Roy Milton

Roy Bunny Milton (July 31, 1907 – September 18, 1983) was an American R&B and jump blues singer, drummer and bandleader.

Career

Milton's grandmother was Chickasaw. He was born in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, and grew up on an Indian reservation before moving to Tulsa, Oklahoma. He joined the Ernie Fields band in the late 1920s as singer and, later, drummer.

After moving to Los Angeles, in 1933, he formed his own band, the Solid Senders, with Camille Howard on piano. He performed in local clubs and began recording in the 1940s, his first release being "Milton's Boogie" on his own record label. His big break came in 1945, when his "R.M. Blues", on the new Juke Box label, became a hit, reaching number 2 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 20 on the pop chart. Its success helped establish Art Rupe's company, which he shortly afterwards renamed Specialty Records.

Milton and his band became a major touring attraction, and he continued to record successfully for Specialty Records through the late 1940s and early 1950s. He recorded a total of 19 Top Ten R&B hits, the biggest being "Hop, Skip and Jump" (number 3 R&B, 1948), "Information Blues" (number 2 R&B, 1950), and "Best Wishes" (number 2 R&B, 1951). He left Specialty in 1955. However, releases on other labels were unsuccessful, and with the emergence of rock and roll his style of music became unfashionable by the middle of the decade.

He continued to perform, appearing as a member of the Johnny Otis band at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1970, and he resumed his recording career in the 1970s with albums for Kent Records (Roots of Rock, Vol. 1: Roy Milton, Kent KST-554) and for the French label Black & Blue Records (Instant Groove, Black and Blue 33.114).

Milton died in Los Angeles on 18 September 1983, aged 76.

A cover version of his song "Reelin' and Rockin'" was recorded by the group Rocket Sixty-Nine for their 1996 album Jump Shot!

