Rosco Gordon

Rosco N. Gordon III (April 10, 1928 – July 11, 2002), sometimes billed as Roscoe Gordon, was an American blues singer, pianist, and songwriter. He is best known for his hit songs "Booted,", "No More Doggin'" (1952), and "Just a Little Bit" (1960). Gordon was a pioneer of the Memphis blues style. He played piano in a style known as the "Rosco rhythm," with the emphasis on the off-beat. This rhythm was an influence on later musical styles such as Jamaican ska and reggae. In 2026 Gordon was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame

Biography Gordon was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 10, 1928, the youngest of eight children. In 1946, Gordon moved to Chicago "after getting in trouble in Memphis." His first hit single, "Saddled the Cow (and Milk the Horse)," released on RPM Records (subsidiary of Modern) reached No. 9 on the Billboard R&B chart.

Gordon's next single "Booted" was recorded at Phillips' Memphis Recording Service. For years, Gordon did not receive royalties for his songs. "Sam Phillips gave me one hundred dollars. One hundred. No royalties. No nothin'. But, I did it for the Biharis, now they gave me six hundred dollars. No royalties. No nothin'. But like I say, I didn't know any better," he said. Following his wife's death in 1984, he returned to touring. In 2002, Gordon was invited by the filmmaker Richard Pearce to be included in a documentary film about several blues musicians returning to Memphis for a tribute to Sam Phillips in conjunction with the May 2002 W.C. Handy Awards. The documentary, The Road to Memphis, aired on PBS television. Six weeks after filming finished, Gordon died at the age of 74 from a heart attack at his apartment in Rego Park, Queens, on July 11, 2002.

Discography

Albums 1983: Rosco Rocks Again (JSP Records) 2000: Memphis Tennessee (Stony Plain Records) 2004: No Dark in America (Dualtone Records)

Compilations 1977: The Legendary Sun Performers: Rosco Gordon (Charly Records) 1980: The Best of Rosco Gordon Volume One (Ace Records) 1982: Volume 2: The Memphis Sessions (Ace Records) 1993: Just a Little Bit (Vee-Jay Records) 1996: Rosco's Rhythm (Charly Records) 1998: Bootin' (The Best of the RPM Years) (Ace Records) 2004: A Proper Introduction to Rosco Gordon - No More Doggin''' (Proper Records) 2009: Let's Get High: The Man About Music From Memphis (JSP Records) 2016: Just A Little Bit'' (Jasmine Records)