3-8. Bonnie "Bombshell" Lee with Johnnie Paul & His Combo -1 / Johnnie Paul & His Combo -2

Bonnie Lee (voc), Jimmy Reece (org), ts, d

Chicago, c. 1960

Bonnie Lee was born Jessie Lee Frealls on June 11, 1931, in Bunkie, Louisiana. She later moved to Beaumont, Texas, and came up to Chicago in 1958. She made her recording debut on Ebony IV, which was not the best introduction to the business. Bob Koester remembers her coming into his newly purchased record store, Seymour's, carrying a load of 78 rpm records and trying to sell them to Koester for a dollar apiece. Koester explained that is what he sold them for, so he couldn't take them. Lee said she couldn't go lower than what Mr. Williams told her to get, picked the records back up and walked out of the store dejected.

Eb3-9. Bonnie "Bombshell" Lee with Reese's Ebony Recording Band Under the Direction of Bill Stewart

Bonnie Lee (voc); Jimmy Reece (org); unidentified (ts); unidentfied (d).

Chicago, c. 1960

Eb3-10. Bob Camp and His Original "Jazz Buddies" with Mace "Something Else" Morgan / Mace "Something Else" Morgan on the piano and the organ #

Bob Camp (voc, eg); Mace Morgan (p); unidentified musicians.

Mace Morgan (org).

Chicago, c. 1962

The A side of this Ebony 1010 is by guitarist-singer Bob Camp, who had been performing in Chicago since 1937, when he was on the bill at the Grand Terrace. During the 1940s, he led a trio that performed regularly at the DuSable Lounge. An old Chicago Defender columnist, Ted Watson, in 1974 fondly remembered how Camp regularly sang "I Miss You So" at the legendary bar, and he remembers hearing it when the Four Seasons had their hit record with "Big Girls Don't Cry," which means 1962. Camp either retained an archaic style of singing on this disk, or it may originally date back to the 1940s.

According to Fancourt and McGrath, Camp had recorded four sides for Williams' Southern label in New York in 1945. While Southern was based in Williams' New York office, our suspicion is that Camp had recorded them in Chicago. In any case, "I Miss You So" was not among the sides released back then.

The B side is by organist Mace Morgan. In August of 1962, Williams took out an ad in the Chicago Defender, proclaiming that Morgan would be appearing on a float at the annual Bud Billiken Parade. He credited the four songs above to him (besides the two that appeared on Ebony MMF 1010, "The Monkey and the Baboon" appeared on at least some versions of Ebony EP 105, and we're not quite sure what happened to "Ditty Wah Ditty"). The ad offered free copies of the records to record dealers, rack jobbers, one stops, and tavern deejays. Morgan's playing on this record is as moving as sludge, and it is doubtful that Williams could even give it away.

By this time Ebony 1010's were multiplying thick and fast. The Camp/Morgan 1010 seems to be a fairly late one, however, because of the Ebony Foundation version of the logo, and the references to the Mayo and Inks Music Foundations.

Eb3-11. Mae Saint Jude & Brother Mack / Bob Camp and His Pixies#

Bob Camp (voc,g), others unidentified.

Mae Saint Jude (voc), others unidentified.

Chicago, c. 1962

Despite the departure from the woefully overused 1000 series, this is a single release and not an EP. We have no idea who Mae Saint Jude & Brother Mack were. The Bob Camp release may be a remake from his Southern record back in 1946, or from his 1949 session for Decca, or it may be from the same 1962 session. As always, to be researched...

Eb3-12. Bob Camp and His Original "Jazz Buddies" or His Original Buddy Reds with Buddy Red

Bob Camp (voc, g); unidentified musicians.

Chicago, c. 1962

We have five songs here that might have appeared on an EP. Frankly, though, until a copy of the Bob Camp EP surfaces, we have no idea what songs actually appeared on this release. Fancourt and McGrath have no information either. It wouldn't hurt to see Ebony 1062, for that mattter.

Camp wound down his career as an active musician during the 1960s. By 1969 was working as a "sound man."

In 1962, Mayo Williams gave a major push to an EP whose four track were the work of three different groups. A company with deeper pockets would have counted it for little, but it was surely the biggest publicity effort he had launched since the early days of Ebony II, and he would never try anything comparable again. Williams was apparently convinced that he could ride the twist wave and rack up serious sales. Ebony 105 is known to have appeared in 3 different versions, with different colored labels. Some were evn sold in a special cardboard sleeve (like a miniature LP cover, instead of a paper 45 rpm sleeve). The titles and group identifications are somewhat different on each, so we have listed them separately. However, some (possibly all) of the tracks are identical across all three. So far as we can determine from label styles, the yellow label 105 came out first, followed by the blue label version, and finally the version with the usual dark red label.

