Bill Jennings born September 12, 1919

Bill Jennings (September 12, 1919 – November 29, 1978) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. An outstanding musician's musician, totally original, exceptionally gifted, and unfortunately under-rated and mostly unknown today. 

Because he was such a prolific sideman in the early years of the electric guitar on jazz, blues, early rock ‘n’ roll, and R&B, Bill Jennings is surely one of the most influential guitarists that only a few have heard of. Called “the architect of soul jazz,” and “one of my biggest influences” by B.B. King, he was left-handed and played the guitar upside down without reversing the strings, giving him a style all his own.

                                   

Jennings was born in Indianapolis. Hanging out on Indiana Avenue, he started playing professionally as a teenager and in 1937, he and his brother Al joined with former Ink Spot member Jerry Daniels to form a group called The Three Spades. After serving in the Navy during World War II, Jennings made his first recordings in 1946, performing with jazz violinist Stuff Smith. In 1949, he joined Louis Jordan and the Tympani Five and appeared on a 1950 recording the band made with Ella Fitzgerald. He also appeared with Louis Armstrong.

Bill with Louis Jordan

Many of Jennings' '50s recordings were made for Cincinnati's King label, often accompanying high-profile R&B players like King Curtis, Leo Parker, Wild Bill Davis and Bill Doggett  Jennings was unique in his ability to play in many styles, including swing, bop, jump blues, R&B, and pop. He played electric guitar on many early rock ‘n’ roll recordings with various vocalists, sometimes singing himself. His recording of “Fever” with Little Willie John went to Number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1958, he recorded an album with Etta James.

A left-handed player, Jennings played guitar upside down, with the high strings at the top, which gave him a different approach to phrasing and bending the strings. He was an R&B showman with an earthy sound and urgent attack. Unlike Tiny Grimes, a straight-up blues player, Jennings had more hip soul and wry wit in his inventive lines. As a sideman, he appeared on 10 Prestige albums led by saxophonist Willis “Gator” Jackson from 1959 to 1968. He returned to Indianapolis in the early 1960s and for a while continued to play in night clubs with the Buddy Parker Four which included Erroll Grandy. 

Later in his career, he lost a finger on his fretting hand and began playing bass guitar. Jennings died at Veterans Hospital in Indianapolis on November 29, 1978 and was buried in an unmarked grave. But the story doesn’t end there. In 2023, a national organization dedicated to providing headstones for musicians such as Jennings, the Killer Blues Headstone Project, placed a monument at his grave, with respect to this important musician.

(Edited from Crown Hill Foundation, Wikipedia & All About Jazz)