Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five -"Deacon Jones" (YouTube video & discussion thread comments)

nipsipone, Jul 2, 2008

From --Meet Miss Bobby Sox--1944

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases a YouTube video of a 1944 film clip of  Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five performing "Deacon Jones" in the American movie Meet Miss Bobby Sox.

Selected comments about the song "Deacon Jones" from that video's discussion thread are included in this post. 

The lyrics to this version of "Deacon Jones" are also included in this post along with information about Louis Jordan. 

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Louis Jordan for his musical legacy. Thanks also to the Tympany Five and thanks to the publisher of this film clip on YouTube. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/09/information-selected-comments-about.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "Information & Selected Comments About The 19th Century Bawdy Folk Character Deacon Jones (with lyrics)."

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INFORMATION ABOUT LOUIS JORDAN
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Jordan
"Louis Thomas Jordan[a] (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975)[1] was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", he earned his highest profile towards the end of the swing era. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an "early influence" in 1987.[2]

Jordan was a talented singer with great comedic flair, and he fronted his own band for more than twenty years. He duetted with some of the biggest solo singing stars of his time, including Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Jordan was also an actor and a film personality—he appeared in dozens of "soundies" (promotional film clips); the one for "Caldonia" is the most readily available for viewing on various websites.[3][4] He also made numerous cameos in mainstream features and short films, and starred in two musical feature films made especially for him. He was an instrumentalist who played all forms of the saxophone but specialized in the alto. He also played the piano and clarinet.

[...]

Jordan ranks fifth in the list of the most successful African-American recording artists according to Joel Whitburn's analysis of Billboard magazine's R&B chart, and was the most popular rhythm and blues artist with his "jump blues" recordings[5] of the pre-Rock n' Roll era. Though comprehensive sales figures are not available, he had at least four million-selling hits during his career. Jordan regularly topped the R&B "race" charts and was one of the first black recording artists to achieve significant crossover[6] in popularity with the mainstream (predominantly white) American audience, having simultaneous Top Ten hits on the pop charts on several occasions."...

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LYRICS FOR "DEACON JONES"
(As sung by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five)

Brothers an' sisters an' sisterettes,
Deacon Jones sends his deepest regrets.
To the members of the flock who are new around here,
There's somethin' 'bout the deacon that I want to make clear:

Who's honored an' respected? (Deacon Jones!)
Uh-huh, an' who's so kind an' unaffected? (Deacon Jones!)
Mm-hmm, an' when a sinner's moanin' low,
Who will listen to his tale of woe?
(Lordy, Lordy, hallelujah, Deacon Jones!)

Now, who's handsome an' good lookin'? (Deacon Jones!)
Mm-hmm, an' who is it that can smell a rooster cookin'? (Deacon Jones!)
Mm-hmm, an' who gets all the chicken breast,
An' leaves the giblets for the rest?
(Lordy, Lordy, hallelujah, Deacon Jones!)

CHORUS: Oh, Deacon Jones! (Deacon Jones!)
Oh, Deacon Jones! (Deacon Jones!)
Oh, Lordy, Lordy, hallelujah, Deacon Jones!
Oh, Deacon Jones! (Deacon Jones!)
Deacon Jones! (Deacon Jones!)
Oh, Lordy, Lordy, hallelujah, Deacon Jones!

Now, who is loved by all his neighbors? (Deacon Jones!)
Mm-hmm, an' who is it that will help you with your labors? (Deacon Jones!)
Uh-huh, he'll help you beat the rug,
An' also help you find a cider jug.
(Lordy, Lordy, hallelujah, Deacon Jones!)

Now, who's in charge of the contributions? (Deacon Jones!)
Mm-hmm, an' who attends to the distributions? (Deacon Jones!)
Mm-hmm, an' before any of the dough is spent,
Who is it that takes out his ten percent?
(Lordy, Lordy, hallelujah, Deacon Jones!)

CHORUS

Now, who attends the fraternal meetin's? (Deacon Jones!)
That's right, an' who extends all the hearty greetin's? (Deacon Jones!)
Mm-hmm, an' who's in charge of all the dues,
An' who's the only one with shoes?
(Lordy, Lordy, hallelujah, Deacon Jones!)

Now, who's the first to church on Sunday? (Deacon Jones!)
Mm-hmm, an' who's the last at work on Monday? (Deacon Jones!)
That's right, an' all the balance of the week,
Who is it that goes fishin' down the creek?
(Lordy, Lordy, hallelujah, Deacon Jones!)

CHORUS
-transcription by Jim Dixon, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=98843 ,"Lyr Add: DEACON JONES (Louis Jordan)", 30 May 11.

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SELECTED COMMENTS ABOUT DEACON JONES FROM THIS VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmEtJ1gLVTk&ab_channel=nipsipone

1. richardsull119, 2009
"Who's loved by all the congregation? (Deacon Jones!)
And who gives them consoloation? (Deacon Jones!)
When a sister's feeling blue
Who is it that consoles her in her pew? (Deacon Jones!)
Lordy Lord Hallelujah, Deacon Jones!

Who's the country's greatest lover? (Deacon Jones!)
Who makes all other cats take cover? (Deacon Jones!)
And when your gal is leaving you,
Just tell me, who is she going to? (Deacon Jones!)
Lordy Lord Hallelujah, Deacon Jones!"

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2. richardsull119, 2009
"These are different verses from what I have on CD! This is great!

In case anyone stumbles on this video without knowing Louis Jordan, here are the alternate verses:

Who will keep a sister singing? (Deacon Jones!)
Who will also keep her phone a-ringing? (Deacon Jones!)
And when she's all alone at night,
Who will help her see the light? (Deacon Jones!)
Lordy Lord Hallelujah, Deacon Jones!

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3. Dave Ryan, 2011
"Jordan looks like he is having so much fun doing this Deacon Jones bit. He really was a talent and absolutely the Father of rock and roll and lordy, lordy hallelujah how he could play that sax."

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4. hebneh, 2011
"The kooky white-rimmed glasses are a wonderful touch.

Too bad the audience of teenagers didn't look more animated when those shots got intercut with this rollicking performance.

Deacon Jones would get mentioned in songs in later years, as one of the people enjoying good rockin' tonight, and so on.

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Reply
5. schizoidboy, 2011
"@hebneh To be honest I don't think they were allowed to get animated. It was one thing if an African American got up and danced to this song it would have horrified a white audience if the white kids started dancing to the music. Point of interest one show back in the early sixties got canceled when Frankie Lymon of the Teenagers was shown dancing with a white girl. That's how things were in those days."

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6. Daniel Martin, 2011
"Was Deacon jones a real person? or is he, and i know i'l probs getter a lot of hatefor thsi referance but was Deacon Jones like the saint jimmy of 1940 ?"

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Reply
7. Drew Pressler, 2018
"There was a football player in the 60s and 70s named Deacon Jones"

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8. The American Storyteller,  2012
"This version cleans up the original record, which was filled with thinly disguised sexual references to the Deacon's philandering. In either case, LJ was my all time favorite entertainer. The super lunatic madman supreme and sultan of saxophone and storytelling. Its impossible to listen to Jordan and not laugh, dance, or smile."

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9. Pete Hammer, 2017
"The original recording had slightly more risque lyric alluding to the good ole' deacon's sexual prowess.

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