Problem: Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 - February 4, 1975) was a pioneering American musician, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", he was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the later years of the swing era. Jordan was one of the most successful African-American musicians of the 20th century, ranking fifth in the list of the most successful black recording artists according to Joel Whitburn's analysis of Billboard magazine's R&B chart. Though comprehensive sales figures are not available, he had at least four million-selling hits during his career.

Jordan was born on July 8, 1908, in Brinkley, Arkansas, where his father, James Aaron Jordan, was a music teacher and bandleader for the Brinkley Brass Band and for the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. His mother, Adell, died when Louis was young.  Jordan studied music under his father, starting out on the clarinet. In his youth he played in his father's bands instead of doing farm work when school closed. He also played the piano professionally early in his career, but alto saxophone became his main instrument. However, he became even better known as a songwriter, entertainer and vocalist.  Jordan briefly attended Arkansas Baptist College, in Little Rock, and majored in music. After a period with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels (in which one of his colleagues was Leon "Pee Wee" Whittaker) and with local bands, including Bob Alexander's Harmony Kings, he went to Philadelphia and then New York. In 1932, Jordan began performing with the Clarence Williams band, and when he was in Philadelphia he played clarinet in the Charlie Gaines band.  In late 1936 he was invited to join the influential Savoy Ballroom orchestra, led by the drummer Chick Webb. Based at New York's Savoy Ballroom, Webb's orchestra was renowned as one of the best big bands of its day and regularly beat all comers at the Savoy's legendary cutting contests. Jordan worked with Webb until 1938, and it proved a vital stepping-stone in his career--Webb (who was physically disabled) was a fine musician but not a great showman. The ebullient Jordan often introduced songs as he began singing lead; he later recalled that many in the audience took him to be the band's leader, which undoubtedly boosted his confidence further. This was the same period when the young Ella Fitzgerald was coming to prominence as the Webb band's lead female vocalist; she and Jordan often sang duets on stage, and they later reprised their partnership on several records, by which time both were major stars.  In 1938, Webb fired Jordan for trying to persuade Fitzgerald and others to join his new band. By this time Webb was already seriously ill with tuberculosis of the spine. He died at the age of 34, after spinal surgery on June 16, 1939. Following his death, Fitzgerald took over the band.

What was significant about his early life?

Answer with quotes: his father, James Aaron Jordan, was a music teacher and bandleader for the Brinkley Brass Band and for the Rabbit Foot Minstrels.


Problem: William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 - August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, politician, and newspaper publisher who built the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company Hearst Communications and whose flamboyant methods of yellow journalism influenced the nation's popular media by emphasizing sensationalism and human interest stories. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887 after being given control of The San Francisco Examiner by his wealthy father.

Beginning in 1919, Hearst began to build Hearst Castle, which he never completed, on a 240,000 acres (97,000 hectares) ranch at San Simeon, California, which he furnished with art, antiques and entire rooms brought from the great houses of Europe. He also used the ranch for an Arabian horse breeding operation. San Simeon was also used in the 1960 film Spartacus as the estate of Marcus Licinius Crassus (played by Laurence Olivier).  He also had a property on the McCloud River in Siskiyou County, in far northern California, called Wyntoon. Wyntoon was designed by famed architect Julia Morgan, who also designed Hearst Castle and worked in collaboration with William J. Dodd on a number of other projects.  In 1947, Hearst paid $120,000 for an H-shaped Beverly Hills mansion, (located at 1011 N Beverly Dr, Beverly Hills CA 90210) on 3.7 acres three blocks from Sunset Boulevard. This home, known as Beverly House, was once perhaps the "most expensive" private home in the U.S., valued at $165 million (PS81.4 million). It has 29 bedrooms, three swimming pools, tennis courts, its own cinema and a nightclub. Lawyer and investor Leonard Ross has owned it since 1976. The estate went on the market for $95 million at the end of 2010. The property had not sold by 2012 but was then listed at a significantly increased asking price of $135 million. The Beverly House, as it has come to be known, has some cinematic connections. It was the setting for the gruesome scene in the film The Godfather depicting a horse's severed head in the bed of film-producer, Jack Woltz. The character was head of a film company called International, the name of Hearst's early film company. According to Hearst Over Hollywood, John and Jacqueline Kennedy stayed at the house for part of their honeymoon. They watched their first film together as a married couple in the mansion's cinema. It was a Hearst-produced film from the 1920s.  In the early 1890s, Hearst began building a mansion on the hills overlooking Pleasanton, California on land purchased by his father a decade earlier. Hearst's mother took over the project, hired Julia Morgan to finish it as her home, and named it Hacienda del Pozo de Verona. After her death, it served as the clubhouse for Castlewood Country Club from 1925 to 1969, when it was destroyed in a massive fire.

Did he own any other properties?

Answer with quotes:
on a 240,000 acres (97,000 hectares) ranch at San Simeon, California, which he furnished with art, antiques