January 1
New Year's Day 1952 finds the
Ravens and Errol Garner in the middle of a three-week booking at the Cafe Society in New
York. Also in town, Tiny
Bradshaw is currently at the
Savoy Ballroom.
Dinah Washington with
Cootie Williams and His Orchestra are touring the South and the West Coast. The tour
started started December 24 and will wind
up in Oakland February11th.
Ruth Brown and Willis
Jackson's orchestra are completing two weeks on the road through Indiana, Ohio, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and
Washington, DC
Joe Liggins and Jimmy Witherspoon headline a New Year"s Day Show at the Oakland Auditorium in California.
The Howard Theater in Washington is hosting the Lionel Hampton combo through January 3rd.
Sarah Vaughn and Billy Ward and His Dominoes are in the middle of a week's stay at the Regal Theater in Chicago.
Peppermint Harris is currently on tour of one-nighters in West Virginia.
In Los Angeles, Willie Mae Thornton is in her ninth and final week at the Club Oasis.
Earl Bostic is
currently hospitalized in New York City following a December auto accident in Tifton,
Georgia, while he was in route to and engagement in
Phoenix City,
Alabama. During his six month recovery, Bostic's combo will be led by Burnie Peacock
Al Hibbler and
Ivory Joe Hunter are at the Frolic Show Bar in Detroit, while across town at the Flame
Show Bar, LaVern Baker will be sharing the bill with
a number of
other artists over the next six months.
Philadelphia's Club Harlem hosts Chris Powell and his Five Blue Flames.
In New Orleans, Professor Longhair and his shuffling Hungarians are in their third week of an extended engagement at the Hi-Hat Club.
January 4
At the Apollo
Theater in New York, the headliners this week were Cab Calloway and the Four Tunes.
Johnny Otis and Little Esther start three days at the Club Alabam in Los Angeles.
Jimmy Lewis, a guitar playing balladeer, begins a two day stay at New Orleans' Dew Drop Inn.
January 7
Roy Milton and
His Solid Senders open at the Show Boat Club in Philadelphia.
Early January
Jubilee Records signs the Enchanters, a female group, to a contract. Their first record will be "Today Is My Birthday."
Steve Gibson and his Red Caps have been extended at the Copa Room in Miami until April 11, making a total of sixteen weeks.
January 8
The Griffin Brothers start a
week at the Trocaveria Club in Columbus Ohio.
January 10
In Los Angeles, T-Bone
Walker begins three days at the Club Alabam, while Treniers open for four days at the Club
Oasis.
January 11
"Cry" by Johnnie
Ray passes the million mark in single sales. The Four Buddies join Errol Garner, Bette
McLaurin and Sonny Stitt as the headliners of the
weekly show at
the Howard Theater in Washington, DC.
The Cabineers join the Dizzy Gillipsie show at the Apollo Theater in New York for the week.
In New Orleans, Willie Mae Thornton entertains at the Dew Drop Inn.
January 12
Jewel King returns to the West
Coast after eight months of club dates. She is scheduled for a recording session with
Imperial Records that will produce at
least two new singles.
Following a tour
that included Texas, Mississippi and northern Louisiana, Fats Domino returns to his home
of New Orleans to play a one-nighter at the
Pentagon Ballroom.
Peacock Records
purchases a record pressing plant in the company's hometown of Houston, Texas. Previously,
the company has used plants on both the
East and West coasts.
Billy Eckstine and Spike Jones headline the "All-Star Revenue" at Detroit's Frolic Theater.
January 13
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson
and his orchestra start a series of one -nighters with a show in Nashville.
Ivory Joe Hunter opens at the Cotton Club in Cincinnati for a week.
Dinah Washington is the headliner at the Sunday night dance at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles.
January 15
The Owners of Modern Records, Jules
and Joe Bihari, leave the West Coast for a trek through the South in search of both
country and R&B talent.
Mid-January
New York's Billy Shaw of the Shaw Agency, one of the most influential promoters of R&B acts, opens a West Coast office. Prior to this, Shaw had been working with other promoters via split commissions.
Little Richard is currently on tour in Kentucky
Louis Jordan establishes a fund in his name to loan money to underprivileged students in Arizona.
January 16
The new show at the Paramount
Theater in New York City features Sarah Vaughan and the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra for the
week.
January 17
The Four Tunes open at Montreal's
Maroon Club for three weeks.
Jimmy Witherspoon starts a two week stay at the Club Alabam in Ls Angeles, while Joe Liggins is at the Club Oasis for the weekend.
January 18
Roy Milton Travels to the
Apollo Theater in New York City for a week stay
Ruth Brown backed by Willis Jackson's band, opens for ten days at the Celebrity Club in Providence, Rhode Island,
Sarah
Vaughan receives the "Most Popular Female Vocalist" award from New Jersey's
Upsala College, edging out both Doris Day and Patti Page.
Vaughan was currently at the Paramount Theater in New York.
T-Bone Walker, Savannah Churchill and the Striders start a week at the Howard Theater in Washington, DC.
January 19
Roy Brown opens at the
Circle Theater in Cleveland
In New
Orleans, Ernie Fields plays a double date, entertaining from 8 to 10 PM at the Booker T.
Washington Auditorium and from 10 PM at the San
Jacinto Club.
Ivory Joe Hunter starts two days at the W.C. Handy Theater in Memphis.
January 20
Pee Wee Crayton heads the bill at
the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles.
January 23
Ivory Joe Hunter is playing starts
four nights at the Liberty Theater in Chattanooga.
January 25
Todd Rhodes Orchestra moves into
the Midtown Club in St. Louis.
T-Bone Walker and the Todd Smith Combo open at the Apollo Theater in New York.
Ivory Joe Hunter starts four nights at Atlanta's Royal Peacock Club.
The Howard Theater in Washington DC presents Roy Milton and His Solid Senders, with TNT Tribble, the Heartbreakers and Jimmy Nelson for a week.
The Ravens headline the Earle Theater Revue in Philadelphia this week.
January 27
The Elks Ballroom in Los
Angeles hosts Johnny Otis, Little Esther and Melee Walker.
January 28
The Tiny Bradshaw Orchestra follow
Ruth Brown into the Celebrity Club in Providence.
The Dominoes, backed by the Paul Gayton Orchestra, start a series of one-nighters with a show in Washington, DC.
In New Orleans, Roy Brown teams with Professor Longhair for one night at the L.B. Landry High School Gym.
Late January
Wynonie Harris plays at the Turner Arena in Washington, DC.
Savoy Records announces the signing of blues singers Dimples Harris and Columbus Perry, the Flamingos and the re-signing of Varetta Dillard.
Atlantic Records reports signing nineteen year old Odelle Turner, a female blues singer and Oscar "big Blues" Black, both from Richmond Virginia.
Allen Bunn, Larks' lead singer, records his first solo record, "The Guy with the 45," for Apollo.
February 1
Ella Fitzgerald
and the Gene Ammons Combo start a week's engagement at New York's Apollo Theater
Ruth Brown is
robbed of an estimated $10,000 in jewelry and furs when he car is broken into while she is
eating at the Bailey Hotel's cafe in Pittsburgh
. She is
enroute to Elizabeth, New Jersey, for a show that evening.
February 2
Roy Brown remains
in New Orleans for a show at the San Jacinto Club before going on a series of one-nighters
through Ohio. Also in town Lee Alan and
Professor
Longhair at the Hi-Hat Club for a week.
Derby Records
is moving into the pop field based on the strength of "Wheel Of Fortune" by
Eddie Wilcox and Sunny Gale. The record eventually reached
#14
on Billboard's pop chart.
Roy Milton stops for a weekend at Bragg's Club in Detroit.
February 3
Little Willie
Littlefield, who is currently on a Pacific coast tour, plays a one-nighter at the Elks
Ballroom in Los Angeles.
February 4
Ruth Brown
headlines a one week appearance at Calloway's in Providence, Rhode Island.
Roy Milton and his Orchestra are at Gleason's Casino in Cleveland for two weeks.
Early February
Wynonie Harris and Larry Darnell play Turner's Arena in Washington
New Orleans radio station WMRY hires Daddy-O to deejay the daily R&B show.
February 8
Billy Eckstine and
Count Basie take in $2,500 against sixty percent of the gross in Houston, They are on a
thirty-five date tour of the South until March 31.
The Orioles, the
Paul Williams Orchestra and Peppermint Harris start a week long tour of Virginia with a
show tonight in Newport News. Other shows
include
Portsmouth (9), Norfolk (10-11), Richmond (12-13) and Roanoke (14).
February 9
Jules Bihari of
RPM/Modern Records is served with a $1 million lawsuit by Diamond Records of Jackson,
Mississippi, that contends that the Bihari signed
and
recorded Leroy Holmes and His Darktown Boys while they were under contract to Diamond.
