User:Julian Squire/Old Blue Fedora

"Old Blue Fedora" were a jazz and blues band from the mid 20th century. The group was all from New Orleans, and lived very close to each other. They were rather unknown, due to their relatively short career. They were a band which didn't strive to become the best in the world, and told reporters , "we are not looking for fame, it's either this or the garage" -John Pearsons.

They were established in 1955, when they all met as part of a backing band in a theatrical production.

Arrangment

The original line up was, Pearsons, Reginald Jones, Jackson Jones (brother to Reginald) and Manfred Collison. The group of four performed for years at New Orleans jazz concerts and festivals but there were two things they lacked. Firstly, the group needed more beat, so a drummer was required, and secondly, they were in dire need of a manager to get them into the top events, not just in New Orleans but in Louisiana, and if luck came their way, to branch into other states.

The drummer came quickly, in the form of Kenwin Davenport, a Togolese born man, but was raised in America and had a white father. He was younger than the others by about six years, so it was a risky choice to have him in the band as it could ruin the uniform style they possessed. For their gigs, they all shaved their hair and wore white suits, apart from Manfred (who wore red), who'd become their key man for getting concerts.

Finding a manager wasn't as easy. The band were a hard one to know whether they were worth time. A key thing was their age. Aside from Davenport, the rest were all nearing their thirties. The people of America longed for their rock and roll stars to be young and sexy, but when the group asked one manager to take them under his wing, he replied negatively. Reginald Jones said that he thought they'd have, "less chance in the music world than a coon in Alabama". Many don't know whether he meant this as a raccoon or as a racist term due to the band being black. However luck did come, if not immediately, but they were sighted by David Ryanhill who'd been given a tip-off from Riley. He shared Riley's enthusiasm for the band and could see great potential if they targeted the right audience. What he wanted to do is to quell any raging want for rock and roll and turn them into a band with pleasant and mild mannered characteristics, and to focus on producing music for adults, rather than teenagers.

Ryanhill and the success of the 60's

It was a gamble by Ryanhill to do this, but it soon paid off, with two offers thought to be around the sum off $30 each, about $200 (each) in modern money. The events that the group played at was firstly a wedding and then at a new year party for a wealthy couple in 1959-60. "Old Blue Fedora" then were offered a thirty minute slot on the radio station, "Louisiana Blues Broadcasting". The ratings shot through the roof, and the group were called in for eleven more sessions with them, from 1960 to 1963. It's estimated that the group earned $70 and took seventy percent of the earnings, the other thirty to Ryanhill and his new business associate Robert Craigle. The money they received may have been small amounts, but they needed the publicity which came in handy, as they were now being asked to perform, not asking to perform. 1964 was their prime year, getting onto larger radio stations, and preforming at key times, notably the winter of '64, getting "Christmas Season" aired, becoming their flag ship song.

Described as the song that changed "Old Blue Fedora", Christmas season was written solely by Pearsons, and due to it's catchy beat, simple lyrics and elegant tune it was quickly fixated in the minds of their fans. During the summer of 1966, the group were in New York, and jokingly performed it as their hottest summer had been recorded earlier. "It was his [Pearson's] idea to do it, he was always joking around and making people laugh on stage. He was a real quality in the band, we were not just there to play music, we were there to make people laugh." -Kenwin Davenport, on Pearson and the "Old Blue Fedora".

Failure to progress and split

Yet "Old Blue Fedora" still struggled to make it out of New Orleans, and to add to their worry, Ryanhill hadn't renewed his contract with the group. But this was not because he thought they were not worth investing time in, Ryanhill's health was deteriorating. By now, he was 64 years old, and decided to retire from music and move with his wife to Florida.

The group finally called it a day in the autumn of 1969. They performed their last radio appearance as a band on the 13th of September, but without Kenwin Davenport, who'd broken his wrist playing basketball with his son. After they'd performed some of their favourite songs, they had an interview session with the host of the station. When asked about their breakup, Pearson's replied with, "I think this is a good time to call the end. I think also that it is God telling us to finish up. We've all had a fun time, and it's been a great adventure. The five of us I'm sure will stay close friends and maybe go our own ways in the music world. It's been a pleasure performing for everyone who's seen us, thankyou and God bless".

After the interview, they were commented on as the group that you either "know or don't" as they had a select fan base, and didn't try to appeal to the masses. They were also labelled as "The group that records forgot" as astonishingly, in their 14 year spell together, they were never immortalised in vinyl. To this, Pearsons said, "I never did like them plasticy records, you can care too much about keeping the record free from dirt and scratches than the sound that's coming out of it. I much prefer to play it myself, and to let others enjoy".

After "Old Blue Fedora"

Indeed, the rest of the group did go their own ways, keeping it low key and going back to their roots, performing in bars. Reginald and Jackson Jones went on to form a saxophone duet playing at events calling themselves the Jackson Two (A comedic variation on the Jackson Five), Collison changed guitar to tenor sax and played in his own bar, the "Twelve Bar Bar" and Davenport died in New York in 1974 from an overdose of marijuana. Pearsons too died after turning his talents in music to help in a local elementary school in New Orleans, teaching guitar and saxophone to children. He too died in 2010 from natural causes.