Sunday, October 11, 2015

Jeb Stuart on Cotton



Jeb Stuart

25507 - Cook County Jail    
(Jim Killman-Houston Davis, Ammons Music ASCAP)

25508 - Lonesome  Blues

Cotton Records 7-17

1970

Unlisted Jeb Stuart recording probably from Jackson, Mississippi based on publishing company and composer Houston Davis (see http://thatsallritemama.blogspot.fr/2013/12/ross-barnett-for-governor-campaign-song.html


Charles Jones/Jeb Stuart
Photo credit : http://www.706unionavenue.nl/74125258

Born Charles Jones in Memphis, Tennesse around 1935, from Frank Jones and Mrs. Lucille Yancey.   
 
Charles Jones attended Booker T. Washington High School and was employed as a vocalist in Chicago before entering the U.S. Army in November 1953.  He was shiped to Korea in 1954 and "visited" Japan, Korea, Okinawa,Guam, Hawaii and the Phillipine Islands. He received an award for being the best singer in the Far East. 
 
Jeb Stuart started his professional singing career  in Memphis on the Mississippi where he appeared at most of the local nightspots such as Hi Hat. Plantation club,Hotel Peabody. Chisca hotel, as well as at live Palace theatre. Handy and Hyde Park theatres.

From the beginning of his career, Stuart seems to have oriented himself toward the white audience. It surely couldn't have been coincidence that a black Memphian named Charles Jones took the name of a Confederate cavalry general.
 
He grew up idolising Billy Eckstine, Nat King Cole, Elvis, Fats Domino, and Little Richard, and left Memphis to study at the Chicago Conservatory of Music under Frank Lavere, one of the writers of Cole's hit ''Pretend''.

His first recordings were done in Chicago for Mercury subsidiary Wing Records as Charles Jones (1956), Zale Records (as Charlie Jones) and Shar Record Co (as Jeb Stuart).   

While in Chicago he assembled a female singing group, The Sweet Teens, led by Little Faith Taylor.  The group enjoyed a bit of a stir locally in Chicago with their first record which was issued by Federal Records.  Two other records followed on Bea & Baby Records (also with the Charles Jones involvement). 

A Jeb Stuart Discography can be found here
or here 

No comments:

Post a Comment