Lucky Thompson
Eli "Lucky" Thompson (June 16, 1924 – July 30, 2005) was an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist whose playing combined elements of swing and bebop. Although John Coltrane usually receives the most credit for bringing the soprano saxophone out of obsolescence in the early 1960s, Thompson (along with Steve Lacy) embraced the instrument earlier than Coltrane. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Detroit (city in and county seat of Wayne County, and largest city in State of Michigan, United States) , Died July 30, 2005 (Seattle (city in and county seat of King County, State of Washington, United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1945 - 1957
Roles Represented in DAHR: tenor saxophone, leader, composer, songwriter, saxophone
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 77 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor | D7VB-0511 | 10-in. | 4/22/1947 | From dixieland to be-bop (or Condon meets Gillespie) | Lucky Seven (Lucky Thompson) ; Lucky Thompson | Jazz/dance octet | leader, instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Victor | D7VB-0513 | 10-in. | 4/22/1947 | Boppin' the blues | Lucky Seven (Lucky Thompson) ; Lucky Thompson | Jazz/dance octet | composer, leader, instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Excelsior | TR-136-A | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Fla-ga-la-pa | Timmie Rogers | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Excelsior | TR-136-B | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Drop another nickel in the juke box | Timmie Rogers | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Excelsior | TR-138-A | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Daddy-o | Al "Stomp" Russell Trio ; Timmie Rogers Quintette | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Excelsior | TR-138-B | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Hep Paderewski from Basin Street | Timmie Rogers Quintette | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Excelsior | OR-145-A | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | No-good man blues | Lucky Thompson All-Stars | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone, songwriter | ||
| Excelsior | OR-145-B | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Why not | Lucky Thompson All-Stars | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone, songwriter | ||
| Excelsior | OR-146-A | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Irresistable you | Lucky Thompson All-Stars | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Excelsior | OR-146-B | 10-in. | 1944-1951 | Phace | Lucky Thompson All-Stars | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Excelsior | OR-162-A | 10-in. | 12/31/1951 | Ain't jivin' blues | Wilbert Baranco ; Charles Mingus Sextette ; Henry Coker ; Karl George ; Buddy Harper ; John Plonsky ; Gene Porter ; Willie Smith ; Lucky Thompson ; Claude Trinier ; Lee Young | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Excelsior | OR-162-B | 10-in. | 12/31/1951 | Baby, take a chance with me | Wilbert Baranco ; Charles Mingus Sextette ; Henry Coker ; Karl George ; Buddy Harper ; John Plonsky ; Gene Porter ; Willie Smith ; Lucky Thompson ; Claude Trinier ; Lee Young | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Exclusive | EXC-1019 | 10-in. | 12/31/1948 | I want to love and be loved | The Basin Street Boys ; Judy Carol ; Eddie Beal Trio ; Lucky Thompson | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Exclusive | EXC-1020 | 10-in. | 12/31/1948 | Changes | The Basin Street Boys ; Judy Carol ; Eddie Beal Trio ; Lucky Thompson | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Exclusive | EXC-1076 | 10-in. | 12/31/1948 | A.b.c. blues | Teddy Buckner ; Eddie Hall ; Rickey Jordan ; Les Robinson ; Lucky Thompson ; Vivien Garry Trio | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Exclusive | EXC-1082 | 10-in. | 12/31/1949 | Sleepy time down south | Buddy Baker Orchestra ; Milton Raskin ; Les Robinson ; Lucky Thompson | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Exclusive | EXC-1120 | 10-in. | 12/31/1949 | Drop dead | Rickey Jordan ; Lucky Thompson | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Imperial | BW-726 | 10-in. | 1945 | Harlem bop, pt. 1 | Howard McGhee | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Imperial | BW-727 | 10-in. | 1945 | Harlem bop, pt. 2 | Howard McGhee | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Chess | U-1902 | 10-in. | 11/25/1950 | Slow drag | Lucky Thompson Orchestra | composer, leader | ||
| Chess | U1903 | 10-in. | 11/25/1950 | Nothin' from nothin' | Lucky Thompson Orchestra | composer, leader | ||
| Decca | 80257 | 12/6/1950 | Elephant rock | Charlie Singleton Orchestra | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |||
| Decca | 80258 | 12/6/1950 | Alligator rock | Charlie Singleton Orchestra | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |||
| Decca | 81140 | 6/7/1951 | The dinky dink | Hot Lips Johnson Orchestra | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |||
| Decca | 81141 | 6/7/1951 | Lonely little robin | Hot Lips Johnson Orchestra | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Thompson, Lucky," accessed December 26, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/346927.
Thompson, Lucky. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 26, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/346927.
"Thompson, Lucky." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 26 December 2025.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Lucky Thompson
Discogs: Lucky Thompson
Allmusic: Lucky Thompson
Britannica: Lucky Thompson
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Thompson, Lucky, 1924-2005 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82099701
Wikidata: Lucky Thompson - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1349922
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/84975400
MusicBrainz: Lucky Thompson - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/4b0b1bd5-35e8-4764-b4f2-55ef56f595aa
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/96145 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/96145
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