John C. Spikes
John Curry Spikes (July 22, 1881 – June 28, 1955) was an American jazz musician and entrepreneur. Along with his brother Reb Spikes, John ran a traveling show band in early 1900s. At one point, Jelly Roll Morton was a member of the band. The Spikes brothers were performing in San Francisco around 1915, under the name The Original So-Different Orchestra, with Reb Spikes billed as the "World's Greatest Saxophonist". Around 1919, they settled in Los Angeles, where they started a music store, a nightclub, an agency and a publishing house. They were the first to record an all-black jazz band in 1922. In 1927, they shot a short sound film that predated The Jazz Singer, the first full-length sound film. Their most enduring musical collaborations were writing the lyrics to Morton's Wolverine Blues and their own composition, Someday Sweetheart, which has become a jazz standard. |
Birth and Death Data: Born July 22, 1881, Died June 28, 1955
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1922 - 1942
Roles Represented in DAHR: songwriter, composer, lyricist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 38 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | BVE-37254 | 10-in. | 12/16/1926 | Someday sweetheart | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
| Victor | BVE-38174 | 10-in. | 3/16/1927 | Someday sweetheart | Gene Austin | Male vocal solo, with piano | songwriter | |
| Victor | BS-92707 | 10-in. | 7/13/1935 | Someday sweetheart | Benny Goodman Trio ; Gene Krupa ; Teddy Wilson | Jazz/dance trio | songwriter | |
| Victor | PBS-026071 | 10-in. | 9/1/1938 | Someday sweetheart | Paul Martin's Soothing Music ; The Three Cheers | Jazz/dance band, with vocal trio | songwriter | |
| Victor | BS-040261 | 10-in. | 7/7/1939 | Someday sweetheart | Ragtime Band [Muggsy Spanier] | Jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
| Victor | BS-073485 | 10-in. | 3/25/1942 | Someday, sweetheart | Dick Todd | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
| Columbia | 81655 | 10-in. | 3/27/1924 | Someday sweetheart | Georgians ; Frank Guarente ; Dolly Kay | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
| Columbia | W143258 | 10-in. | 1/4/1927 | Someday sweetheart | Charleston Chasers | Jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
| Columbia | W144765 | 10-in. | 10/15/1927 | My mammy's blues | Reb Spikes Majors and Minors | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
| Columbia | W144766 | 10-in. | 10/15/1927 | Fight that thing | Reb Spikes Majors and Minors | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
| Columbia | 144805 | 10-in. | 9/28/1927 | Someday, sweetheart | Original Indiana Five | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
| Columbia | W144864 | 10-in. | 10/14/1927 | Someday sweetheart | Ethel Waters | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with instrumental trio | songwriter | |
| Columbia | W150479 | 10-in. | 4/17/1930 | Someday sweetheart | Ted Lewis and his Band | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | songwriter | |
| OKeh | 8498 | 10-in. | October 1923 | Some day, sweetheart | Jelly Roll Morton's Jazz Band | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
| OKeh | S-71533 | 10-in. | May 1923 | You'll never have no luck by quittin' me | Eva Taylor ; Clarence Williams | Female vocal solo, with piano | songwriter | |
| OKeh | S-71534 | 10-in. | May 1923 | I'm gonna see you when your troubles are just like mine | Eva Taylor ; Clarence Williams | Female vocal solo, with piano | songwriter | |
| OKeh | W80325 | 10-in. | 1/21/1927 | Someday sweetheart | Eddie Lang ; Boyd Senter | Clarinet solo, with guitar and piano | songwriter | |
| OKeh | W400349 | 10-in. | 2/25/1928 | Someday, sweetheart | Emerson Black | Male vocal solo, with ukulele | songwriter | |
| Brunswick | E37272 | 10-in. | 10/22/1931 | Someday sweetheart | All Star Orchestra ; Eddie Lang ; Joe Venuti | Jazz/dance band | songwriter | |
| Brunswick | E4224-E4225 | 10-in. | 12/11/1926 | Someday sweetheart | Evelyn Thompson | Female vocal solo, with violin, guitar, and piano | songwriter | |
| Brunswick | E22243-E22244 | 10-in. | 4/4/1927 | Someday sweetheart | Vernon Dalhart | Male vocal solo, with fiddle (violin), guitar, and piano | songwriter | |
| Brunswick | C530 | 10-in. | 7/23/1926 | Some day, sweetheart | Dixie Syncopators ; King Oliver | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
| Brunswick | C2614 | 10-in. | 11/30/1928 | Some rainy day | Abe Lyman ; Sharps and Flats | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo; without vocal (take G) | composer | |
| Brunswick | C2640 | 10-in. | 12/6/1928 | Some rainy day | Jimmie Noone’s Apex Club Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
| Brunswick | C2819 | 10-in. | 1/17/1929 | Some rainy day | Nick Lucas | Male vocal solo, with trumpet, guitar, and piano | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Spikes, John C.," accessed April 19, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/113920.
Spikes, John C.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 19, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/113920.
"Spikes, John C.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 19 April 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Spikes, John C., 1882-1955 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2008015010
Wikidata: John Spikes - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6258668
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/117149294368980522299
MusicBrainz: John Spikes - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/e1b64998-7415-4a8b-a9ff-27996a4d49f2
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