The Clovers and Lynn
Hope's combo share the stage for the evening at the New Orleans' Place Theater. Also in
town, Jesse Allen starts a nightly
engagement at the
Tijuana Club and LaVern Baker is at the Hi-Hat Club.
February 10
Amos Milburn is at the
Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles.
February 11
Buddy Johnson and
his sister, Ella, along with vocalist Arthur Prysock, play a one-nighter in Detroit at the
Graystone Ballroom
February 14
The Joe Morris
Cavalcade opens in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Joe Turner plays the CIO Hall in Muskegon, Michigan.
The Treniers are at
Los Angeles' Club Oasis, while the Club Alabam hosts Dinah Washington in a record breaking
engagement. Also in Los Angeles,
Jimmy
Witherspoon is the guest performer at the grand opening of the Cotton Club.
February 15
Sonny Thompson joins
Arnett Cobb for a week at Washington's Howard Theater.
Professor Longhair moves into the Caledonia Club in New Orleans for three nights.
Pee Wee Crayton opens at the 5-4 Ballroom in Los Angeles for the weekend.
Mid-February
Recent record companies signing new talent include Peacock Records contract with Lafayette Thomas and Savoy Record' acquisition of Melvin Evans of Atlanta. Also, Okeh Records is overjoyed in announcing its newest acquisition, Hadda Brooks, who previously recorded for Modern and Victor.
The Griffin Brothers and Peppermint Harris play sixty one-nighters throughout the West and Texas in February.
February 16
The Orioles move
into the Holiday Inn in Newark, New Jersey for a week
February 17
Charles Brown plays the
Sunday night dance at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles
Johnny Otis, Little Esther and Willie Mae Thornton appear at the Rosenwald Gym in New Orleans with Gatemouth Brown and Marie Adams.
February 18
Roy Milton and His
Solid Senders start a two weeks in Atlanta at the Royal Peacock.
February 20
Billy Eckstine
and Count Basie split the bill for one show at New Orleans' Booker T. Washington
Auditorium.
February 22
Sarah Vaughan
shares the bill with Bull Moose Jackson's band for a week at the Apollo Theater in New
York..
Ivory Joe Hunter entertains for a week at Speedie's New Musical Room in Philadelphia.
The Orioles Hal "Cornbread" Singer and Lowell Fulson open for a week at the Howard Theater in Washington, DC.
Billy Bunn and His Buddies with comedian Pigmeat Markham start a week long tour of
Virginia with a show in Newport News. Other stops include
Portsmouth (23, Norfolk (24-25), Richmond (26-27) and Roanoke (28).
In Los Angeles, the 5-4 Ballroom presents Charles Brown for the weekend.
February 24
The Elks
Ballroom in Los Angeles hosts to Percy Mayfield for the evening.
In New Orleans, the three day weekend finds Smiley Lewis fronting the Dave Bartholomew band at the Hi-Hat Club.
February 25
Todd Rhodes Combo
start four weeks at the Cotton Club in Cincinnati.
February 27
Roy Milton opens
at the Royal Peacock in Atlanta.
February 28
Birdland in New
York City presents Ivory Joe Hunter for two weeks.
February 29
Lowell Fulson
starts a week at the Apollo Theater in New York. Also on the show is Hal
"Cornbread" Singer's Orchestra.
Late February
Sarah Vaughan opens at the Rendezvous Room in Philadelphia.
Okeh Records reactivated six months ago as a subsidiary of Columbia Records to promote R&B artists, is made a full fledged operation by the parent company. The latest acquisition for the company is the Four Lads.
March 1
It is reported in
the music press that song publishers are now willing to submit songs to independent record
companies following the success of "Cry" by
Johnnie Ray
on Okeh and "Wheel of Fortune" by Eddie Wilcox and Sunny Gale on Derby.
Companies likely to benefit by the move include King, Jubilee
and
Okeh, as well as a number of West Coast labels including Imperial Aladdin and RPM/Modern.
March 2
Sonny Thompson
opens at the Ebony Lounge in Cleveland for two days.
T-Bone Walker plays a one-nighter at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles.
March 4
Bull Moose
Jackson is in Philadelphia at the Club Harlem.
March 6
Ivory Joe
Hunter plays a one night stand in Richmond, Virginia.
March 7
Sonny
Thompson and His Orchestra, with Lulu Reed and the Ravens open for a week at the Apollo
Theater in New York.
Dave Bartholomew is back at the High-Hat in New Orleans sharing the stage for two weeks with Tommy Ridgely.
The Tiny Bradshaw Orchestra and the Tab Smith Combo entertain for the week at the Howard Theater in Washington, DC.
March 9
Roy Milton is the
evening's entertainment at Los Angeles' Elks Ballroom.
The Rosenwald Gym in New Orleans is the scene of a show featuring the Buddy Johnson Orchestra with sister Ella and Arthur Prysock.
March 12
In New York City,
Ella Fitzgerald opens at the Paramount Theater, while Sara Vaughan is the headliner at the
Birdland.
March 14
Charles Brown starts a
tour of forty-one play dates throughout Texas.
The Cardinals join Bull Moose Jackson and Maxine Sullivan at the Earl Theater in Philadelphia.
Washington's Howard Theater offers patrons the talents of the Ravens for this week's entertainment.
March 15
Pee Wee Crayton
plays the Flame Show Bar in Detroit.
Mid-March
Arthur Prysoak continues on the road with a series of one-nighters and theater dates backed by the Buddy Johnson Orchestra. Dates include Philadelphia, Cleveland, Boston and and New York City. The tour runs through May
Talent scouts from New York's Apollo Records, in Memphis searching for another Rosco Gordon or B.B. King sign two artists: Bill Harvey, Formerly with Peacock Records and Bonita Cole.
March 16
Roy Milton moves
into the Lincoln Theater in Los Angeles for a week. Also in town, Eddie
"Cleanhead" Vinson is at the Elks Ballroom for the evening.
March 17
Ruth
Brown entertains at the Hi-Hat Club in Boston for a week.
March 20
Dave Bartholomew and Tommy Ridgely take their show to the New Orleans' Tijuana Club for
the night.
March 21
Dinah Washington and Cootie Williams Combo open at the War Memorial in Trenton, New
Jersey.
The Ravens and Wini Brown start a week tour of Virginia with a show tonight at Newport
News. Other dates are Portsmouth (22), Norfolk (23-24)
and Roanoke (27).
Philadelphia's Earle Theater presents Johnny Ray and the Swallows for a week.
The Eddie Wilcox band featuring vocalist Sunny Gale and the Blenders start a week at the Apollo Theater.
The Cadillacs, Lil Green and Odelle Turner are on the bill with Charlie Parker at the Howard Theater for a week in Washington, DC.
During a stage show in Cleveland promoted by Alan Freed, local deejay on WWJ, a riot breaks out. The show is cancelled.
March 22
Joe Medlin goes
into the Flame Show Bar in Detroit.
Ivory Joe Hunter opens in Columbus, Ohio, at the Trocaveria Club.
In New Orleans, Larry Darnell entertains at the Palace Theater for the evening.
March 23
Pee Wee Crayton
performs Los Angeles' Lincoln Theater.
March 28
The Apollo
Theater Presents the Clovers, the James Moody Combo and pianist Eddie Heywood's band for
the week.
March 30
Floyd Dixon plays
a one- nighter at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles. Also in town, Roy Milton starts three
days at the Lincoln Theater with Pee Wee
Crayton.
Late March
Amos Milburn opens at Pep's Lounge in Philadelphia.
Mercury Records signs Lightin' Hopkins
It is reported that promoter Hal Waller of Los Angeles recently booked singer Floyd Dixon into Phoenix on a three day trial promotion where Dixon played to White, Mexican and Black audiences on separate nights. The White audience was by far the largest of the three.
April 1
Steve Gibson and
His Red Caps are at the Club Harlem in Philadelphia.
April 2
During his swing
through the Southwest, Charles Brown played a one-nighters in Houston.
April 4
B.B. King
rocks the crowd at Trenton's War Memorial Auditorium.
April 7
Louis Jordan
begins two weeks at New York's Warner Theater with his new orchestra. This is his first
appearance following a December 1951
announcement of
indefinite retirement due to illness.
The Celebrity Club hosts Tiny Grimes in Providence, Rhode Island.
Early April
Sax-man Joe Houston, lately with Modern Records, has been signed by Imperial Records of Los Angeles.
Atlantic Records is releasing the first record from their new singing sensation, Odelle Turner. She has recorded "Alarm Clock Boogie," a song that she had recently premiered at the Apollo Theater.
M-G-M Records has branched into R&B market by adding blues shouter Johnny King. a protege of Leonard Feather. His first recording session is backed by the Buddy Johnson Orchestra.
