Jazz Remembered
Rosetta Howard
Rosetta Howard was born Rosetta Maxey on 30th August 1914 (some references say 2013) in Woodruff County, Arkansas. She was one of three children (Leroy, Rosetta and Earnest) of John Maxey and Addie Bridges. By 1920 her mother had remarried to William Aaron and the family was living in Point, Woodruff County. About 1928 Rosetta married at age 15 to (first name not known) Howard and by 1930, along with her mother, two brothers, and sister-in-law Carrie, had moved to the south Chicago area of Bremen Township (Robbins), living on Ridgeway Ave around 139th Street. There she worked as a dancer at a club where she began singing along to the jukebox.
Around 1932, she began singing professionally with clarinettist Jimmy Noone and other bandleaders and made a number of recordings during the 1930s into the 1940s. In 1937 she began to work with the Harlem Hamfats - Herb Morand (trumpet); Odell Rand (clarinet); Horace Malcolm (piano), Joe McCoy (guitar), Charlie McCoy (guitar and mandolin); Ransom Knowling (bass) and Fred Flynn (drums). They were Chicago, not Harlem based, and were initially a studio band drawn together by record producer and entrepreneur J. Mayo Williams. It is suggested that they might have been the first studio recording band to become a performing act in their own right, recording extensively. Some of their numbers, such as Oh! Red and Why Don't You Do Right? went on to be recorded by more famous jazz musicians.
The Harlem Hamfats
A number of recordings were reflective of the time and perhaps one of Rosetta's most famous was You're A Viper. (1937). The song is, of course, a nod to marijuana : "Dreamed about a reefer five foot long ...." and the phrasing is similar to that of Fats Waller who recorded the number in 1943. Fats' recording is interesting in that it was apparently 'a subtle poke at Harry Anslinger, the first head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, who had declared marijuana use by swing musicians a menace and had promised to prosecute.' You can read more about Fat's recording here.
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Why Don't You Do Right was also originally recorded as The Weed Smoker's Dream with numerous references to drugs. The lyrics were later changed to Why Don't You Do Right, a song about 'a conniving mistress and her broke lover', and was later recorded by Peggy Lee with the Benny Goodman Orchestra (here).
As with some of Fats Waller's songs Rosetta's lyrics could also be suggestive such as The Candy Man and Men Are Like Street Cars (featuring Henry 'Red' Allen on trumpet). Let Your Linen Hang Low was apparently described by one music journalist as "Howard engaging Kansas Joe McCoy in sexy banter".
In April 1938 clarinettist Buster Bailey stepped in to replace Odell Rand with the Hamfats on several numbers such as How Long Baby and he is featured here on Stay On It. He would return again with the Harlem Blues Serenaders the following year.
In 1939 Rosetta recorded with the Harlem Blues Serenaders, who included Charlie Shavers, Buster Bailey, Lil Armstrong, Henry "Red" Allen and Barney Bigard. Here she is with the Serenaders in June 1939 with Come Easy Go Easy. On this recording she has Charlie Shavers (trumpet); Buster Bailey (clarinet); Lil Armstrong (piano); Ulysses Livingston (guitar); Wellman Braud (bass) and O'Neill Spencer (drums)
She continued to perform in Chicago in the 1940s, and in 1947 featured on recordings with the Big Three, including Willie Dixon and Big Bill Broonzy. There are one or two recordings with the Big Three on You Tube - here is Rosetta singing Big Bill Broonzy's When I Been Drinking. Some of Big Bill's lyrics (here) are questionable but are more meaningful when Rosetta sings her version!
One of Rosetta's last recordings was in December 1947 when she sang Sweep Your Blues Away with Johnny Morton (trumpet); Oett Mallard (alto sax); William Casimir (tenor sax); Robert Call (piano); Big Bill Broonzy (guitar); Ransom Knowling (bass) and Judge Riley (drums). Her voice is noticeably different here but her sense of phrasing remains.
Generally speaking her later recordings were less successful than her earlier work and she did not record again, although in the 1950s she sang with the pianist and Gospel composer Thomas A. Dorsey (who wrote the well known Gospel song Take My Hand, Precious Lord ) at the Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago.
Later identified in some formal records as Rosetta Howard Armstrong, she died in Chicago at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's Hospital on the 8th October 1974 at the age of 61. She is buried at Burr Oak Cemetary. Alsip, Cook County, Illinois. (details here)
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There are many of Rosetta's recordings on YouTube and collections of her recordings are available online if readers would like to explore her music further.
Rosetta Howard with Big Bill Broonzy
9.2024