EDDIE'S HOT SHOTS

Biography

Eddie Condon, born Albert Edwin Condon on November 16, 1905, in Goodland, Indiana, grew up as the youngest of nine children in a musical household where his sisters took piano lessons, fostering his early passion for music. By high school, he was deeply immersed in jazz, leaving at age 16 to tour with Hollis Peavey's Jazz Bandits for two years. In Chicago during the 1920s, he became a key figure in the Chicago jazz scene, playing with notables like Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Teagarden, and Frank Teschemacher, and co-forming the Chicago Rhythm Kings with Red McKenzie in 1925. He and fellow white musicians learned from Black innovators like King Oliver at Lincoln Gardens and Louis Armstrong at the Sunset Café.[1][3]

In 1928, Condon moved to New York City, where 'Eddie's Hot Shots'—his interracial band—recorded two Victor sides on February 8, 1929, featuring Mezz Mezzrow, Jack Teagarden, Leonard Davis, Happy Caldwell, and George Stafford, marking a pioneering effort in breaking the color line in recording studios. This led to further integrated sessions with Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong. Condon's style championed Chicago jazz rhythms on banjo and guitar, and he continued arranging sessions, recording extensively from 1938 with Commodore Records, and leading bands at Nick's nightclub from 1937. His innovations included Town Hall Jazz Concerts starting in 1944 and opening his own Greenwich Village club in 1945.[1][2][3]

Condon authored 'We Called It Music,' solidifying his legacy as a bandleader, promoter, and integrator of jazz. He remained active until his death on August 4, 1973, influencing jazz through racially mixed ensembles and live broadcasts, including the first TV jazz band appearance.[2][3]

Fun Facts

• Eddie's Hot Shots was an unprecedented racially integrated band that recorded two Victor sides in 1929, helping break the color barrier in studios.[1][2]
• Condon organized the first television broadcast of a jazz band after a CBS executive spotted his Town Hall concert.[2]
• He inaugurated Commodore Records with a session the morning after Benny Goodman's 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert.[1]
• Condon's 1945 New Yorker profile 'Spokesman With A Temperature' was the first for a jazz musician.[2]

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• King Oliver - stylistic influence observed at Lincoln Gardens (watching his band) [1920s]
• Louis Armstrong - stylistic influence from Hot Five at Sunset Café (performances) [1920s]

Key Collaborators

• Red McKenzie - co-formed Chicago Rhythm Kings and McKenzie-Condon Chicagoans (recordings 1927) [1925-1927]
• Mezz Mezzrow - member of Eddie's Hot Shots interracial session (Victor sides 2/8/1929) [1929]
• Jack Teagarden - member of Eddie's Hot Shots interracial session (Victor sides 2/8/1929) [1929]
• Bobby Hackett - co-operative band using Hackett's arrangements (Princeton job and recordings) [late 1930s]
• Wild Bill Davison - original band at Condon's club (club performances) [1945]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia