Page "Big Jay McNeely" Paragraph 4

The honkers were known for their raucous stage antics and expressive, exhibitionist style of playing.

They overblew their saxophones and often hit on the same note over and over, much like a black Southern preacher, until their audiences were mesmerized.

The style began with Illinois Jacquet's lively solo on Lionel Hampton's smash 1942 hit " Flying Home.

" Jacquet refined the honking technique in 1944 on the first Jazz at the Philharmonic concert in Los Angeles.

Among the other saxophonists who started having honking hits in the late 1940s were Hal Singer ( with the number one R & B hit " Cornbread ", Lynn Hope, Joe Houston, Wild Bill Moore, Freddie Mitchell, and many more.