Ten Musical Pioneers You Never Heard Of: The Boys

Ed's note: The Broken Hearts are East London-based turntable goddesses Amber and Nisha. The jet-setting duo are essentially music nerds in mega babe bodies, decked out in impeccably co-ordinated outfits—from their pointed bangs to the tips of their Terry de Havilland heels. NB: When we say they're "music nerds in mega babe bodies," this is not meant to objectify or belittle—as was suggested in the comments section of their last piece. This also does not suggest that having a brain and being physically attractive is mutually exclusive. We're just saying Amber and Nisha are talented, brainy, and beautiful, and given that how they present themselves is integral to The Broken Hearts, we think this is a fair and complimentary comment.

But back to their skills. The DJ duo also host their own radio show (on Jazz FM in the UK), are responsible for designing several capsule collections for London boutique, Beyond the Valley, and Amber is a sought after fashion historian. Basically, they rule, and crucially, the pair take great pleasure in flicking through old vinyl, dusting off those old 45s and encouraging people around the world to get swinging. Below is their list of 10 super-stylish, trailblazing male musicians you may not have heard of.

Read their list of 10 female pioneers here.

10. Amos Milburn – “One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer”

If you thought crunk and Dirty South aficionados were the first to glamorize a hard-partying lifestyle you would be much mistaken. All-drinking, all-partying jump blues musician Amos Milburn certainly liked to sing about his booze intake, with titles ranging from "Vicious Vicious Vodka" to "Bad, Bad, Whiskey," and "Thinkin' And Drinkin." This little number—"One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer"—became one of Milburn’s best known songs and was famously covered by John Lee Hooker in 1966. It was somewhat less famously, but more recently, covered by the character Will Schuester in the TV show

Glee

. You can’t have all of the luck all of the time.

9. Snakehips Johnson – “I’m In Love For The Last Time”

Snakehips Johnson was taught to dance by the same choreographer that taught Fred Astaire. By all accounts he had the moves, but he jacked it in to become a bandleader after seeing Cab Calloway performing in 1930s Harlem. He was a hottie as well as being a great dancer and his band quickly became one of the most popular in the country, with a residency at the swanky Cafe de Paris nightclub in London. The club became pretty legendary during the war as a place where the “yoot” of the day could drink and dance all night, and generally forget that bombs were falling outside. All until one terrible night, when a bomb fell directly into the club, killing many of the partygoers. Snakehips was found lying dead, but completely unmarked, with his trademark white suit and lapel flower still pristine.

8. The Hokum Boys – “Let Me Have It”

Hokum Blues was born in the 1920s, the bastard love child of the the jug bands that sprung up in the saloons and bordellos around Beale Street in Memphis. Sexual innuendo was well and truly the order of the day—basically if America had

Carry On

films in the 20s they would have been filled with Hokum Blues songs, with names like "Banana In Your Fruit Basket," "King Size Papa," and "I Need a Little Sugar in my Bowl." Ooo-er missus! The Hokum Boys were one of the most popular groups and by 1932 they’d recorded over 60 bawdy, low-down-and-dirty blues numbers. This is one of the finest. Disclaimer: THEY’RE SINGING ABOUT A DIAMOND RING.

7. Willie “The Lion” Smith – “Harlem Joys

”

Eternally known as a musician’s musician, Willie "The Lion" Smith was instrumental in developing a new style of piano playing called Harlem Stride. His career lasted for decades, but he remained quite obscure to the public while having a huge influence on his better known contemporaries like George Gershwin and Duke Ellington. Willie always claimed that his distinctive nickname “The Lion” came from his bravery during the WWI, where he served in France and also played the drums in one of the regimental bands. Less heroically, he once claimed he got his sex education, at 12-years-old, from a song called "Don't Hit that Lady Dressed in Green"—which we hear Robin Thicke is looking into covering.