April 8
Chris Powell and
His Five Blues Flames begin a series of club dates in Pennsylvania that will last through
April 26. and include a week at Philadelphia's
Showboat starting on the 14th.
April 11
Jimmy Witherspoon
travels to the Royale Peacock in Atlanta. The Swallows perform at the Howard Theater in
Washington, DC. Dinah Washington starts
a week at
New York's Apollo Theater with Jimmy McPhail and Arnett Cobb.
Al Hibbler is at Detroit's Flame Show Bar.
The Regal Theater in Philadelphia presents Lowell Fulson, Hal "Cornbread" Singer, Lil Green and Sugar Chile Robinson this week.
April 12
In New Orleans,
Paul Monday , Peacock Record's piano playing blues singer, headlines at the Dew Drop Inn.
Nearby, Jesse Hill starts a series of
weekends at the
Corine Club in Mereaux, Louisiana.
April 13
The Orioles
perform before a crowd of 2,000 teenagers at the Pershing Ballroom in Chicago.
Big Jay McNeeley headlines the show at South Park in Los Angeles. Also in town, Lloyd Green is at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles.
Joe Turner and Gatemouth Brown entertain dancers for the evening at New Orleans' Rosenwald. Gym.
Roy Milton entertains at the Easter dance at the Oakland Auditorium.
April 14
The Club Harlem
in Philadelphia hosts Steve Gibson and His Red Caps for a week.
In New Orleans, Dave Bartholomew Combo performs at the Labor Union Hall.
Wini Brown is at George's Bar in Indianapolis. Tinny Bradshaw starts an engagement at the Club Trocaveria in Columbus, Ohio.
Mid-April
Jubilee Records signs Billy Paul, the sixteen year old winner of the Apollo Theater's weekly amateur contest and the Marylanders from Baltimore. Other recent signings include the Dreamers with Mercury and Eddie Mack with Savoy. Tempo Records signs its first R&B artist, Little Billy Big. Specialty Records owner Art Rupe, has returned from a talent search of the South. He has signed bandleader and singer Lloyd Price, Peter McKinney and Little Sonny Houston.
Fats Domino opens for a month at Grady's Supper Club In Nashville, Tennessee. He and his six man band will split $2,500 a week.
Atlantic Records promotes Jesse Stone to musical director. Stone had previously had several combos and composed many R&B songs.
Hal "Cornbread" Singer appears at the Regal Theater in Chicago before stating on a tour through the Midwest.
April 16
Jimmy Witherspoon
and Tab Smith share the bill at the Sunday night dance at the Elk's Ballroom in Los
Angeles.
April 17
Al Hibbler
travels to New Orleans for a two week engagement.
Charles Brown and
Joe Turner pack the Paradise Garden Club in Biloxi, Mississippi.
April 18
Little Esther,
backed by the Johnny Otis band opens at the War Memorial auditorium in Trenton, New
Jersey.
The Clovers
appear at the Howard Theater in Washington, DC. Also on the bill are Charley Parker, Lil
Green and the Billy Ford Orchestra.
On the Virginia circuit this week, the Five Keys share the bill with Varetta Dilliard.
Shows are at Newport News tonight, Portsmouth (19), Northfolk
(20-21),
Richmond (22-23) and Roanoke (24).
The Swallows share the stage with Pearl Bailey at New York's Apollo Theater.
April 19
Winners at the Seventh Annual Pittsburgh Courier Theatrical Awards perform at New
York's Carnage Hall. They include the Dominoes, Billy Eckstine,
blues singer Lester Williams, Lionel Hampton's big band and the Nat King Cole Trio. Billy
Ward and His Dominoes are winners of the vocal group
division
April 20
The Elks Ballroom
in Los Angeles holds a "Blues Jamboree" featuring Little Willie Littlefield and
Floyd Dixon
New York's Birdland presents Billy Ward and His Dominoes for two weeks.
There is a "Battle of the Blues" at New Orleans' San Jacinto Club featuring Joe Turner and Gatemouth Brown.
April 21
Big John Greer,
Victor blues singer, opens at the Regal in Columbus, Ohio. Also in town, Tiny Bradshaw
Combo entertains at the Cotton Club.
WWRL radio in New York starts an hour long R&B show an after midnight slot. George
Woods, formerly from Chicago, is the deejay. WOV radio, also
in
New York, counters by announcing that it will air an hour of R&B every afternoon
featuring two of their most popular personalities, Willie Bryant and
Ray
Caroll.
April 22
Louis Jordan
closes at the Warner Theater in New York. He is booked solid through November with dates
at theaters in Washington and Philadelphia, as
well as
clubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
April 24
Lionel Hampton
Orchestra start a week engagement at Toronto's Casino Theater.
April 25
The Orioles begin
a series of one -nighters.
Following a one
week tour of Louisiana, Gatemouth Brown joins Paul Monday at the New Orleans' Dew Drop Inn
for the weekend.
The Earle Theater in
Philadelphia hosts the Griffin Brothers, Sugar Chile Robinson, Joe Turner and Margie Day
for a week's engagement.
At the Apollo Theater
in New York, the Johnny Otis Orchestra headline for the week, The singers include Little
Esther, Willie Mae Thornton and Mel
Walker.
Savannah Churchill
starts a week at the Flame Show Bar in Detroit.
April 27
The Joe Morris Orchestra with
singer Laurie Tate are the feature attractions at this Sunday's night dance at the Elks
Ballroom in Los Angeles
Charles Brown and Amos
Milburn join forces for the evening at New Orleans' Coliseum.
April 28
Charles Brown and
Amos Milburn play New Iberia, Louisiana, as the first on a one -nighters tour.
April 29
Amos Milburn goes
on the road for twenty-nine one-nighters in Texas.
Late April
Billy Eckstine is currently at the Copacabana in New York.
The Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles hosts a "Blues Jamboree" featuring Little Willie Littlefield and Floyd Dixon
May 1
Charles Brown and
Amos Milburn play a one-nighters in Houston.
Johnnie Ray
and Billy Ward and His Dominoes begin two weeks at Chicago's Oriental Theater
May 2
Philadelphia's
Earle Theater presents, Tiny Grimes, Edna McGriff and the Charioteers for a week.
Louis Jordan
starts a week at the Howard Theater in Washington, DC.
Tiny Bradshaw
brings his orchestra to the Apollo Theater in New York for a week.
May 3
The Palace
Theater In New Orleans offers the Orioles for tonight's ticket holders.
May 6
Steve Gibson and
His Red Caps begin two weeks at the Rivera in Las Vegas, Featured vocalist with the combo
is Gibson's wife, Damita Jo.
May 7
Billy Eckstine opens at this new
club, the Savoy,, on the Sunset Strip, Hollywood.
Early May
Ruth Brown is highlighted in the May issue of Ebony magazine. She starts a twenty day tour with the Charles Brown Orchestra that will travel throughout the South.
Gatemouth Brown and Paul Monday are touring the South in a series of one -nighters.
Decca Recording artists Larry Cummings and the Rhythm Aces are at the Trocadero in Kansas City.
Annie Laurie and Stick McGhee are touring the South through May.
The Larry Darnell, Wynonie Harris, Eddie Durham package is playing a series of one -nighters in the Midwest.
May 8
B.B. King and
H-Bomb Ferguson bring their brand of blues to the Virginia circuit this week starting in
Roanoke tonight. Other date include Newport News
(9),
Portsmouth (10), Norfolk (11-12) and Richmond (13-14).
May 9
Joe Turner and
the Five Keys front the Count Basie Band for a week at the Apollo in New York.
Louis Jordan opens for a week at Philadelphia's Earle Theater.
Paul Monday plays a two night stand at New Orleans' Dew Drop Inn.
May 10
Lionel Hampton
plays for a night at the Mosque Theater in Newark before returning to Canada for a week at
Montreal's Seville Theater on the 15th.
Chess Records announces the formation of a new subsidiary, Checker Records.
May 11
Roy Milton performs for
the Sunday night crown at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles.
In New Orleans' San Jacinto Ballroom presents Jackie Brenston and Rosco Gordon for the Mother's Day Dance.
May 12
Tiny Bradshaw is
at the Sky Bar in Cleveland. Ohio.
Mid-May
While on tour the Orioles are involved in an auto accident as they travel between stops in Memphis and Shreveport. A tire on Sonny Til's 1947 sedan suffers a blowout as bass singer Jimmy Reed is driving. fortunately, no one is hurt.
Sonny Thompson is currently on a one -nighters tour until the 28th.
Ike Turner, of Clarksville, Mississippi and Jay Franks of Texarkana, Arkansas, have been signed to RPM Records in Los Angeles.
Peacock Records, one of the most active independent R&B and gospel record companies, announces that all future releases will be issued on both 45 and 78 rpm speeds. Previously, all issues had been 78 rpm.
May 16
The Four Tunes
open at the Blue Mirror in Washington, DC.
