It’s 1931 and Earl “Fatha” Hines has packed up his Orchestra for the first of his 3-month whistle-stop tours, including gigs in the Deep South. Fatha’s band was the first major black big band to tour Jim Crow country.
At the time, Hines led the house band at the famed Grand Terrace Café in Chicago. The Grand Terrace, a luxurious “black-and-tan” integrated speakeasy owned by Al Capone, was one of the most important jazz clubs in music history. Hines and Louis Armstrong, along with dozens of their protégés, were making solid reputations. Capone thought Hines was “nuts” when he announced his tour plans. Not only was he stepping outside the hot Chicago jazz scene, but he’d also be outside the protection of Capone and his boys. But, despite it all, Capone knew the tour was important.
Such trips were never a smooth ride. “When we traveled by train through the South,” he said, “they would send a porter back to our car to let us know when the dining room was cleared. Then we would all go in together. We couldn’t eat when we wanted to. We had to eat when they were ready for us.” Later, during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s, Hines would joke, “You could call us the first Freedom Riders.”
Finding food and lodging in stopover towns was a constant struggle, often setting off threatening encounters with local police. Hines came to call these tours “invasions,” because of the constant threat of imminent danger. Any contact with whites, even if they were fans of his music, was risky. At one gig in Alabama, a bomb exploded under their feet while they played on stage. “We didn’t none of us get hurt but we didn’t play so well after that, either.”
“Soundtrack to the Struggle” is hosted by Hollis Monroe. Produced by Ron Adkins. Executive Producer is Dennis Green.
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