Biography
A popular adage holds that punctuality accounts for much of life’s success, leaving the balance of one’s day spent anticipating the arrival of others. The trajectory of this 1950s rhythm & blues vocalist illustrates both halves of that observation. Her most notable impact on record sales stemmed directly from arriving hours behind schedule for a session, although her presence once she appeared proved consequential enough. In an era fixated on singers, instrumental music’s gradual ascent may trace part of its momentum to such absences, and the Bosman episode supplies a representative case. MGM signed her amid a wave of rhythm & blues acts in fall 1952 that also encompassed blues singers Basil Spears and Gabriel Brown, torch vocalist Eileen Redfield, harmony group Eddie Carter & the Carter-Rays, funky Clarence Palmer & the Jive Bombers, and honking tenorman Samuel Taylor, later known as Sam “The Man” Taylor.
She was slated to front a Halloween date at two in the afternoon, with three hours booked and an ensemble featuring drummer Panama Francis, bassist Milt Hinton, trumpeter Taft Jordan, and Taylor on tenor saxophone. The producer had engaged her after hearing a demo that presented her as a melodic, blues-inflected singer in the vein of Billie Holiday, despite MGM’s subsequent promotion of her in trade papers as a “blues shouter.” Rather than waste the studio time, the musicians laid down the prepared instrumental charts, with Jordan and Taylor supplying improvised solos in the spaces reserved for vocals. The resulting track, “Birmingham Special,” outperformed every recording Bosman herself completed and prompted MGM to issue additional instrumentals. Credited to the Blues Chasers—the occasional alias Taylor employed—the side and its flip appeared under that name. Upon her eventual arrival, the same arrangement was recut with added vocals as “You Ain’t Had No Blues.” She also recorded a version of Irene Higginbotham’s “Dream Street,” the side for which she remains best known, along with the song “Is It a Sin?,” whose title might be read as a reflection on timeliness. Blues Women With Taft Jordan gathers every track from the date, vocal and instrumental alike, centering on the contributions of Blues Chasers hornman Jordan.
She was slated to front a Halloween date at two in the afternoon, with three hours booked and an ensemble featuring drummer Panama Francis, bassist Milt Hinton, trumpeter Taft Jordan, and Taylor on tenor saxophone. The producer had engaged her after hearing a demo that presented her as a melodic, blues-inflected singer in the vein of Billie Holiday, despite MGM’s subsequent promotion of her in trade papers as a “blues shouter.” Rather than waste the studio time, the musicians laid down the prepared instrumental charts, with Jordan and Taylor supplying improvised solos in the spaces reserved for vocals. The resulting track, “Birmingham Special,” outperformed every recording Bosman herself completed and prompted MGM to issue additional instrumentals. Credited to the Blues Chasers—the occasional alias Taylor employed—the side and its flip appeared under that name. Upon her eventual arrival, the same arrangement was recut with added vocals as “You Ain’t Had No Blues.” She also recorded a version of Irene Higginbotham’s “Dream Street,” the side for which she remains best known, along with the song “Is It a Sin?,” whose title might be read as a reflection on timeliness. Blues Women With Taft Jordan gathers every track from the date, vocal and instrumental alike, centering on the contributions of Blues Chasers hornman Jordan.