Ollie Shepard

Singer and pianist Ollie Shepard has sometimes been misidentified as a country blues artist, almost certainly because from October 1937 to April 1939 his bands were billed as Ollie Shepard & His Kentucky Boys. Generally speaking, his groups purveyed a pleasant, decidedly urban blend of blues with unusually uplifting lyrics, jump blues, jive, and swing. Shepard, whose vital statistics continue to elude researchers, began his recording career in Chicago and took himself to New York in 1938, achieving popularity as a Decca artist and switching to Okeh in 1941. While most of his b...