IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1242 
Honoring the life, musical accomplishments, and contributions of Louis 
Jordan on the 100th anniversary of his birth. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 5, 2008 
Mr. SNYDER
(for himself, Mr. HOLT, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. COHEN, Ms. 
DELAURO, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. DAVIS of Illi-
nois, Mr. EMANUEL, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. MCDERMOTT, 
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. INS-
LEE, Mr. HILL, Mr. ROSS, Mr. MITCHELL, Mr. WELCH of Vermont, Mr. 
BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. 
HODES, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, 
Mr. MICHAUD, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. 
KIND, Mr. BERRY, Mr. MILLER of North Carolina, Mr. PRICE of North 
Carolina, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. AKIN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. RA-
HALL, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. DOGGETT, 
Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. THOMPSON of Mis-
sissippi, Ms. SUTTON, Mr. HARE, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mrs. JONES of 
Ohio, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr. CLEAVER, 
Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Mrs. CAPPS, Mrs. DAVIS 
of California, and Mrs. BONO MACK) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring the life, musical accomplishments, and contribu-
tions of Louis Jordan on the 100th anniversary of his 
birth. 
Whereas Louis Thomas Jordan was born July 8, 1908, in 
Brinkley, Arkansas; 
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•HRES 1242 IH 
Whereas he studied music as a young child under his father 
James Aaron Jordan, who was the bandleader of the 
Brinkley Brass Band; 
Whereas in the late 1920s he attended Arkansas Baptist Col-
lege in Little Rock, Arkansas, and majored in music; 
Whereas he joined Chick Webb’s Savoy Ballroom band in 
1936 in New York where he played saxophone and per-
formed occasionally as a singer; 
Whereas in 1938 he started his own band, the Elks Rendez- 
Vous Band, and in 1939 he changed the name of the 
group to the Tympany Five; 
Whereas his prolific musical career consists of 54 hit singles 
including, ‘‘Five Guys Named Moe’’, ‘‘Let the Good 
Times Roll’’, ‘‘Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Cryin’ ’’, 
and ‘‘Barnyard Boogie’’, and 18 number 1 hits on Bill-
board’s R&B chart including ‘‘Beans and Cornbread’’, 
‘‘Run Joe’’, ‘‘Ain’t That Just Like A Woman’’, ‘‘Blue 
Light 
Boogie’’, 
and 
the 
1946 
hit 
‘‘Choo 
Choo 
Ch’Boogie’’, which topped the Billboard’s R&B chart for 
18 weeks; 
Whereas 15 of his hits made it onto the Pop charts, including 
‘‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’’, ‘‘Caldonia’’, ‘‘Is You Is or Is 
You Ain’t My Baby’’, ‘‘Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chick-
ens’’, ‘‘Buzz Me’’, and ‘‘Beware’’; 
Whereas he actively recorded for the Armed Forces Radio 
Service and the V–Disc program during World War II, 
and one of the his songs recorded during this period, 
‘‘G.I. Jive’’, was number 1 on the Pop chart for 2 weeks; 
Whereas he was featured in a variety of short musical films 
in the 1940s, such as the 1945 short film ‘‘Caldonia’’, 
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•HRES 1242 IH 
and played cameo roles in movies like ‘‘Follow the Boys’’ 
and ‘‘Swing Parade of 1946’’; 
Whereas his 1949 recording of ‘‘Saturday Night Fish Fry’’ 
was one of the earliest musical examples of what would 
later become known as ‘‘Rock and Roll’’; 
Whereas he died on February 4, 1975, in Los Angeles, Cali-
fornia; 
Whereas a host of prominent musicians including Chuck 
Berry, Bo Didley, B.B. King, Ray Charles, James 
Brown, and Sonny Rollins have counted him as an influ-
ence; 
Whereas he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of 
Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1987; 
Whereas in 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine named him one of 
the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time; and 
Whereas Louis Jordan will be highlighted on a United States 
Postal Service stamp, as part of the 2008 commemora-
tive stamp program: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the United States House of Rep-
resentatives— 
(1) honors the life of Louis Jordan, on the 
100th anniversary of his birth; and 
(2) recognizes his important contributions to 
American music as a musician, composer, and enter-
tainer. 
Æ 
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