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35-725: The dance originated in New Orleans in the first decade of the 20th century. Jazz pianist and composer Jelly Roll Morton wrote the tune " Black Bottom Stomp ", its title referring to the Black Bottom area of Detroit . Sheet music from the mid-1920s identifies the composers as Gus Horsley and Perry Bradford and claims the dance was introduced by the African-American dancer and choreographer Billy Pierce . The sheet music's cover photograph features dancer Stella Doyle, who performed primarily in cabarets. The black bottom

70-620: A vaudeville act before living in Chicago for three years. By 1914, he was putting his compositions on paper. In 1915 "Jelly Roll Blues" was one of the first jazz compositions to be published. Jelly Roll Morton was employed by Ben Shook Jr. around 1916. Shook was associated with a Jubilee club led by Mabel Lewis, a contralto singer and former member of the original Fisk University Jubilee Singers . In 1917 he went to California with bandleader William Manuel Johnson and Johnson's sister Anita Gonzalez, born Bessie Julia Johnson. Morton's tango "The Crave"

105-464: A loud "crack!" as a joke to make the record sound broken. The dance was featured in the 1927 Austrian silent film, Café Elektric . Judy Garland repeats vocal refrains from the song while hoofing in some chorus girl lines in a montage sequence from A Star Is Born (1954). Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe ( né Lemott , later Morton ; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton ,

140-627: A national craze. The black bottom overtook the Charleston in popularity and eventually became the number one social dance. Some dance critics noted that by the time it became a fad in American society in the mid-20s, it resembled the Charleston. Both dances can be performed solo or as a couple and feature exuberant moves. The African-American choreographer Billy Pierce , who is credited on "Black Bottom Dance" sheet music with having introduced

175-543: A prostitute at the Café Elektric. Max ( Igo Sym ) who is a Göttlinger architect, loves Erni, until he discovers her relationship with Fredl. Recuperating at the Café Elektric, Max falls in love with Hansi. Göttlinger also liked Hansi, so he fired Max. Max now lives in need with reformed Hansi, but leaves her when he suspects she has returned to prostitution. At the Café Elektric Fredl stabs Hansi. Max now

210-606: A radio show in 1934, then toured in a burlesque band. In 1935, his 30-year-old composition " King Porter Stomp ", arranged by Fletcher Henderson , became Benny Goodman 's first hit and a swing standard, but Morton received no royalties from the recordings. In 1935, Morton moved to Washington, D.C., to become the manager and piano player at a bar called, at various times, the Music Box, Blue Moon Inn, and Jungle Inn, at 1211 U Street NW in Shaw , an African-American neighborhood . Morton

245-543: Is "no proof to the contrary" and that Morton's "considerable accomplishments in themselves provide reasonable substantiation.” Morton was born Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (or Lemott), into the Creole community in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans around 1890; he claimed to have been born in 1884 on his WWI draft registration card in 1918. Both parents traced their Creole ancestry four generations to

280-399: The big-band era, his "King Porter Stomp", which Morton had written decades earlier, was a big hit for Fletcher Henderson and Benny Goodman ; it became a standard covered by most other swing bands of that time. Morton claimed to have written some tunes that were copyrighted by others, including " Alabama Bound " and " Tiger Rag ". "Sweet Peter", which Morton recorded in 1926, appears to be

315-464: The 18th century. Morton's birth date and year of birth are uncertain, given that no birth certificate was ever issued for him. The law requiring birth certificates for citizens was not enforced until 1914. His parents were Martin-Edouard Joseph Lamothe, also known as Edward Joseph Lamothe, a bricklayer and occasional trombonist, and Louise Hermance Monette, a domestic worker. His parents were never legally married and his father left his mother when Morton

350-943: The District, she told me that I had disgraced the family and forbade me to live at the house. She told me that devil music would surely bring about my downfall..." The cornetist Rex Stewart recalled that Morton had chosen "the nom de plume 'Morton' to protect his family from disgrace if he was identified as a whorehouse 'professor'." Around 1904, Morton started touring in the US South, working in minstrel shows such as Will Benbow 's Chocolate Drops, gambling, and composing. His songs " Jelly Roll Blues ", "New Orleans Blues", "Frog-I-More Rag", "Animule Dance", and " King Porter Stomp " were composed during this period. Stride pianists James P. Johnson and Willie "The Lion" Smith saw him perform in Chicago in 1910 and New York City in 1911. In 1912–14, Morton toured with his girlfriend Rosa Brown as

385-748: The Library of Congress, but the sessions expanded to over eight hours, with Morton talking and playing piano. Lomax conducted longer interviews, taking notes but not recording. Lomax was interested in Morton's days in Storyville , New Orleans, and the ribald songs of the time. Although reluctant to record these, Morton obliged Lomax. Because of the suggestive nature of the songs, some of the Library of Congress recordings were not released until 2005. In these interviews, Morton claimed to have been born in 1885. Morton scholars, such as Lawrence Gushee, say that Morton

