Bull Moose Jackson

Today is the birthday of Bull Moose Jackson (1919-1989), a saxophonist and bandleader, whose band specialized in jump blues and R & B. Nowadays his most famous tune is the 1952 “Big Ten Inch Record” which has been quoted and covered by many although in its day it didn’t get much radio airplay because of the risque nature of the song. Jackson (called Bull Moose on account of his large size) had a number of hit records from the late 1940s through the early 1950s. “I Know Who Threw The Whiskey in the Well” (1946) was his first hit, an answer song to Lucky Millinder’s “Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well?” Jackson had earlier played in Millinder’s band, and appears with him in the film Boarding House Blues starring Moms Mabley, Dusty Fletcher, et al.

To find out about  the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.

For more on silent and slapstick comedy please check out my new book: Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, just released by Bear Manor Media, also available from amazon.com etc etc etc