Louis Jordan was an American popular music innovator who recorded from the 1930s until the 1970s. During the 1940s, he was the most popular recording artist of the soon-to-be-called rhythm and blues music.Whitburn 1988, p. 584. Jordan had eighteen No. 1 hits, which places him as the third most successful singles artist in Billboard R&B charts history.Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder are tied for first with twenty each. His 1946 recording of "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" is tied for second place for spending the most weeks (eighteen) at No. 1.Joe Liggins's "The Honeydripper" was also No. 1 for eighteen weeks. Jordan's success was not limited to the R&B market — he also had No. 1 hits on the Billboard Pop and Country charts.
The peak of Jordan's popularity occurred when the two-song record single was the typical format, before the emergence of the long-playing record album. As a result, although he recorded prolifically, he had relatively few albums until compilations began appearing after his death in 1975. Listed here are the singles and albums Jordan recorded during his career, as well as the more current and notable compilations.
Singles
1930s
Year Title Details Peak chart positions1930s chart information is not available. 1939 "Honey in the Bee Ball"Composer: Louis Jordan Recorded: December 30, 1938 Label: Decca 7556 1939 "Barnacle Bill the Sailor"Composer: Frank Luther, Carson Robison Recorded: December 30, 1938 Label: Decca 7556 1939 "Flat Face"Composer: Courtney Williams Recorded: March 29, 1939 Label: Decca 7590 1939 "Doug the Jitterbug"Composer: Jordan Recorded: March 29, 1939 Label: Decca 7590 1939 "Keep a-Knockin’"Composer: Jordan, Perry Bradford, J. Mayo Williams Recorded: March 29, 1939 Label: Decca 7609 1939 "At the Swing Cat’s Ball"Composer: Campbell Recorded: March 29, 1939 Label: Decca 7609 1939 "Sam Jones Done Snagged His Britches"Composer: Perry Bradford, J. Mayo Williams Recorded: March 29, 1939 Label: Decca 7623 1939 "Swinging in a Cocoanut Tree"Composer: J. Mayo Williams Recorded: March 29, 1939 Label: Decca 7623 1939 "Honeysuckle Rose"Reissued in 1950 on 25473.Composer: Fats Waller, Andy Razaf Recorded: November 14, 1939 Label: Decca 7675 1939 "But I’ll Be Back"Composer: Jordan Recorded: November 14, 1939 Label: Decca 7675 1939 "‘Fore Day Blues"Composer: Perry Bradford, J. Mayo Williams Recorded: November 14, 1939 Label: Decca 7693 1939 "You Ain’t Nowhere"Composer: Jordan, Don Redman Recorded: November 14, 1939 Label: Decca 7693 1939 "You’re My Meat"Composer: Skeets Tolbert Recorded: November 14, 1939 Label: Decca 7719 1939 "Jake, What a Snake"Composer: J. Mayo Williams Recorded: November 14, 1939 Label: Decca 7719 Blank in chart positions indicates release that did not chart.
1940s
Year Title Details Peak chart positionsWhitburn 1988, pp. 229–230. R&B Pop C&W 1940 "Hard Lovin’ Blues"Vocals by Yack Taylor.Composer: Yack Taylor Recorded: January 25, 1940 Label: Decca 7705 1940 "You Run Your Mouth and I’ll Run My Business"Reissued in 1949 on 24643.Composer: Lil Armstrong Recorded: January 25, 1940 Label: Decca 7705 1940 "I'm Alabama Bound"Composer: Mike Jackson, Robert Hoffman Recorded: January 25, 1940 Label: Decca 7723 1940 "June Teenth Jamboree"Composer: Sammy Price Recorded: January 25, 1940 Label: Decca 7723 1940 "You Got to Go When the Wagon Comes"Vocal by Daisy Winchester.Composer: Randy Culbreth, Jasper Thomas Recorded: March 13, 1940 Label: Decca 7729 1940 "After School Swing Session (Swinging with Symphony Sid)"Composer: Jordan, Buddy Feyne Recorded: March 13, 1940 Label: Decca 7729 1940 "Lovie Joe"Vocal by Mabel Robinson.Composer: Jordan, Will Marion Cook Recorded: March 13, 1940 Label: Decca 7745 1940 "Somebody Done Hoodooed the Hoodoo Man"Composer: Wesley Wilson Recorded: March 13, 1940 Label: Decca 7745 1940 "Bounce the Ball (Do Da Little Um Day)"Composer: Mike Jackson Recorded: March 13, 1940 Label: Decca 3253 1940 "Don’t Come Crying on My Shoulder"Composer: Arthur