Joe Turner and the Five Keys move into the Howard Theater in Washington, DC for a week with the Count Basie's orchestra. Following this week, the Five Keys are off on a one -nighter tour through Virginia.
Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five headline the revue at the Apollo Theater for the week.
Billy Wright performs the first of a pair of three day weekends at New Orleans' Dew Drop Inn.
Pearl Bailey shares the stage with Chris Powell and His Five Blue Flames this week at Philadelphia's Earle Theater.
May 17
M-G-M Records
announces a major move into the R&B field. Henceforth, the company plans to issue at
least one R&B record a week. Up to this time in
1952, the
company has only issued a total of three R&B titles.
In New Orleans, the Palace Theater welcome Lowell Fulsome and the Cardinals for the evening.
May 18
Dinah Washington
and Tommy Edwards entertain this evening at the Philadelphia Armory as part of the
"Caravan Of Stars."
Lloyd Green is at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles.
May 20
King Pleasure
moves into the Harlem Club in Philadelphia.
May 21
Dinah Washington,
the Mills Brothers and Tommy Edwards star at the Baltimore's Coliseum. A near riot breaks
out when white zoot suiters start to dance
during
Washington's rendition of "Wheel Of Fortune."
May 23
The Four Buddies
join Illinois Jacquet at the Earle Theater in Philadelphia. Also on stage is vocalist Wini
Brown.
Buddy Johnson Orchestra, featuring his sister Ella and her husband Arthur Prysock, headline the show at the Apollo Theater for the week.
Al Hibbler, Edna McGriff, Chris Powell and His Five Blue Flames and Jimmy Tyler headline the revue this week at Washington's Howard Theater.
May 24
A survey
published in Los Angeles reports that the major portion of R&B records are purchased
by Spanish and mixed nationality buyers. As many as forty
percent of the buyers are reported to be White where previously the buyers for R&B
were almost all Blacks.
The Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles plays host to Roy Brown. Across town at the Shriner's Club Ball, Earl Bostic is entertaining the crowd.
The San Jacinto Club In New Orleans offers a "Double Battle Of The Blues" with
Dave Bartholomew vs Joe Phillips and Fats Domino vs Professor
Longhair. Across town, Joe Turner plays a one-nighter at the Dew Drop Inn.
May 26
The Griffin
Brothers spend the evening the Farmdell Club in Dayton, Ohio.
Billy Wright fills out the rest of the weekend at New Orleans" Dew Drop Inn.
Earl Bostic performs at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
May 28
Sonny Thompson
opens for ten days at the Farmdell Club in Dayton, Ohio.
May 29
Cleveland's Savoy
Club hosts the Tiny Bradshaw Orchestra as they begin a three week engagement.
May 30
New York's Apollo
Theater welcomes the Lionel Hampton Orchestra for a week's stay.
Joe Turner returns to the Dew Drop Inn in New Orleans for the evening. Billy Wright fills out the remainder of the weekend.
Dinah Washington along with Arnett Cobb and the Ravens opens at the Earle Theater in Philadelphia for the Memorial Day weekend.
May 31
Ray Charles, Joe
Turner and Hal "Cornbread" Singer start a month long tour of Texas.
The Swallows are welcomed to New Orleans' Palace Theater for the evening.
Lloyd Price hits the road on his first tour, covering three state in two weeks. Tonight he plays LaPlace, Louisiana.
Late May
Wynonie Harris is back in New York following his Midwest tour.
Ruth Brown and Hot Lips Page are in Virginia for a series of one night stands.
Rainbow Records has signed Joe Bailey and Lloyd Williams.
June 1
Louis Jordan, Roy
Brown and Jimmy Witherspoon are the featured artists at the Eighth Annual Cavalcade of
Jazz at Wiggle Field in Los Angeles.
Lloyd Price continues on his first tour with a show in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Tomorrow he travels to Pensacola, Florida.
June 2
Wini Brown opens
in Cleveland for a week following her successful engagement at the Earle Theater in
Philadelphia.
June 6
Ruth Brown fronts
the Erskine Hawkins band for her week's stay at the Apollo.
In Louisiana, Lloyd Price makes a stopover at Donaldson tonight and Port Allen on the seventh.
June 7
Capitol Records
reports that 45 rpm record sales are up fifty-two percent in the first four months of 1952
as compared to the previous year. Victor on the
other
hand, reports that total sales for all records are down ten per percent for the same
period.
Early June
Alan Freed, Cleveland"s well known disk jockey, is in New York to set up talent for several forthcoming dance programs in the Cleveland area in June. Among those signed are the Swallows, Edna, McGriff and Buddy Lucas Orchestra.
Little Esther, Willie Mae Thornton and Johnny Otis Combo are touring the Pacific Northwest before returning to Otis' home base of California.
Roy Brown is reportedly bringing in crowds on his swing through the West Coast. Also currently on tour, Jimmy Forrest is traveling throughout the South for most of June.
June 8
Louis Jordan
performs at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
June 9
In Cleveland,
Earl Bostic is at the Ebony Club. Percy Mayfield starts a tour of the Eastern Seaboard.
June
The Swallows are
off on a one-nighter tour of the West Coast.
June 12
Sonny Thompson opens at the
Farmdell Club in Dayton, Ohio.
June 13
Edna McGriff and
the Buddy Lucas Orchestra begin a series of one night stands in the bay area of Virginia
with a show in Petersburg.
Ruth Brown headlines for a week at the Howard Theater in Washington, DC.
Savannah Churchill and the Striders front the Dizzy Gillespie Combo for a week at the Earle Theater in Philadelphia.
In New Orleans, Lloyd Price is scheduled for a three day weekend at the Dew Drop Inn. He
is held over for an additional three weekends. A local
newspaper call Price "the biggest calling card since Roy Brown."
Sarah Vaughan is featured at the Club Harlem in Philadelphia. Also in town, Bill Doggett is at Lawson's Nite Club.
June 14
Billy Ward and
His Dominoes play a double date in New Orleans. There is an afternoon show at the Booker
T. Washington Auditorium followed by an
evening show at the Coliseum Arena. The crowd for the Arena show is reported to be
"frenzied."
June 15
The Clovers,
backed by the Billy Ford band, hit the road for a month of one-nighters through the South
and West.
Johnny Otis, Little Esther and Willie Mae Thornton are headliners at the Sunday night dance at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles.
The Orioles stop in New Orleans for a night at the Booker T. Auditorium.
Mid-June
The Ravens are sued by their parent recording company, National Records, for $100,000 as a result of their failure to show up for a recording session. The lawsuit names Columbia Records as having allegedly induced the singers to breach their contract. he Raven"s "Mam'selle" is on Columbia's Okeh subsidiary The Ravens countersue National for back royalties of $7,615.
The Bihari brothers, owners of RPM Records are seeking an injunction against Duke Records for releasing records by Rosco Gordon.
Specialty Records, one of the top independent R&B record labels, announces that they are entering the country and western market with four initial releases.
Arthur Prysock quits the Buddy Johnson Orchestra after eight years to start a solo career. Johnson will remain Prysock's personal manager.
Mercury Records signs Mel Walker, previously with Savoy and the Freddie Mitchell Orchestra, formerly with Derby Records
Louis Jordan takes his Tympany Five to Honolulu for the week.
Austin Powell, former lead singer of with the Cats and a Fiddle, signs with Atlantic Records.
June 16
The Four Tunes
begin twelve weeks at the Club Harlem in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The Griffin brothers start a week at the Trocavria Club in Columbus, Ohio.
Ella Fitzgerald is at the Harlem Club in Philadelphia for a week.
T-Bone Walker starts two weeks at the Club Oasis in Los Angeles.
June 19
The Swallows,
Edna McGriff and Buddy Johnson Orchestra start a series of one -nighters promoted by
Cleveland deejay Alan Freed. This night the
performers
entertain at the Crystal Beach Ballroom in Lorraine, Ohio. On the 20th they are at the
Summit Beach Ballroom in Akron, Ohio and on the 21st
at
the Avon Ballroom in Youngstown, Ohio. Total attendance for all three shows are over
5,000.
Joe Liggins starts a tour of the Southwest.
Roy Brown plays a one-nighters at the Cobra Club in San Diego, California.
June 20
Roy Brown sets
off on a one-nighters tour of the South that will include a few club dates.
Ivory Joe Hunter is at the Apollo Theater for a week.
Dinah Washington, Bill Harris's All Stars and Joe Holiday's Orchestra open at Birdland.
Sarah Vaughan and Timmie Rogers share the stage for a week at Washington's Howard Theater.
Louis Jordan plays a one -nighters in Yakima, Washington. He follows with a show on the
21st in Spokane and on the 22nd at the Trianon Ballroom in
Tacoma,
Washington.
Chicago's Regal Theater presents the Count Basie Orchestra and the Ravens this week.
