Ivory Joe Hunter Jumping At The Dew Drop (LP)

(Route 66) 16 tracks

It never rains in Sunny California - that's the old slogan. In the waning years of World War II, independent record producers in California found that it rained - dollar bills in green! And for the new music - rhythm and blues - the weather was sunny indeed. If jazz was coming up the river from New Orleans, rhythm and blues was crossing the Rocky Moun-Tains, fueled by a flood of dollars for the defense industry and the nervous and frantic "reconversion" blues that gripped the nation. Blacks, laborers and musicians, had followed the lure of big money and an excellent climate to California during the war. The previously separate and distinct black cultures of the South, East and Midwest came together to form the first true melting pot - California. After a grueling late shift and with their pockets full, workers flocked to the hundreds of nightclubs that offered live entertainment. And the musicians worked just as hard. Nat Cole, Louis Jordan, Ella Fitzgerald, Cootie Williams and other great stars played to sold-out crowds in the magnificent music palaces and auditoriums. In the club-lined streets, energetic trios and combos produced a new and enthusiastic music that was equal parts hot jazz, big band swing, Kansas City blues, and New Orleans jump. Later it was called rhythm and blues.