Eb3-13. Toddle Town Twist and Swing: The Thunderbirds -1 / Lem Johnson -2 / The Thunderbirds -3 / Chuck Gulleys [sic] Buddy Redds -4

On 1 and 3, The Thunderbirds: Billy Ford (voc); others unidentified / On 2, Lem Johnson (voc); others unidentified / On 4, Chuck Gulley (dir); others unidentified.

Chicago, 1962

Eb3-14. Thunderbirds with Mitch & Mace | Chuck Mitchell -Mace Morgan / Mitch & Mace | "Chuck" Mitchell - Mace Morgan | Thunderbirds

On 1, 3, and 4, The Thunderbirds: Billy Ford (voc); Mace Morgan (org); others unidentified / On 3, Chuck Gulley (dir); others unidentified.

Chicago, 1962

Eb3-15. Chuck Mitchel [sic] - Mace Morgan with The Thunderbirds

The Thunderbirds: Billy Ford (voc); Mace Morgan (org); others unidentified.

Chicago, 1962

Judging from the information on the label (Ebony Foundation Records, with mentions of both the Mayo Music Foundation and the Inks Music Foundation), the red label 105 was the last to be issued. It did not title the tracks individually.

Eb3-16. Little Brother Montgomery / Little "Hardin" Armstrong's Hardin-Aires#

Little Brother Montgomery (v,p), with tp, saxes, bj, b, d, tamb, v grp / Little Brother Montgomery (v, p), w Leroi Nabors (ts), Oliver Acorn and other saxes, Robert Lockwood Jr. (g), b. d/ Hardin-Aires (voc), Little Brother Montgomery (p), unk

Chicago, c. 1964

Williams took out an advertisement in the August 3, 1964 Chicago Defender to promote the B side of the disk, as a Little Brother Montgomery release. He tied the ad with Montgomery's appearance at A Touch of Olde club (1257 North Wells) in the "Old Town" nightery district, on the near North Side. The flip shows the Hardin-Aires as the recording artist, but Montgomery is probably playing piano on it.

The ad, which listed five stores where Ebony disks could be found, probably netted out Williams' entire distribution network. He did not employ the services of any real distributor.

• Morris Drug Store (300 E. 71st Street)
• Old Wells Record Shop (1403 N. Wells Street)
• Joe's Record Shop (550 E. 43rd Street)
• Dealers Records (336 W. 61st Place)
• Fat Daddys Records (618 E. 43rd)
• Ebony Records (417 E. 47th)

Well, he had the South Side covered, and the Near North, but nothing on the West Side.

Montgomery married his second wife, Janet Floberg in 1967, and together they formed the FM (for Floberg and Montgomery) label, on which Montgomery made many recordings. Montgomery made his last sessions in 1982. He died on September 6, 1985, in Chicago.

Eb4-17. Bonnie "Bombshell" Lee with Jimmy Jazz Reece, Tiger Wells, and the Jazz Blues Kings

Bonnie Lee (voc), Jimmy Reece (org), ts, d

Chicago, c. mid-1960s

The title, "Black But Beautiful" suggests a later release, perhaps just before Lee resurrected her career in the late 1960s, when she joined with Sunnyland Slim playing the North Side clubs. The "Fast Life" side may be identical to the one that Williams had already released on Ebony 1050.

In the early 1970s Bonnie Lee recorded several sides for Slim on his Airway label.

Her career was in high gear in the 1980s when she joined the Willie Kent band, performing regularly in the city's North Side blues clubs, then recording albums for Delmark (Sweetheart of the Blues) in 1995, and for Wolf Records (I'm Good) in 1998. She also contributed to a number of Chicago blues compilations, notably Women of Blue Chicago and Chicago's Finest Blues Ladies. Lee died on September 7, 2006.

Eb3-18. The Templettes Freedom Gospeliers | Gospel Singing with Organ | James McGrue

Female group: Juanita Weston (voc); others unidentified; with James McGrue (org), unidentified (p).

Chicago, 1965

According to gospel expert Bob Marovich the Templettes Gospel Singers on this record were an all-female group, backed by organ and piano.