The new show at the Earle Theater in Philadelphia features the Tiny Bradshaw Orchestra.
June 22
In New Orleans,
one night stands are the norm this evening for the R&B audience: Roy Milton, Pee Wee
Crayton and Lil Greenwood are at the Coliseum
Arena;
Gatemouth Brown, Lloyd Price and Gene Ammons are at the Rosenwald Gym and Lowell Fulson is
at the Club Desire.
June 23
The package tour
of Ray Charles, Joe Turner and Hal "Cornbread" Singer ends its month long tour
with a show in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Tiny Bradshaw is featured for three days at Philadelphia's Pep's Musical Bar.
Bill Doggett's Combo opens at the Carver Bar in the Glen Hotel in Philadelphia.
June 24
Louis Jordan
continues his tour of the Northwest with a show in Vancouver, Washington. This is followed
by shows in the Century Ballroom in Tacoma
(25) and
McElroy's Ballroom in Portland (26).
June 25
The Griffin
Brothers come of a three week vacation by starting a series of one -nighters with a show
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
June 26
The Four Tunes
begin a summer engagement at the Harlem Club in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Tenor saxman Frank "Floorshow" Culley starts at the Farmdell Club in Dayton,
Ohio for two weeks. Culley played tenor sax on the 1949 Atlantic Records
hit
"Cole Slaw."
In Los Angeles, Joe Liggins is appearing at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles.
June 27
Lynn Hope's
Orchestra with Amos Milburn starts the summer season at Weeke's Cafe in Atlantic City with
a week's engagement.
Following his appearance in Philadelphia, Tiny Bradshaw opens for a week at Washington's Howard Theater.
New York's Apollo Theater welcomes Joe Turner to this week's revue.
June 28
The Buddy
Johnson Orchestra is off on a one-nighter tour through the North, East Coast and Midwest
until July 11 after closing a successful time in
Boston.
Late June
Dinah Washington opens at the Birdland in New York.
July 2
Following
one-night stand in Eugene, Oregon and Sacramento and Red Wood in California, Louis Jordan
performs at the Del Monte Gardens in Monterey
The
following two nights find him in San Francisco and Oakland.
July 3
Jimmy
Weatherspoon headlines the dance at the Oro Ballroom in Los Angeles tonight. Also on the
Fourth of July. Also in Los Angeles for the weekend are
Hal
"Cornbread" Singer with Joe Turner, who are appearing for three days at the 5-4
Ballroom.
Roy Brown travels to through Club DeLisa in Portland, Oregon.
July 4
Weeke's Cafe in
Atlantic City hosts the Five Keys, Wini Brown and Piney Brown for the week.
Dinah Washington is scheduled to perform in Trenton, New Jersey, but doesn't show up.
Legal action against her is settled in September with the
scheduling of
another show.
Ruth Brown appears at the Royal Theater in Baltimore.
Wynonie Harris along with Larry Darnell and Annie Laurie open at the Howard Theater in Washington, DC this week.
July 5
Big Jay McNeeley
starts an extended engagement at the Waldorf Center in Los Angeles.
July 6
Roy Brown plays
the Sunday night dance at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles.
July 7
Arthur Prysock
moves into the Regal Theater in Columbus, Ohio, for three weeks.
Early July
Rainbow Records, continuing to add to its stable of R&B acts, signs the Five Crowns and the Miller Sisters.
Okeh Records, a subsidiary of New York's Columbia Records, reports that its scouts are off to the West Coast and South in search of new talent.
The Paul Williams Orchestra opens for a week at Cleveland's Emory Club.
July 8
Tiny Bradshaw's
Orchestra starts four weeks in Cincinnati, Ohio.
July 9
As part of a
month long tour of California, Louis Jordan returns for a week at the Cypress Club in
Sacramento, California
July 11
The Buddy Johnson Orchestra starts
a week at the Regal Theater in Chicago
Charles Brown shares the bill with
the Orioles at Weeke's Cafe in Atlantic City for two weeks.
Ivory Joe Hunter starts at the Glass Bar in St. Louis.
Ruth Brown plays a night a one-nighter in Birmingham, Alabama, followed the next night by a show in Alexandria, Virginia.
Dinah Washington, the Ravens, and comedian Redd Foxx and Slappy White are the stars at the Howard Theater in Washington, DC.
Varetta Dilliard plays the Flame Show Bar in Detroit for a week as an opener for her Midwest tour.
July 12
A package consisting of
Edna McGriff, Tab Smith and Lynn Hope's Orchestra starts on a tour of twenty-two
one-nighters through the South.
July 13
Earl Bostic is at
the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles for the night.
July 14
Amos Milburn
starts a week at the Ebony Club in Cleveland, Ohio.
July 15
On the "Ted
Mack Original Amateur Hour" television program, the annual run-off winner is eight
year old Gladys Knight of Atlanta, Georgia. She takes
home
$2,000 and a gold cup.
Mid-July
Bull Moose Jackson is finishing up his tour of the West Coast.
In the resort city of Wildwood, New Jersey, Sarah Vaughan is at the Beachcombers, the Treniers and the Jive Bombers are at the Riptide, Steve Gibson and His Redcaps featuring DaMita Joe are at the Martinique and the Golden Dragon plays host to the Five Barons.
New Orleans radio station WJMR sets aside two hours every afternoon for its Poppa Stoppa dejay show dedicated to R&B.
July 16
Louis Jordan
starts a stand at the Say When Club in San Francisco that will run through the 27th.
July 18
Ruth Brown with
Willis Jackson's band starts a week at Weeke's Cafe in Atlantic City.
T-Bone Walker opens for a three day weekend at Los Angeles' 5-4 Ballroom.
The Howard Theater in Washington, DC plays host to the Paul Williams Orchestra and the Orioles for a week.
Arthur Prysock starts two weeks at the Flame Show Bar in Detroit.
July 20
Jimmy McCracklin
and Jimmy Witherspoon engage in a Battle of Bands at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles.
July 21
Ivory Joe Hunter
opens at the Ebony Club in Cleveland, Ohio for a week.
Dinah Washington is at the Blue Mirror in Washington, DC.
July 24
Bull Moose
Jackson goes into the Savoy Ballroom in New York for a week.
July 25
Billie Holiday
and Wild Bill Trio start a week in Atlantic City at Weeke's Cafe Also working this date,
except on the 26th, is Hal "Cornbread" Singer
Joe Turner
coming of a California tour, opens at the Dew Drop Inn in New Orleans for three weeks.
July 26
Sarah Vaughan and
Hal "Cornbread" Singer perform for the inauguration of the Saturday night
Chesapeake cruises out of Washington, DC.
Roy Brown Stops at the San Jacinto Club in New Orleans for the evening.
The third "Annual Blues Jamboree" at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles
features many local favorites including T-Bone Walker, Jimmy Witherspoon,
Al Hibbler,
Big Jay McNeeley, Peppermint Harris, Joe Houston and Floyd Dixon.
Peacock Records, based, based in Houston, takes over Duke Records in Memphis
July 27
Betty McLauren
starts a ten days at the Regal Theater in Columbus, Ohio.
In Los Angeles, the Sunday night dance at the Elks Ballroom features Little Willie Littlefield and Joe Houston.
July 28
Atlanta's Club
Poinciana hosts Varetta Dillard.
July 29
Earl Bostic stops
by the Blackhawk Club in San Francisco for two weeks as part of his West Coast Swing.
Late July
Leo "Mad Lad" Parker and His Orchestra become the first R&B group to play the Latin Quarter in St. Louis. They were booked as a result of the response during their six week stay at the Boulevard Room in Kansas City.
Savannah Churchill is at Chubby's Cafe in Camden, New Jersey.
It is reported by the recording industry that for the first half of 1952, 78 rpm records made up fifty percent of all sales down from eighty percent in April, followed by 45 rpm at thirty percent and 33 1/3 rpm at sixteen percent of all records sold.
August 1
Wynonie Harris is
booked into the Royal Theater in Baltimore for a week.
August 2
The Clovers and
Charles Brown headline the talent on the Chesapeake River Saturday night cruise sailing
from Washington DC.
August 3
In Los
Angeles, Al Hibbler plays the Elk Ballroom.
The Battle of The Blues at the Rosenwald Gym in New Orleans features Joe Turner vs Guitar Slim
August 4
Joe Turner and
Guitar Slim take their blues battle on the road with a show in Plaguamine, Louisiana,
followed by Biloxi, Mississippi (5th) and Thibodaux
(6th)
and New Iberia ( Louisiana (7th).
August 5
Joe Turner moves
into the Orchid Room in Kansas City.
August 7
The Orioles open
at the Farmdell Club in Dayton, Ohio for four days.
Early August
Universal Attractions is sending out "The Greatest Show Of '52," which includes Wini Brown, the Swallows, H-Bomb Ferguson, LaVern Baker, and the Todd Rhodes Orchestra for up to seven weeks in the South and East.
