Singer and saxophonist Louis Jordan performs "I Know What You're Putting Down" in the 1947 film Reet, Petite, and Gone.
Jordan's influence on the direction of American music was extraordinary. During the 1930s and 1940s, Jordan pioneered an upbeat, swinging style of music called jump blues. The genre, which blended swing and the blues, is often seen as the link between swing and early rock and roll.