Page "Joe "King" Oliver" Paragraph 1

Joseph Oliver was born in Aben, Louisiana, near Donaldsonville in Ascension Parish, and moved to New Orleans in his youth.

Oliver played cornet in the New Orleans brass bands and dance bands and also in the city's red-light district, Storyville.

The band he co-led with trombonist Kid Ory was considered New Orleans ' hottest and best in the 1910s.

Oliver achieved great popularity in New Orleans across economic and racial lines, and was in demand for playing jobs from rough working-class black dance halls to white society debutante parties.