Mayo Williams advertised this release not as a display ad, but in the classifieds section of the February 6, 1965 Chicago Defender. He called the group the Templettes Freedom Singers, and said all four songs were available on an LP for one dollar. It was actually an EP, although that format had pretty well died out by this time. The ad marketed the record to "civil rights and freedom organizations" at a 20 percent discount.

There is a second version of the Templettes EP. To be filled in.

Eb3-19. Sandy Paget with Ace Mace Morgan - The Sophisticates - and The Thunderbirds

Sandy Paget (voc) with Mace Morgan (org); others unidentified.

Chicago, 1960s

Still another Ebony 1000 (!!!), released on 45, featured Sandy Paget, about whom nothing else is known. Apparently "That Great Street" was presented in two parts, although there is no Part 1 or 2 designation on the labels. Mace Morgan was credited, however, along with other groups not otherwise specified. The involvement of a group called the Thunderbirds raises the possiblity of some connection with the 1962 EP that Mayo Williams tried so hard to promote, but more research is needed on that. The Paget seems to have been a relatively late release on Ebony IV, judging from the production credit to the Mayo Music Foundation, and the joint music publishing credit to Inks Music Foundation.

Eb3-20. "Phil" Sampson with Mace Morgan and His Organ Combo

Phil Sampson (voc); Mace Morgan (org); others unidentified.

Chicago, 1960s

Another late release, with production credit to Mayo Music Foundation and publishing credit to Inks Music Foundation. However, now Foundation apeears as part of the company logo, and the release number carries an M. M. F. prefix.

Eb3-21. The Battle-Aires | The Worlds [sic] Greatest Gospel Crusaders | With John Scott and His Guitar

The Battle-Aires: singers unidentified; with John Scott (g).

Chicago, 1959 or 1960

This gospel EP shows the "Our Ebony" logo that was also used on the Archie Taylor release. It also carries the old High-Fidelity descriptor. However, it carries a credit to the Mayo Music Foundation as many later releases would, and an M. M. F. prefix.

Eb3-22. Earl "Duffy" Duff With Mace Morgan and His Organ Combo

Earl Duff (voc); Mace Morgan (org); others unidentified.

Chicago, 1960s

This release mentions the Mayo Music Foundation and Inks Music Foundation, but does not use the M. M. F. prefix and identifies the company as Ebony Productions. Titles and lineup suggest a soul outing.

Eb3-23. Sister Evelyn Berry

Sister Evelyn Berry (voc); unidentified (org).

Chicago, 1960s.

About Sister Evelyn Berry we have much to learn. Her single is listed in Hayes and Laughton's Gospel Discography, which otherwise emits the plaintive cry, "no details."

Eb3-24. Lillian "Hardin" Armstrong with the Hardinaires ^ / Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong and His Vocal Jazz Band %

Lil Armstrong (voc, p); other musicians unidentified ^

prob. Chicago, unknown date

Louis Armstrong (voc, tp) with the Mills Brothers: Harry Mills (baritone); Herbert Mills (tenor); Donald Mills (tenor); John Mills (bass, g).%

New York, April 7, 1937

This record is not listed in Lord's Jazz Discography. Clearly, however, Williams was, er, drawing on the masters that he had produced while running the race department at Decca.

"Darling Nellie Gray" in fact features Louis Armstrong with the Mills Brothers, doing vocal imitations of instruments. It was part of a two-tune studio session. Two takes of "Darling Nellie" were made, 62117-A and 62117-B; both initially appeared on Decca 1245. Which take Williams decided to reissue, and whether he doctored the sonics, remain to be researched.

Lil Armstrong recorded six sessions for Decca between 1936 and 1940. None of the sides listed in Lord was titled "I Can't Dance with Ants in My Pants," but a number with that title was extant in the mid-1930s. We don't know whether Williams pulled out an unreleased side for Ebony 1010 or slapped a new title on something that had seen release on Decca. See above for what may be another issue of this side.

In March 1968, Mayo Williams lost his wife of many decades, Aleta S. Williams, who died while in a convalescent home. The couple had been living at 4906 South Drexel. In the Chicago Defender death announcement, J. Mayo Williams was identified as a phonograph record producer.