Discography

Original 10" shellac (78-rpm) and 7" vinyl (45-rpm) singles

• "I'll Always Be in Love with You" / "To Be Alone Blues" (Hamp-Tone 101), 1945
• "Burma Road Blues" / "Burma Road Blues, Part 2" (Hamp-Tone 104), 1945
• "Milton's Boogie" (Milton's second hit) / "Groovy Blues", vocal by Camille Howard (Juke Box [Specialty] 503), 1945
• "R.M. Blues" (Milton's first hit) / "Rhythm Cocktail" (Juke Box [Specialty] 504), 1945
• "Rainey Day Confession Blues" / "Rainey Day Confession Blues, Part 2" (Roy Milton 1-10), 1946
• "Groovin' with Joe" / "Blues in My Heart" (Roy Milton 1-11), 1946
• "It Never Should Have Been This Way" / "Red Light" (Roy Milton 101/102), 1946
• "Mr. Fine", vocal by Camille Howard / "I'll Always Be in Love with You" (Roy Milton 103/104), 1946
• "Them There Eyes" / "Little Boy Blue" (Roy Milton [Miltone] 201), 1946
• "When I Grow Too Old to Dream" / "Pack Your Sack, Jack", vocal by Camille Howard (Roy Milton [Miltone] 202), 1946
• "True Blues" / "Camille's Boogie" (Specialty 510), 1947
• "Big Fat Mama" / "Thrill Me", vocal by Camille Howard (Specialty 518), 1947
• "Roy Rides (Nip Time)" / "What's the Use" (Specialty 519), 1947
• "Keep a Dollar in Your Pocket" / "My Blue Heaven" (Specialty 522), 1947
• "I've Had My Moments" / "Train Blues" (Speciality 524), 1947
• "Hop, Skip and Jump" / "Everything I Do Is Wrong" (Specialty 314), 1948
• "New Year's Resolution" / "A Porter's Love Song (To a Chambermaid)" (Specialty 317), 1948
• "The Hucklebuck" / "Sympathetic Blues" (Specialty 328), 1949
• "There Is Something Missing" / "Junior Jumps" (Specialty 330), 1949
• "Waking Up Baby" / "Tain't Me" (Specialty 341), 1949
• "Information Blues" / "My Sweetheart" (Specialty 349), 1950
• "Where There Is No Love" / "Junior Jives" (Specialty 358), 1950
• "Playboy Blues" / "Cryin' and Singin' the Blues" (Specialty 366), 1950
• "Sad Feeling" / "Bartender's Boogie" (Specialty 372), 1950
• "Oh Babe!" / "Christmas Time Blues" (Specialty 381), 1950
• "That's the One for Me" / "Bye, Bye Baby Blues" (Specialty 386), 1951
• "It's Later Than You Think" / "The Numbers Blues" (Specialty 403), 1951
• "I Have News for You" / "T-Town Twist" (Specialty 407), 1951
• "Best Wishes" / "Short, Sweet and Snappy" (Specialty 414), 1951
• "So Tired" / "Thelma Lou" (Specialty 429), 1952
• "As Time Goes By" / "Flying Saucer", both credited to the Solid Senders (Specialty 436), 1952
• "Night and Day (I Miss You So)" / "Am I Wasting My Time" (Specialty 438), 1952
• "Blue Turning Grey (Over You)" / "Believe Me Baby" (Specialty 446), 1952
• "Someday" / "Don't You Remember, Baby" (Specialty 455), 1953
• "Early in the Morning" / Let Me Give You All My Love" (Specialty 464), 1953
• "Baby, You Don't Know" / "I Stood By" (Specialty 480), 1953
• "A Bird in the Hand" / "Make Me Know It" (Specialty 489), 1954
• "Gonna Leave You Baby" / "It's Too Late" (Specialty 526), 1954
• "How Can I Live Without You" / "Tell It Like It Is" (Specialty 538), 1954
• "Baby, Don't Do That to Me" / "What Can I Do" (Specialty 545). 1955
• "Fools Are Getting Scarcer" / "I Can't Go On" (Dootone 363), 1955
• "You Got Me Reeling and Rocking" / "Nothing Left" (Dootone 369), 1955
• "I Never Would Have Made It" / "I Want to Go Home" (Dootone 377), 1956
• "Bam-a-Lam" / "I'm a Woman", vocal on both tracks by Mickey Champion with backing by Milton's band (Dootone 378), 1956
• "Baby I'm Gone" / "Cry Some Baby" (Dootone 398), 1956
• "One Zippy Zam" / "You're Gonna Suffer Baby", vocal by Mickey Champion (King 4993), 1956
• "Succotash" / "I'm Grateful" (King 5035) 1957
• "Rocking Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu", vocals by Milton and Mickey Champion / "Skid Row" (King 5069), 1957
• "A Brand New Thrill" / "Jeeps Blues" (King 5074), 1957
• "Milton's Blues" / "Jeeps Blues" (King 5663), 1962
• "Early in the Morning" / "Bless Your Heart" (Lou Wa 1002 and Warwick 549), 1960
• "R.M. Blues" / "Best Wishes" (Warwick 591), 1960
• "Red Light" / "So Tired" (Warwick 662), 1961
• "Come Home When You're Thru" / "Baby, You Don't Know" (Cenco 109), 1961
• "I Wonder" / "Hop-Skip-Jump" (Cenco 112), 1961
• "I Can't Go On" / "Thelma Lou" (Cenco 114), 1962
• "How Was I to Know" / "Blue Jean Shuffle", B-side by Plas Johnson (Cenco 118), 1962
• "Driveway Blues" / "I'm Forgetting About You" (Thunderbird 104), 1962
• "You Could Have Kissed Me Goodbye" / "Have It Your Way" (Movin' 131), 1964
• "Miss You So" / "A True Confession" (Safe! 580), 1969
• "One o'Clock Jump" / "My Blue Heaven" (Club Time 1001), 1970
• "Always Want You Around" / "Change Your Ways" (Space 310), 1972

LP and CD releases of note

Milton recorded for several small labels. All known releases are listed.

• Roy Milton & His Solid Senders (Specialty 7008; Ace CHD 308), LP, CD
• Groovy Blues: Roy Milton & His Solid Senders, Vol. 2 (Specialty 7024; Ace CHD 435), LP, CD
• Blowin' with Roy: Roy Milton & His Solid Senders, Vol. 3 (Specialty 7060; Ace CHD 575), LP, CD

The three volumes listed above include recordings by Milton and his band for Specialty Records between 1947 and 1953, plus the four recordings he made for Juke Box Records in 1945.

• Dootone Rock 'n' Rhythm and Blues (Ace CHD 839), LP, CD, sampler of various artists who recorded for Dootone, including all of Milton's Dootone tracks
• The Chronological Roy Milton 1945–1946 (Classics, Blues & Rhythm Series 5041), CD, including his four recordings for Hamp-Tone, his four recordings for Juke Box, and the numerous recordings he made for his own Roy Milton and Miltone labels before he signed with Specialty Records in 1947
• Roy Milton's Miltone Records Story (Acrobat ADDCD 3016), two-CD set, including 1946–1948 recordings from Milton's own specialty labels (Roy Milton, Miltone, Ace, and Foto), with various vocalists and instrumentalists backed by Milton and his band; also includes outside source material licensed from DeLuxe Records and distributed by Miltone
• Instant Groove, 1977, recorded in Toulouse, France