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 Bunk Johnson
confused Jazz historians for years by lying about almost everything,
but never the less he was an early Jazz pioneer who apparently played
in bands led by Buddy Bolden. He definitely played in Frankie Dusen's Eagle Band, The Superior Orchestra,
and with Clarence Williams. He left New Orleans
in 1915 and played in minstrel shows, theatre orchestras and circus
bands, and with the Black Eagle Band. While playing with the Black
Eagles in 1930 the band's other trumpet player Evan Thomas was stabbed
to death on the bandstand. A fight broke out and Bunk's instrument
was damaged. After this incident Bunk continued to play a from time
to time, using a borrowed trumpet, but his heart was not in it any
longer. His teeth were also starting to give him troubles and in
1931 he had pretty much retired from music. He worked as a truck
driver, laborer, and as a WPA funded children's music teacher. In
1938 Bill Russell and Fredric Ramsey started to write their book,
"Jazzmen". After interviewing several Jazz musicians, including
Louis Armstrong, Bunk's name kept coming
up as one of the early influential jazz musicians in New Orleans.
They managed to track Bunk down in New Iberia, Louisiana where he
was living, and interviewed him for the book. Bunk lied about a
great many things, including his birth date, so that it would look
like he had been one of the first Jazz musicians. It took years
until other historians figured out that Bunk was shall we say, "full
of bunk" . Despite all that, Bunk's colorful stories contributed
to the success of the book, and the authors took up a collection
among musicians and record collectors to fix Bunk's teeth and buy
him a new horn. He made his first recordings in 1942, and became
a popular fixture of the Dixieland revival of the 1940's.
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The Music Room