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420-526: The dance, was an associate of the African-American choreographer Buddy Bradley . Working out of Pierce's dance studio in New York City, Bradley devised dance routines for Tom Pericola and other Broadway performers. A different musical accompaniment, composed by Ray Henderson with new lyrics from Buddy DeSylva and Lew Brown also briefly became a nationwide sensation and was widely recorded. A re-creation of that version by choreographer Rod Alexander

455-451: The deep muddy waters of the Swanee . The Alexander recreation expanded this into having his dance partners cheekily bump their posteriors together; although there is no evidence to suggest that was part of the original dance. "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", a 1920s blues song by Ma Rainey , makes obvious allusions to the dance but is not itself dance music. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is also

490-961: The first of his commercial recordings, first as piano rolls, then on record, both as a piano soloist and with jazz bands. In 1926, Morton signed a contract with the Victor Talking Machine Company , giving him the opportunity to bring a well-rehearsed band to play his arrangements in the Victor recording studios in Chicago. These recordings by Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers included Kid Ory , Omer Simeon , George Mitchell , Johnny St. Cyr , Barney Bigard , Johnny Dodds , Baby Dodds , and Andrew Hilaire . After Morton moved to New York City, he continued to record for Victor. Although he had trouble finding musicians who wanted to play his style of jazz, he recorded with Omer Simeon , George Baquet , Albert Nicholas , Barney Bigard , Russell Procope , Lorenzo Tio and Artie Shaw ,

525-454: The last being a tribute to New Orleans musicians from the turn of the 20th century. Morton's claim to have invented jazz in 1902 was criticized. Music critic Scott Yanow wrote, "Jelly Roll Morton did himself a lot of harm posthumously by exaggerating his worth ... Morton's accomplishments as an early innovator are so vast that he did not really need to stretch the truth." Gunther Schuller says of Morton's "hyperbolic assertions" that there

560-462: The playing of a diminished 5th above the melody. This technique may still be recognized as belonging to New Orleans. Morton also walked in major and minor sixths in the bass, instead of tenths or octaves. He played basic swing rhythms with both the left and the right hand. Several of Morton's compositions were musical tributes to himself, including "Winin' Boy", "The Jelly Roll Blues" (subtitled "The Original Jelly-Roll"); and "Mr. Jelly Lord". In

595-438: The right Hands on your hips and do the mess around, Break a leg until you're near the ground [ break a leg is a hobbling step] Now that's the old black bottom dance Instructions for the mooch are "Shuffle forward with both feet. Hips go first, then feet." Broadway historians Kantor and Maslon describe it as a ‘fairly simple step punctuated by a slap on the rear end’ with the hobbling step akin to pulling your feet out of

630-424: The source of the melody of the hit song " All of Me ", which was credited to Gerald Marks and Seymour Simons in 1931. His musical influence continues in the work of Dick Hyman and Reginald Robinson . In 2013, Katy Martin published an article arguing that Alan Lomax 's book of interviews put Morton in a negative light. Martin disagreed that Morton was an egotist. In being called a supreme egotist, Jelly Roll

665-611: The time. Mercer Ellington , Duke Ellington's son, did attend the funeral. The article was reproduced in Mister Jelly Roll , a 1950 biography of Morton by Alan Lomax. Morton married Mabel Bertrand, a showgirl, in November 1928 in Gary, Indiana . He was a "very devout Catholic ", according to Anita Gonzales, his long-term companion. His gravesite features a large rosary rather than any music imagery. Morton's piano style

700-446: The title of a 1982 play by August Wilson , set around recording of the song. Wilson's play was adapted into a 2020 movie of the same name starring Viola Davis as Ma Rainey. The comedy musician Spike Jones , who became popular in the 1940s, performed a jaunty cover of the black bottom. His version, released on 78-RPM records , repeated a single measure of a piano solo in the middle of the song several times, each time continuing with

735-548: The trumpeters Ward Pinkett , Bubber Miley , Johnny Dunn and Henry "Red" Allen , Sidney Bechet , Paul Barnes , Bud Freeman , Pops Foster , Paul Barbarin , Cozy Cole , and Zutty Singleton . His New York sessions failed to produce a hit. Due in part to the Great Depression, RCA Victor did not renew Morton's recording contract for 1931. He continued playing in New York but struggled financially. He briefly had

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770-449: The use of more notes, a pinch of Spanish to give a number of right seasoning, the avoidance of playing triple forte continuously, and many other points. Caf%C3%A9 Elektric Café Elektric (1927) is an Austrian film directed by Gustav Ucicky . Erni ( Marlene Dietrich ), the daughter of a wealthy industrialist Göttlinger ( Fritz Alberti ) falls for a pickpocket Fredl ( Willi Forst ), but Fredl prefers Hansi ( Nina Vanna ),

