Four Jumps of Jive

The Four Jumps of Jive was a quartet formed by Willie Dixon in late 1945, with Gene Gilmore, Bernardo Dennis, and Ellis Hunter. Their sound, a mix of R&B harmony vocal and blues, was getting them a serious following in Chicago and they might have gone on to a major recording career, but the group didn't last long enough. They recorded for Mercury Records in the company's early days, including "Satchel Mouth Baby" and "It's Just the Blues". Gilmore and Hunter left the group in 1946 and Leonard Caston -- an old friend of Dixon's -- came into the lineup, which was christened the Big Three Trio, making pretty much the same kind of music as the Four Jumps of Jive for the next decade. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi