by Alain Wong

Song: Wham
Album: 1944 Uncollected - Live at Jefferson Barracks
Artist: Jimmie Lunceford and His Harlem Express
Words and music: Eddie Durham/Joseph Taps Miller (1939)

I first heard about this Lunceford album from a subtle post by Andy Reid on SwingDJs.

The album on CD was, and is still, ridiculously cheap, so that was an easy pick up.  I was drawn to this album by a mention of a hot recording of For Dancers Only, and it was worth it — great recording.  But I was also taken with this recording of Wham.

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Recorded in 1944 at a military barracks in Missouri, this album is a great archive of a big band playing live for dancers.  Unlike studio transcriptions and radio only broadcasts, dance performances typically have more life and zest to them.  Let’s face it, I’d rather be dancing to a great live band than to canned music, but if I must dance to recorded music, I love to dance to a great band that was playing for dancers. Side note: check out “The Duke at Fargo” for another great dance performance album.

The band has no real headlining names in it, other than Lunceford.  His great band from the late 1930s was hit by the draft, and the loss of Sy Oliver, his arranger, to Tommy Doresy. Nevertheless, this 1944 band had a thick punch with a lot of sound.  (twss)

The boys in the band:
Melvin Moore, Bob Mitchell, Ralph Griffin, Russ Green (trumpets); Earl Hardy, John Ewing, Russel Bowles, Fernando Arbello (trombones); Kurt Bradford, Omer Simeon, Joe Thomas, Ernie Purce, Earl Carruthers (reeds); Ed Wilcox (piano); John Mitchell (guitar); George Duvivier (bass); Joe Marshall (drums); Jimmie
Lunceford (flute, sometimes)

Wham is a fun song, and Lunceford knew how to swing it better than everyone else.  Usually exclaimed as “Wham!”, and often followed by “Re-Bop–Boom–Bam”, the lyrics are a medley of swing era jive talk and expressions.  Most people can hum the tune and sing some of the lyrics – it’s easy to do, like the Suzie-Q.

Recordings I have in order of Wham-attude! :
- Jimmie Lunceford: 1944: Uncollected
- Duke Ellington: 1940: Duke at Fargo (Ray Nance recently joined with Duke’s
band on trumpet and vocals)
- Jimmie Lunceford: 1943: Live Broadcasts (similar to 1944 Uncollected, faster,
but not as tight)
- Jimmie Lunceford: 1939: Vocalion (master recording)
- Teddy Wilson: 1939: Jumpin’ for Joy (nice band, Ben Webster among them)
- Andy Kirk: 1940: 12 Clouds of Joy (this version was docked rank for a trick
ending drum solo that rated “weak” on the Wham-ometer)
- Mildred Bailey: 1940: Little Jazz - Roy Eldridge (easy going and jokey, not much
Wham-attude, but still fun)

If anyone has a recording of Wham to recommend, let’s hear about it! You can buy The Uncollected Jimmie Lunceford and His Harlem Express (1944) on the cheap at used on Amazon.com.

Fin.

Thanks Freddie!

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