6. Mighty Sparrow – “Jean and Dinah”
Nothing says summer like Calypso. We love it, but our love is nothing compared to that of the Trinidadians and Tobagans, who take it very seriously indeed. Battles between Calypsonians known as the Calypso Monarch competitions take place during Carnival each year, and the most important title, the Road March, has been given out every year since 1932. The Mighty Sparrow is the undisputed champion, having been crowned Calypso Monarch no fewer than eleven times, and "Jean and Dinah" won him the first of eight Road March titles. Truly a track of its time, it follows the story of the desperation of prostitutes in Trinidad following the closure of American military bases post WWII. Dark, non? But despite the controversial subject matter, it became an international hit in 1956.

5. E.T. Mensah – “Ghana Guinea Mali”
Discovering Highlife music was a massive revelation for us. If you’ve not heard it you’re in for a treat. It originated in Ghana back in the 1900s, and was one of the first fusions of African and Western music, incorporating everything from calypso (yes, again) to jazz and swing. Trumpeter and bandleader, E.T. Mensah, became known as the King of Highlife with fans all over Africa and Europe. He formed his band The Tempos in 1948 and they became the most popular and important post-war Highlife band.

4. Paul ‘Hucklebuck’ Williams – “Huckle Boogie”
When Paul Williams released "The Hucklebuck" in 1949, little was he to know that he was setting forth on the world his first big hit that would even become a dance craze, a trend that continues to hold strong today (AMIRITE, Psy?) Unsurprisingly he soon co-opted the song title into his own name. Another early rock 'n’ roll pioneer, he co-headlined the first Moondog Coronation Ball that’s been called the first rock ‘n' roll concert EVER. With a long career in the biz, in his later years he even became James Brown’s musical director.

3. Golden Gate Quartet - "Shadrach, Meshach and Abedego"
Gospel stars The Golden Gate Quartet were Elvis’s favorite group when he was a kid. Frankly who needs any further information? Oh you do? Well they also played at the White House several times. Basically they were amazing and we’ve never heard a bad track by them. Of course the mainstream music industry of the time totally misunderstood them: RCA wanted to release some non-religious songs by them under the name "The Four Chocolate Bars”! We’re not even joking! GOOD ONE GUYS! Thankfully the quartet stuck to their fire and brimstone guns and went on to conquer Hollywood and tour the world. We love a happy ending! Here they are with a cheery number about three guys who experienced the wrath of Hellfire…

2. Harry Belafonte – “Matilda”
We did mention that we’re big Calypso fans! When the Empire Windrush arrived in 1948 a new era of multiculturalism was born in Britain with the arrival of nearly 500 passengers from Jamaica. Among them were two pivotal musicians, Lord Beginner and Lord Kitchener who populariszed Calypso in the British Isles. In the States, it was Harry Belafonte who did the same job. His commercial take on Calypso burst into the charts with his 1956 album of the same name. Not only is his music incredible, he continues to be an inspiration in the political arena too. He’s been heavily involved in Civil Rights and Humanitarian activism as well as being a vocal critic of American foreign policy under the Bush administration. This is his first single, "Matilda," from 1953.

1. Chick Webb – “When I Get Low, I Get High”
Chick is an unusual example of a bandleader who was actually LESS well known than his female co-star, the formidable Ella Fitzgerald. Maybe dudes thought he was literally a chick? Anyway, Chick grew up in Baltimore and worked as a newspaper boy to save money to buy a drum kit. Clearly he delivered a lot of papers as he began playing professionally at the age of just 11. A few years later his band was one of the biggest in Harlem, becoming the house band at the legendary Savoy Ballroom. Ella started singing with him as a teenager and after he died young she even led his band until she went solo in the early 1940s. Well, as they say: behind every man…

You should read the Broken Hearts' companion article about the 10 female music pioneers you’ve never heard of. Follow and fall for the Broken Hearts on Twitter - @BrokenHeartsDJs Style Stage is an ongoing partnership between Noisey & Garnier Fructis celebrating music, hair, and style.