[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1242 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                         June 23, 2008.
Whereas Louis Thomas Jordan was born July 8, 1908, in Brinkley, Arkansas;
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 College 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 performed 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 
        Billboard'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 Chickens'', ``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'', 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, California;
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 
        influence;
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 commemorative stamp program: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That the United States House of Representatives--
            (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 entertainer.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.