Roy Brown and Tab Smith are currently touring the South on separate one-nighters.
August 8
James Moody and
Sonny Thompson are the featured attractions at the Howard Theater in Washington, DC for
the week
Lloyd Glenn opens for three nights at the 5-4 Ballroom in Los Angeles with the Four Flames. They remain at the 5-4 for the next week,
August 9
Ruth Brown and
Amos Milburn perform on the Chesapeake River Saturday night cruise sailing out of
Washington, DC.
Wynonie Harris shares the bill with the Five Keys and Annie Laurie at the Royale Theater in Baltimore, Maryland.
Following a performance at the Steel Beach, in Atlantic City, Ink Spot guitarist Charlie
Fuqua announces that he is leaving the group and will form a New
Ink Spots.
August 10
Jimmy Nelson,
Peppermint Harris and Bumps Blackwell's Harlem Revue are at the Elks Club in Los Angeles.
August 11
Charles Brown
opens for a week at the Farmdell Club in Dayton, Ohio.
Amos Milburn starts a week at Pep's Musical Bar in Philadelphia.
August 12
The Orioles front
the Paul Williams Orchestra for a week at the Apollo Theater in New York.
Gatemouth Brown plays the Orchid Room following a successful Southern tour.
Louis Jordan travels to the Beachcomber in Wildwood, New Jersey for a week.
August 14
The Griffin
Brothers return to New York following a successful Southern tour.
August 15
Billy Ward and
His Dominoes headlines this week's revue at the Apollo Theater.
On the Virginia circuit the Dreamers and James Moody's combo start a with a show in
Newport News tonight. Other dates include Portsmouth (16),
Northfolk (17), Richmond (18) and Petersburg (19).
Mid-August
Ray Charles, Laurie Tate and the Joe Morris Orchestra complete a successful engagement at the Royal Peacock in Atlanta, Georgia.
New York hosts the music trade show, which includes a large turnout from the R&B manufacturers. Among those present are the owners of Imperial, Specialty, Peacock/Duke, Modern/RPM, Atlantic, Aladdin, Savoy, Sittin' In, Derby, United and States, as well as most of the R&B men for the major labels. Performers include newcomer Johnny Ace, whose first release on Duke will be out the week.
Roy Brown is on tour in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Bull Moose Jackson is playing the Country Club in New York City for ten days.
Ivory Joe Hunter is off on a one-nighter tour in Florida for most of the month.
Steve Gibson has added a drummer to his Red Caps for the first time.
An in-person promotion by Alan Freed featuring the Clovers and Charles Brown at the Summit Ballroom in Akron, brings in over 3,000 paid attendees, with more than 2000 turned away at the door.
Earl Bostic is at the Blackhawk Club in San Francisco.
Owners of various R&B companies join in a move to leave the American Federation of Musicians and set up their own union.
RCA Victor introduces the Extended Pay. Also, M-G-M Records brings out the first 12-inch long-play album. Previous M-G-M LP's had been 10-inch.
August 16
The Orioles
and Lynn Hope perform on the Saturday night Chesapeake River cruise leaving from the docks
of Washington, DC.
Charles Brown plays tonight in Philadelphia, then he will be off on a number of one-night stands through the Southwest until the 29th.
Roy Brown and Roy Milton with Illinois Jacquet Combo appear at Carr's Beach Club in Annapolis, Maryland.
August 17
T-Bone Walker
plays a one-nighter at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles.
The "Greatest Show of 52" plays a double date in New Orleans with a concert at
the Booker T. Washington Auditorium in the afternoon and a dance at the
Labor
Union Hall in the Evening.
August 21
The Saturday
night dance at Los Angeles' Elks Ballroom features the Johnny Otis Orchestra with singers
Mel Walker and Little Esther.
August 22
Dinah Washington,
the Dreamers and the Cootie Williams Orchestra start a week at the Apollo Theater in New
York City as the first stop of a theater tour
August 23
The Griffin
Brothers and the Five Keys are the Saturday night entertainment on the Chesapeake River
cruise.
Due to increased demand, Lew Chudd of Imperial Records announces that he has set up distribution for his label in Canada and Europe.
August 24
Earl Bostic
appears for the night at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles, while across town sax-man, Joe
Houston is at the 5-4 Club.
August 29
Charles Brown and
the Clovers, just off a string of one-nighters from Ohio through Texas, New Mexico and
Arizona, start a West Coast tour with a show
in San Diego, California. Filling out the show is Rosco Gordon.
Florence Williams opens at the Howard Theater in Washington, DC. Recently she has switched
labels from National to Savoy. Along with Miss Williams
are
the Five Keys, Bull Moose Jackson and Varetta Dillard.
Billy Ward and His Dominoes are at the Michigan State Fair.
Billy Eckstine and Buddy Rich's Combo headline the revue at the Apollo Theater this week.
August 30
Paul Williams and Danny Cobb go
head-to-head in a battle of bands, while Laurie Tate joins on vocals, as they close out
the Saturday night Chesapeake
River cruise season in
Washington, DC.
August 31
In a pre-Labor
Day midnight dance in Atlanta's Auditorium, Ruth Brown, Amos Milburn and Willis Jackson
gross $10,000.
Louis Jordan, fronting a full orchestra with two female singers, plays a doubleheader in
New Orleans at the Booker T. Washington Auditorium (afternoon)
and
the Coliseum Arena (evening).
Late August
Johnny Ace's version of "My Song" has produced a bumper crop of cover versions, including those by Hadda Brooks, Dinah Washington and Marie Adams. This is the first time that an R&B song has been covered by this many versions in many years.
In Philadelphia, Tiny Grimes is at Bill & Lou's Club and Bill Doggett opens at Pep's Musical Lounge.
The "Biggest Show of 52" plays a night at the Shrine Auditorium in Waterloo, Iowa.
Al Hibbler is currently appearing at the Glass Bar in St. Louis.
Savoy Records announces several new signing to its R&B roster: Hal "Cornbread" Singer, who started at Savoy several years earlier, Dolly Cooper from Philadelphia, blue singer Carleton Coleman from Tampa and singer-guitarist Calvin Frazier from Detroit.
September 1
Little Esther and
Mel Walker with the Johnny Otis Orchestra continue breaking records in Texas, the Deep
South and the eastern states following the
ending of their West Coasts dates.
Lowell Fulson and Joe Turner start a thirteen day Georgia/Florida tour with a show in Augusta, Georgia.
Philadelphia's Labor Day Dance features Joe Morris' Orchestra and the Orioles.
September 4
Tiny Bradshaw and
Mabel Scott start a Midwest tour that runs through September 19th.
Little Caesar and Little Willie Littlefield play the night at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles.
September 5
Jimmy Forest and
Roy Brown share the stage in Washington, D.C. at the Howard Theater for a week.
The Clovers with Rosco Gordon open for three days at Los Angeles 5-4 Ballroom.
Sarah Vaughan is featured for a week at New York's Apollo Theater.
September 6
Thelma Carpenter
is at the Flame Show Bar in Detroit.
September 7
Jimmy McCracklin
and Pee Wee Crayton are at the Elks Club in Los Angeles for the night.
Early September
The Ray-O-Vacs, who formerly recorded for Decca Records, sign a contract with Jubilee Records. Jubilee has also signed Little Sylvia, whose first release will be "I Went To Your Wedding," a song recently recorded several R&B women, including DaMita Jo with Steve Gibson's Red Caps
September 8
Joe Morris and
His Orchestra begin three weeks in Youngstown's Spodoree Club.
September 9
Tiny Grimes opens
in Philadelphia at the Red Rooster Club.
September 12
Buddy Johnson and
Erroll Garner share the stage for a week at the Howard Theater in Washington DC.
Ray Charles is booked for two weeks at the Flame Show Bar in Detroit with LaVern Baker,
who is just back home from a national tour. She remains at
the Flame for the next four weeks.
The Orioles headline the revue featuring Edna McGriff and Paul Williams Orchestra at the Apollo Theater.
Lloyd Glenn and the Four Flames are at the 5-4 Ballroom in Los Angeles for three days.
Also in town, Billy Eckstine starts a West Coast tour with a
show at the Shrine Auditorium.
September 14
Lowell
Fulson stops at the San Jacinto Club in New Orleans, for the evening.
September 15
Atlanta's
Poinciana Club hosts Larry Darnell for the week.
Mid-September
Bull Moose Jackson is booked for a week at Cleveland's Ebony Club.
Billy Eckstine is presented with a gold record by the Harlem Record Dealers Association. He is touted as being the "biggest boon to the record business in a decade."
September 18
The Ink Spots
start a Canadian tour with a show at Toronto's Casino Theater.
September 19
The Orioles move
into Storyville in New Haven, Connecticut. Illinois Jacquet is the week's entertainment at
the Fox Theater in Detroit.
