Jazz Musician. Called "Papa Joe" by the famous Louis Armstrong, he was the mentor to Armstrong who gave a young Louis his first cornet in New Orleans and later called him to Chicago to record and play with his band. He was born on a plantation in Louisiana and blinded in one eye after an accident during childhood. He moved to New Orleans in his teen years and formed the "Creole Jazz Band" in 1915. In 1923 he moved the band to Chicago and recorded "Dippermouth Blues" and "Canal Street Blues." He is credited with being the first to solo improvise, which Louis Armstrong later made famous. During 1927, Oliver was offered and turned down the bandleader role at Harlem's Cotton Club, which ultimately went to Duke Ellington. Once the Great Depression was in full swing, folks just weren't able to buy tickets to their concerts. His tour bus broke down in Spartanburg, S.C., and the band members went their separate ways when there was no money for repairs. At that point, Oliver had begun to experience poor health, including high blood pressure. He had also lost all his teeth, leaving him unable to play his beloved jazz. His friend, booking agent Frank Dilworth, Jr., drove from Savannah to assist Oliver, and brought him to the city. Oliver then began selling produce, and wrote his sister in New York that he had stopped taking his medication because he couldn't afford it. Most fans say that Oliver died penniless of a broken heart. He did finally leave Savannah after a cerebral hemorrhage in his boarding house room in a simple casket.
Jazz Musician. Called "Papa Joe" by the famous Louis Armstrong, he was the mentor to Armstrong who gave a young Louis his first cornet in New Orleans and later called him to Chicago to record and play with his band. He was born on a plantation in Louisiana and blinded in one eye after an accident during childhood. He moved to New Orleans in his teen years and formed the "Creole Jazz Band" in 1915. In 1923 he moved the band to Chicago and recorded "Dippermouth Blues" and "Canal Street Blues." He is credited with being the first to solo improvise, which Louis Armstrong later made famous. During 1927, Oliver was offered and turned down the bandleader role at Harlem's Cotton Club, which ultimately went to Duke Ellington. Once the Great Depression was in full swing, folks just weren't able to buy tickets to their concerts. His tour bus broke down in Spartanburg, S.C., and the band members went their separate ways when there was no money for repairs. At that point, Oliver had begun to experience poor health, including high blood pressure. He had also lost all his teeth, leaving him unable to play his beloved jazz. His friend, booking agent Frank Dilworth, Jr., drove from Savannah to assist Oliver, and brought him to the city. Oliver then began selling produce, and wrote his sister in New York that he had stopped taking his medication because he couldn't afford it. Most fans say that Oliver died penniless of a broken heart. He did finally leave Savannah after a cerebral hemorrhage in his boarding house room in a simple casket.
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