In the early twenties, Red McKenzie was a bellhop in a hotel in St. Louis. He and his friend Dick Slevin liked to meet with a neighborhood kid on a street corner - McKenzie would sing and play comb-and-paper, while Slevin would play the kazoo and the kid played his phonograph and danced. Later, they got together with another friend, Jack Bland, who played banjo and guitar, and they would have jam sessions in Jack's room. Musicians from Gene Rodemich's band heard them at the restaurant where the trio hung out. Rodemich took them to Chicago to record with his band. In 1924, they recorded Arkansas Blues and Blue Blues as the Mound City Blue Blowers, and it supposedly sold a million copies. They moved to New York, where Eddie Lang (guitar) joined the band. They recorded more records and played at the Stork Club. They also traveled to London and recorded under the name McKenzie's Candy Kids.
McKenzie continued to use the name Mound City Blue Blowers for various bands with up to ten musicians. Eddie Condon, Coleman Hawkins, Gene Krupa, Glenn Miller, Pee Wee Russell, Muggsy Spanier, and Jack Teagarden all played with the band at one time or other.
In New York, Red McKenzie began to work as a booking agent, which was really his "calling". In 1929 he did a session with several of the musicians listed above in addition to Rex Stewart and Coleman Hawkins. This is sometimes cited by jazz researchers as the first "racially mixed" recording session. As some of the early jazz musicians who played in white bands on record prior to 1925 were of "mixed" heritage I suspect that this point is moot at best, and probably irrelevant. But the session is a testament to how well connected Red was, and what a sixth sense he had for finding talent. A 1927 session credited to McKenzie and Condon's Chicagoans marks the recording debut of Pee Wee Russell.
Red was one of the agents who built 52nd Street in the 1930s. He was a man who was either loved or hated by musicians, and had a hot temper- McKenzie was known to let his fists do the talking if the words seemed to have run out of potency. He was also a hardcore drinker, which was largely responsible for his early death in 1946 at age 43. The roster of guests at his funeral was an impressive array of jazz talent from both sides of the racial fence.
Red's groups after 1931 tended to be more in the realm of recording pickup acts than regular bands. Record companies were always happy to record Red, as the success of "Arkansaw Blues"/"Blue Blues" was something of a legend in the industry. But he was really busy as an agent, and recorded sporadically after '31. One record I'd really like to find is a pair of sides done in '37, issued on Variety, of Red backed up by the Raymond Scott Quintet (un-credited). This was part of a short-lived experiment of Irving Mills, who was trying to see if Scott's group would work well as a backup group on records, as it had on radio. Eventually RS refused to continue in this, as he didn't need the extra work. The other records Scott made in this mode was an earlier set of four tunes with Midge Williams, in her first domestic US recordings. Sometime I'll forward you the catalog number of the Red McKenzie record with Scott, though if you were to find one I suspect you'd want to keep it for yourself!
Uncle Dave Lewis
uncledavelewis@hotmail.com
Red made some records in the early 20s on amateur instruments which sold millions of copies. He was a good baritone singer and could improvise on the comb. He apparently gained his stature with jazzmen from his reputation of successful record sales and as a good business man, although some jazzmen didn't like his comb playing as you may guess. I copied this from the Red Hot Jazz website: http://www.redhotjazz.com/mound.html
Here's how Red Mckenzie tells of the birth of The Mound City Blue Blowers. In 1923, Red "was back in his home town, St. Louis, the 'Mound City' from which the Blue Blowers 1923 got their name. "I was a bellhop in the Claridge . . ." Red said, ". . . and across the street was a place called Butler Brothers Soda Shop. Dick Slevin worked there and there was a little colored shoe-shine boy who used to beat it out on the shoes. Had a phonograph going. I passed with my comb, and played along. Slevin would have liked to play a comb but he had a ticklish mouth, so he used a kazoo. He got fired across the street and got a job in a big soda store. He ran into Jack Bland, who owned a banjo now known for his guitar, and one night after work they went to his room. He and Slevin started playing. They got me. Gene Rodemich's was a famous band at that time. His musicians used to drop in at the restaurant where we hung out. They were impressed and told their boss. He took us to Chicago to record with his band, as a novelty. When we got to Chicago we went down to the Friars' Inn. About 1924 it was. Volly De Foul and Elmer Schoebel were there. Isham Jones was at the place and he asked us what instruments we were playing. He had us come to his office next day, and set the date for Brunswick. That was the time 2-23-'24 we made "Arkansas Blues" and "Blue Blues". They say it sold over a million copies. Brunswick put us in a cafe in Atlantic City called the Beaux Arts. I met Eddie Lang in Atlantic City. In New York, The Mound City Blue Blowers played the Palace in August, 1924."
In the early twenties, Red McKenzie was a bellhop in a hotel in St. Louis. He and his friend Dick Slevin liked to meet with a neighborhood kid on a street corner - McKenzie would sing and play comb-and-paper, while Slevin would play the kazoo and the kid played his phonograph and danced. Later, they got together with another friend, Jack Bland, who played banjo and guitar, and they would have jam sessions in Jack's room. Musicians from Gene Rodemich's band heard them at the restaurant where the trio hung out. Rodemich took them to Chicago to record with his band. In 1924, they recorded Arkansas Blues and Blue Blues as the Mound City Blue Blowers, and it supposedly sold a million copies. They moved to New York, where Eddie Lang (guitar) joined the band. They recorded more records and played at the Stork Club. They also traveled to London and recorded under the name McKenzie's Candy Kids.
McKenzie continued to use the name Mound City Blue Blowers for various bands with up to ten musicians. Eddie Condon, Coleman Hawkins, Gene Krupa, Glenn Miller, Pee Wee Russell, Muggsy Spanier, and Jack Teagarden all played with the band at one time or other. Bland continued to play with the band until 1931, but Slevin dropped out of the group in 1925.
After the initial success of the Mound City Blue Blowers, McKenzie went on to be a legitimate singer with several bands. He recorded with the Chicago Rhythm Kings, Earl Hines, Bud Freeman, the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, Red Nichols and His Five Pennies, Adrian Rollini, and Paul Whiteman. He also led a big band for a while.
Jack Bland had somewhat less success after the Mound City Blue Blowers. He led a band called Jack Bland and His Rhythmmakers, which included some great musicians, including Tommy Dorsey, Pee Wee Russell, Eddie Condon, and Zutty Singleton. He also recorded with the Chicago Rhythm Kings.
Dick Slevin never appeared on another record after he dropped out of the band in 1925.
McKenzie, Bland, and Slevin made a strange record that was never released. They recorded it under the name The Mystery Orchestra. On this record, both McKenzie and Slevin played tin cans. I have no idea how they played them, or what it sounded like.