King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, Gennett Records and the KKK

 

King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, Gennett Records and the KKK

 

Many black and white Chicago jazz greats in the early 20’s had to pile in their jalopies and motor 255 miles to Richmond, IN to record at the Stark Piano Co. campus. Stark Piano created a record company division Gennett Records which didn’t discriminate, recording every type of music from early jazz to KKK songs. One reason for the latter, Richmond was in the heart of KKK territory rampant in Indiana.

Louis Armstrong made several trips there to record with Joe ‘King’ Oliver's Creole Jazz band. His first of almost a thousand recordings occurred April 5, 1923

 

Exactly 6 months later the band returned to Richmond on October 5 for another session. Like before, they arrived by train and weren’t allowed to stay in Richmond which was a Klan stronghold. The found rooms in Goose Town, the black enclave just a few miles from the Gennett recording studio.

 

Thru a bad coincidence Richmond was holding a gigantic KKK parade October 5, attended by over 35,000 people. Worse, it occurred just a few blocks from the Gennett Record studio. King Oliver and his Creole Jazz Band, waxing groundbreaking American art form music, faced a life threatening dilemma…record or bail out before the nearby Klan parade. King hustled his crew into the studio, laid down 4 tunes still revered a century on, then skedaddled his musicians to the train depot for a hasty exit ahead of the Klan parade. 

 

Great art is a challenge under perfect conditions. But upon hearing ‘Workingman’s Blues’ or Krooked Blues’ recorded that day, one can ponder the fear that motivated the King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band to get them right on the first take