The Five Keys are at New York's Apollo Theater for a week.
Billy Ward is feted at a surprise birthday party in Cincinnati, home of Federal Records.
Guests include boxers Joe Louis and Ezzard Charles, bandleader
Lucky Millinder and Ward's manager Rose Marks, who presents Ward with a Cadillac.
Arthur Prysock headlines a one-nighter tour through the South and East Coast. The tour is billed as "The Number One Blues And Jazz Show" and other performers include Peppermint Harris, Varetta Dillard, Jean Shaw and Bill Hutchins Blues Express Orchestra. r
The tour will run for a month.Ivory Joe Hunter is the star at the Royal Peacock in Atlanta, Georgia for four days.
September 20
The Dominoes
break the one day record at the Lyric Theater in Louisville, Kentucky. They are beginning
a Midwest tour that is scheduled to run through
October 5th.
Professor Longhair starts an extended engagement at the Graystone Club in New Orleans.
Across town, Tiny Bradshaw and Mabel Scott play the Palace
Theater for the night.
September 21
Lloyd Price
appears at the Elks Ballroom in Los Angeles for the night,
Tommy Ridgely fronts the Dave Bartholomew Combo at the pelican Club in New Orleans. The
pair will be there for the next 2 1/2 months. They will also
share
the bill with Christine Kittrell for the first two weeks.
September 22
Floyd Dixon
travels to the Orchid Room in Kansas city for the week.
Lynn Hope opens the fall season at the Showboat in Philadelphia for a week's stay.
September 23
Ruth Brown,
Willis Jackson and Joe Turner have a one-nighter in Youngstown, Ohio.
September 25
The Ink Spots
continue their Canadian tour with a week at the Seville Club in Montreal.
September 26
In Philadelphia,
the Earle Theater reopens following a summer renovation with Duke Ellington's 1953 Revue.
The Ravens and Betty Carter split a bill at the Apollo Theater for a week.
The Clovers, Rosco Gordon and Charles Brown play a three-day weekend at the 5-4 Ballroom
in Los Angeles. Brown follows this date with a tour of
Texas.
Savoy Records sues Mercury Records for a $100, 000 over the contract of Mel Williams.
Savoy claims to have an exclusive contract as of March 23,
1951.
September 27
The Griffin
Brothers start a four-day s at the Sportsman's Club in Newport, Kentucky.
September 29
Louis Jordan and
His Tympany Five start a tour of one-nighters throughout the Southeast.
Earl Bostic shares the stage with Johnnie Ray for the evening at the Municipal Auditorium in New Orleans.
Illinois Jacquet plays for a week at the Trocaveria Club in Columbus, Ohio.
September 30
Billy Ford, Mr.
Sad Head, Charles Brown and His Orchestra and Shirley Haven start a one-nighter tour with
a show in San Antonio. They will be on the
road
for a month.
The Clovers and Rosco Gordon are at the Club Alabam in Los Angeles for a month.
Late September
Atlanta's Royal Peacock Club hosts Eddna McGriff for four days.
Atlantic Records, in a surprise move, is asking deejays to send in suggestions for an as yet unnamed five man vocal group recently signed to the label.
One of the first small independent radio stations in the South or Southwest, KDET in Center, Texas, has start an hour long R&B show each day called "Melvin's Jive."
October 1
The Buddy Johnson
Orchestra is currently off on a tour of the West Coast.
The Louis Jordan tour makes a stop in Atlanta, Georgia.
October 3
The Orioles
following a successful engagement in New Haven, Connecticut, open at the Earle Theater in
Philadelphia. Others on the bill are Bette McLaurin
and
Erskine Hawkin's Orchestra.
In New Orleans, Johnny Ace starts the first of two weekends at the Dew Drop Inn.
Steve Gibson and His Red Caps are at Chubby's Bar in Camden, New Jersey.
October 4
The Rock-Ola
Jukebox Corporation introduces its 120 selection 45 rpm "Fireball" model that is
destined to revolutionize the industry.
The Palace Theater in New Orleans presents Billy Ward and His Dominoes for the evening.
October 6
Savannah
Churchill stars for a week in York, Pennsylvania.
Johnny Otis, Little Esther and Mel Walker, currently on tour, stop for the evening at Rosenwald Gym in New Orleans.
Wynonie Harris opens at Lawson's Place in Philadelphia for a week. Also in Philadelphia,
WFIL-TV premiers a television show featuring teenagers dancing
to records. Hosts for Bandstand are Bob Horn and Lee Stewart.
Early October
The "Biggest Show Of 52" is currently playing dates in Florida.
Little Walter is appearing in Chicago at the Hollywood Rendezvous Club.
October 10
Bull Moose
Jackson, the Four Tunes and Wini Brown open at New York's Apollo Theater for a week.
Ivory Joe Hunter, the Four Blazes, Thelma Carpenter and Larry Darnell start a week at the Earle Theater in Philadelphia.
Roy Brown starts of on a one-nighter tour of the Midwest
October 13
Amos Milburn is
scheduled to start a week at the Trocaveria Club in Columbus, Ohio.
Mid-October
Okeh Records signs blues singer Big Maybelle Smith.
Joe Bihari of RPM Records is off on a talent search of the South with his talent representative, Ike Turner.
Atlantic Records will record Doctor Willie Jones, former lead singer with the Joe Morris Orchestra. Morris' new lead singer will be Lowell Fulson, who has disbanded his own combo.
October 16
The Five Keys
open for four days at Dayton's Farmdell Club.
October 17
Earl Bostic and
Roy Milton headline for a week at the Howard Theater in Washington, DC>
The Four Blazes and the Freddy Mitchell Combo entertain for a week at New York's Apollo Theater
October 18
Louis Jordan
plays the Sixth Annual CIAA National Classic Dance in Washington, DC.
October 19
At the Elks
Ballroom in Los Angeles, the night's featured attraction is Buddy Johnson's Orchestra
featuring Ella Johnson.
Charles Brown stops for the evening at the Labor Union Hall in New Orleans.
October 22
The Ravens are
booked for the week at New York's Paramount Theater in the show celebrating Duke
Ellington's twenty-fifth anniversary in show business.
October 23
Dinah Washington
plays the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in California.
October 24
The Four Tunes
open up at Uncle Tom's Plantation in Detroit.
At the Howard Theater in Washington, DC the week's headliners are Ivory Joe Hunter, the Four Blazes and Mabel Scott.
Little Willie Littlefield starts three days at the 5-4 Club in Los Angeles.
October 25
Charles Brown
completes his one month tour of the Southwest only to start another set of on-nighters
through the Deep South on the 27th with Mr.Sad
Head
and Shirley Haven.
October 26
Floyd Dixon and
Margie Day perform in New Orleans at the San Jacinto Club.
October 27
The Orioles
return to Philadelphia for an appearance at Pep's Musical Bar.
October 28
Lloyd Price plays
a one-nighter in Philadelphia at Reynold's Hall and Tropical Garden.
October 31
Ruth Brown and
Frankie Laine share top billing at the Earle Theater in Philadelphia for the week. Her new
contract with Atlantic Records calls for a
minimum $100,000 in record royalties over the next five years,
Lloyd Price and the Earl Bostic Combo are featured for a week at the Apollo Theater,
Buddy Lucas' Orchestra and Edna McGriff start a month long string of one-nighters with a show in Dayton, Ohio.
Rose Murphy starts an engagement at Angelo's Club in Omaha, Nebraska.
Buddy Johnson's Orchestra starts a on-nighter tour through the Southwest.
Late October
Amos Milburn follows Charles Brown into Texas for a month of one-nighters. Bette McLaurain opens at the Birdland for two weeks.
November 1
Charles Brown and
Billy Ford start a Mid-Atlantic tour with a show in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Other
dates this week include the following cities in
Virginia: Danville (2); Newport News (3); Portsmouth (4); Petersburg (5); Virginia Beach
(6) and Charleston, South Carolina (7).
In Detroit, Billy Eckstine appears at the Broadway-Capitol for the night.
November 2
Bumps
Blackwell plays at the 5-4 Ballroom for one night.
November 6
The Clovers
travel to New Orleans for an evening's performance at the Palace Theater.
November 7
Lloyd Price
headlines the live show at the Howard Theater in Washington, DC.
November 9
Buddy Johnson
with his sister Ella play the Labor Union Hall in New Orleans.
Early November
Presently on separate one-nighter tours are the new Ink Spots and the Five Crowns.
Gatemouth Brown is touring the Southwest with the Al Grey Orchestra.
Johnny Ace is at the Orchard Room in Kansas City.
Billy Ward buys up the personal appearances contract between his group the Dominoes and United Attractions, which had been doing the group's booking.
