Caldonia
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| “Caldonia” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Single by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five | ||
| Released | 1945 | |
| Recorded | January 19, 1945 | |
| Genre | Jump blues | |
| Length | 2:40 | |
| Label | Decca Records | |
| Writer(s) | Fleecie Moore | |
| Producer | Milt Gabler | |
"Caldonia" is a jump blues song, first recorded in 1945 by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five.
In 1942, Jordan had started on an unparalleled run of success on the Billboard Harlem Hit Parade (forerunner of the R&B chart), which by 1945 had included four number one hits, and eventually made Jordan by far the most successful R&B chart act of the 1940s. "Caldonia" became his fifth number one on what was at that point called the "Race Records" chart. It made the charts in May 1945, reached # 1 in June where it stayed for 7 weeks, and remained on the charts for a total of 26 weeks. It also crossed over to the pop charts, where it peaked at # 6 under the title "Caldonia Boogie".
The writing of the song is credited to Jordan's wife of the time, Fleecie Moore. However, in all probability it was actually written by Jordan, who used his wife's name to enable him to work with an additional music publisher. Jordan later said :- "Fleecie Moore's name is on it, but she didn't have anything to do with it. That was my wife at the time, and we put it in her name. She didn't know nothin' about no music at all. Her name is on this song and that song, and she's still getting money."[1] However, by the time of that quote, Jordan and Moore had divorced after a number of arguments in which she had stabbed him with a knife.
The song is best remembered for its punchline, "Caldonia! Caldonia! What makes your big head so hard?" :-
- Walkin' with my baby she's got great big feet / She's long, lean, and lanky and ain't had nothing to eat / She's my baby and I love her just the same / Crazy 'bout that woman 'cause Caldonia is her name.
- Caldonia ! Caldonia ! / What makes your big head so hard? / I love her, I love her just the same / Crazy 'bout that woman 'cause Caldonia is her name.
Jordan also filmed a "soundie" of the song, shown in movie theatres at the time.
After Jordan's success, the song was also recorded by Erskine Hawkins, Woody Herman, B. B. King, Muddy Waters, Bill Haley, James Brown, The Band, Van Morrison and many others.