The May 27, 1969 edition of the Chicago Defender ran an "Inquiring Reporter" column in which two of the four people asked about a current event had some connection with the Williams operation: Little Brother Montgomery (described as a recording artist) and Bob Camp (line of work identified as sound service). Also interviewed was Little Brother Montgomery's second wife, who was described as an office manager. As we learned from George Paulus' reminiscences, Montgomery was a good friend of Williams and hung out regularly at the Ebony office.

George Paulus and Jim O'Neal interviewed Williams in 1972. Here are George's reminiscences about meeting J. Mayo Williams:

I had heard from a well known vintage 78 dealer who had scored somewhere around 150 shellac blues tests from Mayo. The cache of 78s was said to be in near-mint condition. I had hoped that by some chance or mistake something interesting was left behind.

I found Mayo's number in the phone book and rang him up. He answered cordially and gave me an appointment at his office for 11am late in the week. As I remember the area in was in the heart of Bronzeville on Chicago’s South Side. My memory tells me it was somewhere between 43rd and 47th street on Cottage Grove [417 East 47th Street, to be exact].

It was in a huge brown brick building with dark varnished wooden doors and frosted glass windows. The name Ebony Records was emblazoned in black and gold on the frosty pane. I knocked and was let in by a middle-aged black man who told me Mr. Williams would be up in a minute.

Mayo waked over within a few minutes and cordially greeted me. He was a short stout dignified man attired in suit and tie. He introduced me to Little Brother Montgomery, who was sitting off to the side at a large desk with a deck of cards, a glass of whiskey and a lit cigar. Brother nodded affably and puffed his cigar.

Mayo chatted warmly with this then 20-year-old blues collector as though he was talking a business deal with an equal. He mentioned that all the shellac tests had been bought by the other collector. He seemed surprised that anyone really wanted that old stuff. He mentioned a bit about himself as an avid football player in college and his nickname "Ink," because of his skin color.

I told him about my passion for the 20s blues guitar players and the romantic names. Mayo replied that he never liked going to "the bottom." He calmly stated that he went to those low-class areas in the days when he worked at Paramount. A man could easily get shot there, robbed, anything could happen. Mayo preferred the Ma Rainey style of blues that featured a real orchestra with singers who had better diction and could really sing.

"Those low-down country guys," he said, "could play a few numbers and then they weren't good for nothing. Blind Lemon froze to death in a hallway. They were just drunken, low-down guys. They weren't people I wanted to hang around with for more than it took to do my business. I'm not a country blues fan," he declared. Brother nodded in agreement at certain points while puffing away. I stated that I loved Delta blues more than anything. Mayo seemed artistically baffled.

Mayo apologized that he had nothing for me. Since collectors relied strictly on word of mouth at the time, I had little knowledge of his output on Ebony during the 1950s. I have vague memories of asking about any down-home blues and he probably said it was all gone and simply didn't sell much.

There are rumors of stacks of Ebony 45s /78s turning up in the 70s as they were dumped at various Chicago locations. The rumors are false. From the mid 60s through mid 70s I hit most black record stores and various distributors and rarely saw Ebony 45s or 78s. Ebonys were never easy finds. One 45 turned up in a quantity of 9 records. The only Ebony 45s to turn up with some regularity, meaning 2 or 3 at a time, were from the 1960s. These later 45s [the Ebony IIIs] bore little if any resemblance to the 50s gems. They featured overdubbed Sleepy John Estes (from a Decca session) and fifth-rate soul/blues chicks or lounge bands. They were so poor I never filed them in my collection. The 50s Ebony releases [the Ebony IIs] were always rare and I suspect were never pressed in large quantities.

By now, Williams was no longer making new records and was sitting on a fair amount of excess stock, consisting of poorly distributed disks in dated musical styles. (The Ebony IIs were long gone, and what remained mostly consisted of recent Ebony IIIs.) In the Chicago Defender of March 28, 1973, he advertised "Free Records" for dealers, one stops, and distributors, giving them a deal where if they bought a minimum of fifty at 10 cents each, they would get another 50 free. We very much doubt that he was able to move some boxes and unclog some shelves. Certainly the distributors wouldn't have recognized most of his "name artists." A couple of years later, George Paulus was able to pick up 9 copies of an Ebony II, the Birmingham Junior record (Ebony 1007), but we have heard no other authenticated reports of such a multiple-copy find.

Williams subsequently retired for reasons of health, dying in Chicago on January 2, 1980. On his death certificate, his occupation was listed as "recorder" and under kind of business was listed "Ebony Recordings."