Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five first recorded “Caldonia” in 1945. This recording is a rerelease from 1947, the year that Jordan and Moore divorced. Apparently, being sent to the hospital with stab wounds was Jordan’s idea of a dealbreaker. Though, there was one other deal to address: Jordan had listed Moore as the writer of “Caldonia”, enabling him to sidestep publisher agreements, and she retained the royalties after the divorce.

His thoughts on the arrangement: “She didn’t know nothin’ about no music at all. Her name is on this song and that song, and she’s still getting money.”

This episode was co-written by Syracuse University student Alicia Drummond as part of the Sound Beat Class Partnership.