The Harlem Hamfats was a
Chicago jazz band formed in 1936. Initially, they mainly provided backup music for jazz and
blues singers, such as
Johnny Temple,
Rosetta Howard, and
Frankie Jaxon for
Decca Records,
[1] but when their first record "Oh Red" became a hit, it secured them a
Decca contract for fifty titles.
[2] They launched a successful recording career performing danceable music.
The group were not from Harlem, and nor were they "hamfats". The name 'hamfat' derives from early 20th century slang in which the word was used to designate something as second-rate or a poor substitute. There is some disagreement about the roots of the word[citation needed]. Some believe it refers to a 'hamfat' cut of meat, which was cheaper and of poorer quality than the lean part of the ham. Others hold that it refers to a method black face comedians had of adhering burnt cork makeup with hamfat. Regardless, the name was most likely adopted in a spirit of facetiousness, since by all measurable standards the band members were talented musicians.
Despite their name, the Hamfats were based in Chicago, and were put together by record producer and entrepreneur J. Mayo Williams simply for the purpose of making records - perhaps the first group to be so created. None of the members of the band were actually from New York. "Kansas" Joe McCoy (guitar, vocals) and his brother "Papa" Charlie McCoy (guitar, mandolin) were from Mississippi; Herb Morand (trumpet, vocals), John Lindsay (bass), and Odell Rand (clarinet) were from New Orleans; Horace Malcolm (piano), Freddie Flynn (drums) and Pearlis Williams (drums) were from Chicago.[3]
The diverse geographical backgrounds of the musicians played a strong role in the band's sound, which blended blues, dixieland and swing jazz. Led by Morand and Joe McCoy, the main songwriters, the group initially provided instrumental backing to Williams' stable of artists, including Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon, Rosetta Howard, and Johnny Temple. They were perhaps the first example of a studio recording band becoming an act in their own right [4], and recorded extensively.
