1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,720 Speaker 1: Heart Radio hi um Eve's Welcome to This Day in 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:10,760 Speaker 1: History Class, a show that reveals a little bit more 4 00:00:10,760 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: about history day by day. Today is September sixteen. The 5 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: day was September six, seventy seven. Charles Joseph Bolden was 6 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:36,320 Speaker 1: born in New Orleans to Alice and Westmore Bolden. Buddy Bolden, 7 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: as he was known, was a cornetist who was instrumental 8 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: in the development of jazz. There is a considerable amount 9 00:00:44,159 --> 00:00:47,880 Speaker 1: of mystery and discrepancy surrounding the details of his life, 10 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 1: but the recollections of his friends and pears have helped 11 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 1: preserve his story. Buddy's older sister died in eight one 12 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 1: of encephalitis. Two years later, his father died of pneumonia. 13 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: When Buddy was ten years old, He his mother, and 14 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 1: his younger sister moved into a house on First Street 15 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:12,399 Speaker 1: in New Orleans. Buddy was not formally trained in playing 16 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:15,920 Speaker 1: the coordinet, but in the mid eighteen nineties Buddy began 17 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 1: taking lessons from a neighbor who was a cook and 18 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:23,120 Speaker 1: a family friend. Around this same time, Buddy joined a 19 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: small dance band led by Charlie Galloway, As he performed 20 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: around the city, he gained a lot of fans and attention. 21 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,679 Speaker 1: He met a woman named Hattie Oliver, with whom he 22 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:38,400 Speaker 1: had a child in e He also had a daughter 23 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: named Bernardine years later with a woman named Nora Bass, 24 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:47,319 Speaker 1: but their relationships did not last long, and he lived 25 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:50,240 Speaker 1: with his mother and sister throughout much of his twenties. 26 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 1: By the turn of the century, Buddy was the band 27 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: leader of a steady group of people. There were two 28 00:01:56,800 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 1: clarinet players, one trombonist, one guitar, one bass player, and 29 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 1: a drummer. Buddy and his band were known for improvising 30 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 1: and making traditional and popular songs their own. They often 31 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,359 Speaker 1: played at the Union Sun's Hall, a popular entertainment venue 32 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: in Black story Bill, a part of the Red Light 33 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:20,840 Speaker 1: district called story Bill that was for black people. Buddy 34 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: would play late into the night, and some days he 35 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: would make appearances at more than one venue. But he 36 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:30,880 Speaker 1: gained a lot of fame relatively quickly, and that took 37 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:34,800 Speaker 1: a toll on him. He began drinking heavily and had headaches. 38 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:39,480 Speaker 1: Around nineteen o six, he started showing signs of mental illness. 39 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:44,799 Speaker 1: He missed shows, clashed with his bandmates and became paranoid. 40 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: In March of nineteen o six, he was arrested and 41 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:53,800 Speaker 1: jailed after hitting Norah's mother with a water picture. The 42 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 1: press covered this incident, though they offered different accounts on 43 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:01,680 Speaker 1: whether he had hit Norah's mother or his own. By 44 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 1: the end of that year, Buddies bandmates left his band, 45 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:08,240 Speaker 1: and musicians began to rotate in and out of his group. 46 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:13,360 Speaker 1: He continued to struggle with mental illness. He shorted band 47 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: members on their pay and left the Labor Day parade 48 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: route that he was marching for unknown reasons. After he 49 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,760 Speaker 1: was arrested for what the police called insanity on September 50 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: eight and then released. He never played his Coordinate again. 51 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,360 Speaker 1: In April of nineteen oh seven, he was committed to 52 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 1: the Jackson Insane Asylum. Two months later, he was transferred 53 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: to the mental Institution in Jackson, Louisiana. He was diagnosed 54 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 1: with dementa pray Cox paranoid type, which later morphed into 55 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 1: a parallel diagnosis of schizophrenia. His mother and sister visited 56 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:54,120 Speaker 1: him at the asylum and wrote letters to him after 57 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: they stopped visiting, but he stayed there until he died 58 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: in November of nineteen thirty one in Parker General Hospital, 59 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:06,160 Speaker 1: which was part of the asylum. He died of cerebral 60 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: arterial sclerosis. Buddy had been considered one of the founding 61 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: fathers of jazz, but there are no records of Buddy's performances. 62 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,280 Speaker 1: Though Buddy did innovate in his style and sound, there 63 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:23,920 Speaker 1: is debate over exactly what Buddy may have pioneered after 64 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 1: he stopped playing his cornet, a style of jazz called 65 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:31,719 Speaker 1: Dixieland developed in New Orleans. I'm Eaves, jeffcot and hopefully 66 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:34,320 Speaker 1: you know a little more about history today than you 67 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:38,800 Speaker 1: did yesterday. Keep up with us on Twitter, Instagram, and 68 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:44,640 Speaker 1: Facebook at t d i h C podcast. Thanks for 69 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:47,920 Speaker 1: joining me on this trip through time. See you here 70 00:04:48,360 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 1: in the exact same spot tomorrow. M For more podcasts 71 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:07,240 Speaker 1: from my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, 72 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:09,919 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.