Altman, Manny Kurtz, Murray Mencher Recorded: April 29, 1940 Label: Decca 3253 1940 "Never Let Your Left Hand Know What Your Right Hand’s Doin’"Composer: Ted Delaney, Georgia South Recorded: April 29, 1940 Label: Decca 7777 1940 "Penthouse in the Basement"Composer: Walter Bishop, Sr. Recorded: March 13, 1940 Label: Decca 7777 1940 "Oh Boy, I’m in the GrooveComposer: Ella Fitzgerald Recorded: April 29, 1940 Label: Decca 3360 1940 "Waitin’ for the Robert E. Lee"Composer: L. Wolfe Gilbert, Lewis F. Muir Recorded: April 29, 1940 Label: Decca 3360 1940 "Do You Call that a Buddy? (Dirty Cat)"Composer: Wesley Wilson Recorded: September 30, 1940 Label: Decca 8500 1940 "Pompton Turnpike"Composer: Will Osborne, Dick Rogers Recorded: September 30, 1940 Label: Decca 8500 1940 "I Know You (I Know What You Wanna Do)"Composer: Jordan Recorded: September 30, 1940 Label: Decca 8501 1940 "A Chicken Ain't Nothin' but a Bird"Composer: Emmett "Babe" Wallace Recorded: September 30, 1940 Label: Decca 85011941"T-Bone Blues"Composer: T-Bone Walker, Les Hite Recorded: January 24, 1941 Label: Decca 8525 1941"Pinetop's Boogie Woogie"Reissued in 1950 on 25394.Composer: Pinetop Smith Recorded: January 24, 1941 Label: Decca 8525 1941 "The Two Little Squirrels (Nuts to You)"Composer: Mack David, Eddie Lane, Vee Lawnhurst Recorded: January 24, 1941 Label: Decca 8537 1941 "Pan-Pan"Composer: Jerry Daniels Recorded: January 24, 1941 Label: Decca 8537 1941 "Saxa-Woogie"Composer: Jordan Recorded: April 2, 1941 Label: Decca 8560 1941 "Brotherly Love (Wrong Ideas)"Composer: Jordan, Leonard Feather, J. Mayo Williams Recorded: April 2, 1941 Label: Decca 8560 1941 "Boogie Woogie Came to Town"Composer: Jordan, Walter Bishop, Sr., J. Mayo Williams Recorded: April 2, 1941 Label: Decca 8581 1941 "Saint Vitus Dance"Composer: Mike Jackson Recorded: April 2, 1941 Label: Decca 8581 1942"I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town"Reissued in 1946 on 23628.Composer: Andy Razaf, Casey Bill Weldon Recorded: November 22, 1941 Label: Decca 8593 1942"Knock Me a Kiss"Composer: Mike Jackson Recorded: November 15, 1941 Label: Decca 8593 1942 "How 'Bout That?"Composer: Recorded: November 15, 1941 Label: Decca 8605 1942 "The Green Grass Grows All Around"Composer: Arthur Johnson, J. Mayo Williams Recorded: November 22, 1941 Label: Decca 8605 1942 "Mama Mama Blues (Rusty Dusty Blues)"Reissued in 1946 on 23631.Composer: J. Mayo Williams Recorded: November 15, 1941 Label: Decca 8627 1942 "Small Town Boy"Composer: Jordan, Dallas Bartley Recorded: November 22, 1941 Label: Decca 8627 1942"I'm Gonna Leave You on the Outskirts of Town"Composer: Jordan, Clarence Williams Recorded: July 21, 1942 Label: Decca 86383 1942"It's a Low Down Dirty Shame"Composer: (Big Bill Broonzy rec 3/38) Recorded: July 21, 1942 Label: Decca 8638 1942"What's the Use of Getting Sober (When You're Gonna Get Drunk Again)"Reissued in 1946 on 23629.Composer: Bubsy Meyers Recorded: July 21, 1942 Label: Decca 86451 1943"The Chicks I Pick Are Slender and Tender and Tall"Composer: Mike Jackson Recorded: July 21, 1942 Label: Decca 864510 1943"Five Guys Named Moe"Reissued in 1946 on 23630.Composer: Jerry Bresler, Larry Wynn Recorded: July 21, 1942 Label: Decca 86533 1943"That'll Just 'Bout Knock Me Out"Composer: Jordan, Casey Bill Weldon Recorded: July 21, 1942 Label: Decca 86538 1943"Ration Blues"First crossover hit.Composer: Jordan, Collenane Clark, Antonio Cosey Recorded: October 4, 1943 Label: Decca 86541111 1944"Deacon Jones"Composer: Hy Heath, Johnny Lange, Richard Loring Recorded: October 4, 1943 Label: Decca 86547 1944"G.I. Jive"Composer: Johnny Mercer Recorded: March 15, 1944 Label: Decca 865911 1944"Is You Is or Is You Ain't (Ma' Baby)"Composer: Jordan, Billy Austin Recorded: October 4, 1943 Label: Decca 8659321 1945"Mop! Mop!"Composer: Claude Demetrius, J. Mayo Williams Recorded: March 15, 1944 Label: Decca 86681 1945"You Can't Get That No More"Composer: Jordan, Sam Theard Recorded: March 15, 1944 Label: Decca 8668211 1945"Caldonia"Retitled "Caldonia Boogie" for national chart.Reissued in 1947 on 23932.Composer: F. Moore Recorded: April 19, 1945 Label: Decca 867016 1945"Somebody Done Changed the Lock on My Door"Composer: Casey Bill Weldon Recorded: April 19, 1945 Label: Decca 86703 1945"My Baby Said Yes (Yip, Yip de Hootie)"Duet with Bing Crosby.Composer: Leo Robin Recorded: July 1944 Label: Decca 2341714 1945 "Your Socks Don't Match"Composer: Leon Carr, Leo Corday Recorded: July 1944 Label: Decca 23417 1946"Buzz Me"Composer: F. Moore, Danny Baxter aka Dave Dexter, Jr. Recorded: January 19, 1945 Label: Decca 1873419 1946"Don't Worry 'Bout That Mule"Composer: F. Moore, C. Stewart, W. Davis, D. Groaner Recorded: July 18, 1945 Label: Decca 187341 1946"Salt Pork, West Virginia"Composer: F. Moore, Bill Tennyson Recorded: July 16, 1945 Label: Decca 187622 1946"Reconversion Blues"Composer: F. Moore, Steve Graham Recorded: October 15, 1945 Label: Decca 187622 1946"Beware"Reissued in 1947 on 23931.Composer: F. Moore, Morry Lasco, Dick Adams Recorded: January 23, 1946 Label: Decca 18818220 1946"Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'"Composer: Joe Greene Recorded: January 23, 1946 Label: Decca 18818B3 1946"Stone Cold Dead in the Market (He Had It Coming)"Duet with Ella Fitzgerald.Composer: Wilmoth Houdini Recorded: October 9, 1945 Label: Decca 2354617 1946"Petootie Pie"Composer: Lorenzo Pack, Frank Paparelli, Raymond Leveen Recorded: October 9, 1945 Label: Decca 235463 1946"Choo Choo Ch'Boogie"Composer: Vaughn Horton aka George Vaughn Horton, Denver Darling, Milt Gabler Recorded: January 23, 1946 Label: Decca 2361017 1946"That Chick's Too Young to Fry"Composer: Tommy Edwards, Jimmy Hillard Recorded: January 23, 1946 Label: Decca 236103 1946"Ain't That Just Like a Woman (They'll Do It Every Time)"Composer: F. Moore, Claude Demetrius Recorded: January 23, 1946 Label: Decca 23669117 1946 "If It's Love You Want, Baby That's Me"Composer: Sid Robin aka Sidney Rabinowitz Recorded: June 26, 1946 Label: Decca 23669 1946"Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens"Composer: Joan Whitney, Alex Kramer Recorded: June 26, 1946 Label: Decca 2374116 1946"Let the Good Times Roll"Composer: F. Moore, Sam Theard Recorded: June 26, 1946 Label: Decca 237412 1947"Texas and Pacific"Composer: Jack Wolf Fine, Joseph E. Hirsch Recorded: October 10, 1946 Label: Decca 23810120 1947"I Like 'Em Fat Like That"Composer: Jordan, Claude Demetrius, J. Mayo Williams Recorded: March 1, 1944 Label: Decca 238105 1947"Open the Door, Richard!"Composer: Jack McVea, Dan Howell, Dusty Fletcher, John Mason Recorded: January 23, 1947 Label: Decca 2384126 1947 "It's So Easy"Composer: Allan Roberts, Doris Fisher Recorded: January 23, 1947 Label: Decca 23841 1947"Jack, You're Dead"Composer: Dick Miles, Walter Bishop, Sr. Recorded: October 10, 1946 Label: Decca 23901121 1947"I Know What You're Puttin' Down"Composer: Jordan, Bud Allen Recorded: October 10, 1946 Label: Decca 239013 1947"Boogie Woogie Blue Plate"Composer: Joe Bushkin, Johnny DeVries Recorded: Label: Decca 24104121 1947 "Sure Had a Wonderful Time"Composer: F. Moore, Claude Demetrius Recorded: October 10, 1946 Label: Decca 24104 1947"Look Out"Composer: Jordan, Sid Robin Recorded: June 4, 1947 Label: Decca 241555 1947"Early in the Mornin'"Composer: Jordan, Dallas Bartley, Leo Hickman Recorded: April 23, 1947 Label: Decca 231553 1948"Barnyard Boogie"Composer: Jordan, Wilhelmina Gray Recorded: April 23, 1947 Label: Decca 243002 1948"How Long Must I Wait for You"Composer: Lucky Millinder, Jerry Black Recorded: July 16, 1945 Label: Decca 243009 1948"Reet, Petite and Gone"Composer: Jordan, Lora Lee Recorded: October 10, 1946 Label: Decca 243814 1948 "Inflation Blues"Composer: Jordan, Allegretto Alexander, Tommy Southern Recorded: December 1, 1947 Label: Decca 24381 1948"Run Joe"Composer: Jordan, Walter Merrick, Joe Willoughby Recorded: April 23, 1947 Label: Decca 24448123 1948"All for the Love of Lil"Composer: Jerry Bresler, Larry Wynn Recorded: October 10, 1946