Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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MILLINDER, Lucky

(b Lucius Millinder, 8 Aug. 1900, Anniston AL; d 28 Sep. '66, NYC) Bandleader. He did not play an instrument but was a popular frontman from '30 into the '50s; he toured Europe '33, took over the Mills Blue Rhythm Band '34; his sidemen were among the best: Red Allen, Harry Edison, Buster Bailey, Tab Smith, John Kirby, J. C. Higginbotham etc; hits on Columbia '35--7 incl. 'Truckin'' (vocal by Allen), 'Ride, Red, Ride' (vocal by Millinder); in '40s the band was the most popular in Harlem: among those passing through were Freddie Webster, Dizzy Gillespie, Lucky Thompson, Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis, Bill Doggett, Panama Francis, vocalists Wynonie Harris, Bull Moose Jackson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe (who also played electric guitar). Hits '42--5 incl. 'I Want A Tall, Skinny Papa' with Tharpe, 'Who Threw The Whiskey In The Well' with Harris; compilation on Classics CD. The band was reduced in size and had R&B hits '49--51: 'D' Natural Blues', 'I'll Never Be Free' on RCA; 'I'm Waiting Just For You' '51 with vocal by Annisteen Allen on King. The story of the band is a history of the evolution of Swing Era big-band jazz into R&B 'jump bands', with infl. on rock'n'roll; later hits also deserve compiling. See Irving Mills, below.