805-463: Was African-American slang for female genitalia. While working there, he was living with his churchgoing great-grandmother. He convinced her that he worked as a night watchman in a barrel factory. After Morton's grandmother found out he was playing jazz in a brothel, she disowned him for disgracing the Lamothe name. "When my grandmother found out that I was playing jazz in one of the sporting houses in

840-521: Was an American blues and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a genre rooted in improvisation could retain its essential characteristics when notated. His composition " Jelly Roll Blues ", published in 1915, was one of the first published jazz compositions. He also claimed to have invented the genre. Morton also wrote " King Porter Stomp ", " Wolverine Blues ", " Black Bottom Stomp ", and "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say",

875-407: Was around three years old. After his mother married William Mouton in 1894, Ferdinand adopted his stepfather's surname, anglicizing it to Morton, adapting "Ferd" as an unofficial forename. Ferd had two sisters, one of whom, Eugénie, married Ignace Colas, in 1913. At the age of fourteen, Morton began as a piano player in a brothel. He often sang smutty lyrics and used the nickname "Jelly Roll", which

910-454: Was aware that if he had been born in 1890, he would have been too young to claim to be the inventor of jazz. However, Morton may not have known his actual birthdate, and there remains the possibility that he was telling the truth. He said Buddy Bolden played ragtime but not jazz, a view not accepted by some of Bolden's contemporaries in New Orleans. The contradictions may stem from different definitions of "ragtime" and "jazz". In 1938, Morton

945-476: Was featured in the 1956 biopic, The Best Things in Life Are Free , performed by Sheree North and Jacques d’Amboise , leading a stage full of flappers and tuxedoed Johnnies . The rhythm of the black bottom is based on the Charleston. Bradford's version, printed with the sheet music, gave these instructions: Hop down front then doodle back [ doodle means "slide"] Mooch to your left then mooch to

980-407: Was formed from early secondary ragtime and "shout", which also evolved separately into the New York school of stride piano . Morton's playing was also close to barrelhouse , which produced boogie-woogie . Morton often played the melody of a tune with his right thumb, while sounding a harmony above these notes with the fingers of the right hand. This could add a rustic or "out-of-tune" sound due to

1015-602: Was generally believed to be 50 years old. According to the jazz historian David Gelly in 2000, Morton's arrogance and "bumptious" persona alienated so many musicians that few of them attended his funeral. An article about the funeral in the August 1, 1941, issue of DownBeat reported that his pallbearers were Kid Ory, Mutt Carey , Fred Washington , and Ed Garland . It noted that Duke Ellington and Jimmie Lunceford were absent, though both were appearing in Los Angeles at

1050-507: Was master of ceremonies, bouncer, and bartender. The club owner allowed her friends free admission and drinks, which prevented Morton from making the business a success. During Morton's brief residency at the Music Box, the folklorist Alan Lomax heard him play. In May 1938, Lomax invited Morton to record music and interviews for the Library of Congress . The sessions were intended to be a short interview with musical examples for researchers at

1085-401: Was often a victim of loose and lurid reporting. If we read the words that he himself wrote, however, we learn that he almost had an inferiority complex and said that he created his own style of jazz piano because 'All my fellow musicians were much faster in manipulations, I thought than I, and I did not feel as though I was in their class.' So he used a slower tempo to permit flexibility through

Black Bottom (dance) - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-499: Was often ill and became short of breath easily. After this incident, his wife Mabel demanded they leave Washington. Worsening asthma sent him to a hospital in New York for three months. He continued to suffer from respiratory problems when he travelled to Los Angeles with the intent to restart his career. He died on July 10, 1941, after an eleven-day stay in Los Angeles County General Hospital . He

1155-592: Was popular in Hollywood. He was invited to perform at the Hotel Patricia nightclub in Vancouver , Canada. Author Mark Miller described his arrival as "an extended period of itinerancy as a pianist, vaudeville performer, gambler, hustler, and, as legend would have it, pimp". Morton returned to Chicago in 1923 to claim authorship of "The Wolverines", which had become popular as " Wolverine Blues ". He released

1190-419: Was stabbed by a friend of the Music Box's owner and suffered wounds to the head and chest. A nearby whites-only hospital refused to treat him, as the city had racially segregated facilities. He was transported to a black hospital farther away. When he was in the hospital, doctors left ice on his wounds for several hours before attending to the injury. His recovery from his wounds was incomplete, and thereafter he

1225-510: Was well known among semirural blacks across the South . A similar dance with many variations was commonly performed in tent shows, and "Bradford and Jeanette" had used it as a finale. The dance was featured in the Harlem show Dinah in 1924 and was then performed by Ann Pennington and Tom Patricola in the musical comedy revue George White's Scandals of 1926 on Broadway, whereupon it became

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