November 10
Lowell Fulson
fronts the Joe Morris Orchestra at the Sportsman's Club in Newport, Kentucky. They are
currently on a tour of sixty one-nighters.
November 11
The Orioles and
Fats Domino share the spotlight for a two-day stand in Pittsburgh.
Billy Ward and His Dominoes backed by the Joe Morris Combo start a three week tour of the West Coast.
November 14
Pee Wee Crayton
and Lloyd Glenn are in Los Angeles at the 5-4 Ballroom.
The Five Keys headline the "Smart Affairs Of 52" at the Earle Theater in
Philadelphia. During the week they are each given gold keys from Atlantic
Records in appreciation for their record sales in 1952.
Charles Brown Currently on tour, wires his manager in New York to buy him $2,500 wardrobe including imported plaid jacket and fifteen pairs of shoes.
Mid-November
Savoy Records signs three blues artists, Willie Johnson, Dollie Cooper and Henry Masse. Other recent record company signings include Lil Green with Victor and Memphis Slim formerly with Mercury and Peacock, with United.
Sonny Thompson and His Orchestra are back at the Show Boat in Philadelphia.
King Record's president Syd Nathan and his R&B chief Henry Glover start a talent search through the South.
November 16
In Los Angeles,
T-Bone Walker entertains at Elks Ballroom Sunday dance.
November 17
Lynn Hope plays
the Sportoree Club in Youngstown, Ohio.
Steve Gibson and His Red Caps start four weeks at Chubby's in North Collingwood, New Jersey
November 18
Johnny Ace starts
an engagement at the Club Alabam in Los Angeles.
November 19
Lowell Fulson and Joe Morris' Orchestra are at the the Belmont Club in Toledo Ohio for the night.
November 20
Lowell Fulson-Joe
Morris Blues Cavalcade plays the first of two nights at the Top Hatter in Dayton, Ohio.
November 21
The Apollo
Theater in New York presents Illinois Jacquet and Betty MacLarain for the week.
The Heartbreakers are at the Howard Theater in Washington, DC for the next week.
Mabel Scott starts two weeks at the Flame Show Bar in Detroit.
Little Caesar opens for three days at the 5-4 Ballroom in Los Angeles.
The Earle Theater in Philadelphia presents Dinah Washington and the Royals this wee.
Wini Brown headlines the "Smart Affairs Of 52" at Chicago's Regal Theater.
November 22
Billy Eckstine
holds court at the Shubert Theater in Philadelphia.
Coral Records announce that it is starting a R&B department to issue songs on the Brunswick label.
November 24
The Sportsman's
Club in Newport, Kentucky, offers the talents of the Five Keys for a week.
Bull Moose Jackson travels to Uncle Tom's Plantation in Detroit for the week.
November 27
Amos Milburn goes
on the road for a six week tour of California.
The Apollo theater presents the Johnny Otis Revue featuring Little Esther, Wiillie Mae Thornton and Mel Walker for a week
In Philadelphia, the Earle Theater presents its first week long amateur show. Thirty-one
contestants compete nightly for up to $60 in prizes and a place on
the
Christmas Week Lionel Hampton Revue.
November 29
Ruth Brown fronts
the Willie Jackson Orchestra the Riviera Club in St. Louis.
November 30
The Buddy
Lucas-Edna McGriff tour ends up with a show in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In New Orleans, the Labor Union Hall hosts a "battle Of The Blues" between Chuck Willis and Papa Lightfoot.
Late November
Charles Brown and His Orchestra start two weeks at Gleason's in Cleveland, Ohio.
December 1
Amos Milburn is
the headliner this week at Cleveland's Ebony Club.
The Orioles headline the show at Uncle Tom's Plantation in Detroit
December 5
The "5"
Royales begin six weeks of one-nighters through New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
Billie Holliday, the Checkers and Johnny Hodge's band open at New York's Apollo Theater this week.
Arthur Prysock starts at Detroit's Flame Show Bar.
Joe Lutcher and Smokey Hogg split the bill for three days at the 5-4 Ballroom in Los Angeles.
December 7
Joe Liggins
appears for one night in Los Angeles at the Elks Ballroom.
Roy Brown pleases the patrons at the San Jacinto Club in New Orleans.
Early December
A new record company, Southern Records, reports that they have signed the Buccaneers and the Ford Brothers.
TNT Tribble is appearing at the Top Hat in Philadelphia.
Earl Palmer, recently drumming with Steve Gibson and His Red Caps, opens at Spider Kelly's in Philadelphia.
Gatemouth Brown plays for the night in Tulsa, Oklahoma sporting his new $1,200 Fender guitar.
Jimmy McCracklin signs with Peacock Records.
Coral Records announces the signing of the McGuirre Sisters.
December 12
The Apollo
Theater hosts the Fifteenth Annual Amsterdam News Benefit Show. Appearing are Milton
Berle, Bill Kenny and His Ink Spots, the Enchanters,
Bette
McLaurin and many others.
Ray Charles breaks the house record during his three days at the Pelican Club in New Orleans.
Hadda Brooks and LaVern Baker share the bill at the Flame Show Bar in Detroit.
In Los Angeles, Amos Milburn plays one night at the Oro Ballroom, while Jimmy Forrest and his combo start three days at the 5-4 Ballroom.
Dinah Washington and the Swallows with Cootie William's Orchestra start a week at the Regal Theater in Chicago.
December 13
M-G-M Records
announces that it will actively push into the R&B market in January, 1953.
Lester Bihari starts Meteor Records in Memphis apart from his brothers who own Modern, RPM and Flair Records in Los Angeles.
December 14
At the Elks
Ballroom Sunday night dance in Los Angeles the featured attraction is Roy Milton.
Mid-December
The Five Keys, Edna McGriff and Buddy Lucas' Orchestra are touring New England.
Varetta Dillard is appearing in the Philadelphia area on a set of one-nighters.
December 19
Earl Bostic,
currently on a series of one-night stands, plays Wilmington, North Carolina (20);
Charleston, South Carolina (21); and Wilson, North Carolina
(22).
Ray Charles returns to the Pelican Club in New Orleans for another three days. Across
town, his old labelmate Lowell Fulson appears at the Dew Drop
Inn
for the weekend.
December 20
Archie Bleyer,
musical director of Arthur Godfrey's radio and television shows, starts Cadence Records in
New York City.
December 21
Jimmy Forrest
plays the Sunday night dance at the Elks Club Ballroom in Los Angeles.
December 24
The Five Keys
front the Charlie Barnett Orchestra at the Arcadia Club in Providence, Rhode Island,
In New Orleans, the Dew Drop Inn offers the talents of Al Hibbler for the Christmas week.
Earl Bostic plays a Christmas eve show in Orlando, Florida. Other dates of Florida leg of
his tour include Miami (25), Sanford (26,; Key West (27), Lake
City (29), Florenceville (30) and St. Petersburg New Year's Eve.
The Paramount Theater in New York hosts Sarah Vaughan, the Four Tunes and Illinois Jacquet for the next two weeks.
December 25
Lloyd Price plays
a Christmas dance at the Coliseum in Baltimore, Maryland.
Christmas finds Billy Ward and His Dominoes in Los Angeles at the 5-4 Ballroom.
In Louisiana, Jimmy McCracklin plays the high school auditorium in Shrewsbury on his
one-nighter tour. In New Orleans Al Hibbler takes time of from his
Dew
Drop Inn stand to guest star at the early show at the Labor Union Hall.
December 26
In Baltimore, the
Royal Theater offers holiday entertainment with the Ink Spots and the James Moody Combo.
Lionel Hampton is booked into the Earle Theater in Philadelphia this week.
Joe Morris' Blues Cavalcade is booked for the week at Uncle Tom's Plantation in Detroit.
The Regal Theater in Chicago presents Dinah Washington, the Swallows and Cootie Williams band for the week.
The Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh hosts the Billy Eckstine show for a week.
In Washington, DC, the Checkers headline the "Larry Steele Revue" at the Howard Theater for the week.
December 28
Louis Jordan is
on tour in Texas. Tonight finds him in Fort Worth. He plays Dallas on the 29th and on New
Year's Eve he opens for two weeks at the
Golden Hotel in Reno, Nevada.
In New Orleans, Gatemouth Brown performs for the dancers at the Labor Union Hall.
December 29
Fats Domino plays
for one night in Detroit at the Graystone Ballroom.
December 31
Charles Brown
finishes his lengthy Florida tour. Next week, he is off on a month long series of
one-nighters on the West Coast.
In Los Angeles, Percy Mayfield and the Four Blazes close out the year with a show at the
Armory Hall, while Amos Milburn starts three days at the 5-4
Ballroom.
Late December
The Orioles, Edna McGriff and the Buddy Lucas Orchestra are playing one-night stands are New York and New Jersey over the holidays.
Ivory Joe Hunter returns to Pep's Musical Bar in Philadelphia.