John Leslie “Wes” Montgomery, 1923-1968
Location: Northwest corner of 10th St. and Bellafontaine St., Indianapolis 46202
Installed 2023 Indiana Historical Bureau, William G. Pomeroy Foundation, The Indianapolis Jazz Foundation, and jazz lovers worldwide
ID#: 49.2023.6
Text
Side One
Innovative, self-taught jazz guitarist “Wes” Montgomery was born in Indianapolis. He began performing in clubs along Indiana Avenue, a Black cultural hub for the city, in the 1940s. He lived in a house near here on Cornell Ave., later razed for the interstate. He toured internationally but regularly returned to the city to play, often with his brothers Monk and Buddy.
Side Two
Montgomery developed a distinct style of picking with his thumbs and using octaves. By blending his unique sound with elements of pop, he found mainstream success in the 1960s. Considered one of the most influential guitarists of all time, he had several albums top the Billboard charts. He won Grammy Awards for Goin' Out of My Head, 1967, and Willow Weep for Me, 1970.
Annotated Text
John Leslie “Wes” Montgomery, 1923-1968[1]
Side One
Innovative, self-taught jazz guitarist “Wes” Montgomery was born in Indianapolis.[2] He began performing in clubs along Indiana Avenue, a Black cultural hub for the city, in the 1940s.[3] He lived in a house near here on Cornell Ave., later razed for the interstate.[4] He toured internationally but regularly returned to the city to play, often with his brothers Monk and Buddy.[5]
Side Two
Montgomery developed a distinct style of picking with his thumbs and using octaves.[6] By blending his unique sound with elements of pop, he found mainstream success in the 1960s.[7] Considered one of the most influential guitarists of all time, he had several albums top the Billboard charts.[8] He won Grammy Awards for Goin' Out of My Head, 1967, and Willow Weep for Me, 1970.[9]
For additional information on Wes Montgomery’s career see more detailed annotated points here.
[1] R. L. Polk & Co.’s Indianapolis City Directory, 1917 (Indianapolis: Hollenbeck Press, 1917), 1704-05, Archive.org; “Result of Examination of Drafted Men in the State,” Indianapolis News, August 15, 1917, 10, Hoosier State Chronicles; Indiana State Board of Health, “John Leslie Montgomery,” Certificate of Birth, March 6, 1923, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, Registered Number 14614-1337, Ancestry.com; “Births,” Indianapolis Star, March 13, 1923, 14, Newspapers.com; Indiana State Board of Health, “John L. Montgomery,” Coroner’s Certificate of Death, June 15, 1968, Local No. 3269, Death No. 68-022834, Indiana Archives and Records Administration, AncestryLibrary.com; “Guitarist Wes Montgomery Dies,” Indianapolis Star, June 16, 1968, 1, Newspapers.com; “2,400 Pay Last Respects to Wes Montgomery,” Indianapolis Star, June 19, 1968, 12, Newspapers.com; “Self-Taught Guitarist Wes Montgomery, 45, Dies at Peak of Career,” Boston Globe, June 16, 1968, 71, Newspapers.com; “Wes Montgomery, 45, Dead of Heart Attack,” Billboard 60, No. 48 (June 29, 1968): 6, GoogleBooks; “Wes Montgomery, March 6, 1923 to June 15, 1968” photograph of grave, New Crown Cemetery and Mausoleum, Indianapolis, Indiana, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/2425/wes-montgomery.
John Leslie Montgomery was born to Tom and Frances Montgomery March 6, 1923 at their home on North Pershing in Indianapolis. For more on the early history of the Montgomery family, see: Paul Mullins, “The Landscapes of Wes Montgomery,” Invisible Indianapolis, May 7, 2018, https://invisibleindianapolis.wordpress.com/2018/05/07/the-landscapes-of-wes-montgomery/.
The Indianapolis Star reported that John Leslie Montgomery died Saturday June 15, 1968 at 45-years-old in Methodist Hospital after suffering a heart attack in his home at 641 West 44th Street. His death certificate confirms that information.
[2] Ibid.
[3] “Local Talent Presents Colossal Show at Camp,” Indianapolis Recorder, September 2, 1944, 4, Hoosier State Chronicles; Advertisement, Indianapolis Recorder, November 25, 1944, 12, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Service Gram,” Indianapolis Recorder, March 25, 1944, 4, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Yes McClarney’s Has Done It Again,” Advertisement, Indianapolis Times, July 23, 1947, 7, Hoosier State Chronicles; “’Four Steps’ Worth Visit,” Indianapolis Times, August 25, 1947, 9. Hoosier State Chronicles; Wes Montgomery Interviewed by Ralph J. Gleason, 1961, reprinted JazzProfiles, April 10, 2017, https://jazzprofiles.blogspot.com/2017/04/wes-montgomery-1961-ralph-j-gleason.html; “C. Adderly, W. Montgomery in Concert at Clowes Hall, Nov. 24,” Indianapolis Recorder, November 11, 1967, 10, Hoosier State Chronicles; David Leander Williams, Indianapolis Jazz: The Masters, Legends and Legacy of Indiana Avenue (Charleston, NC: The History Press, 2014), 88; Paul Mullins, “The Landscapes of Wes Montgomery,” Invisible Indianapolis, May 7, 2018, https://invisibleindianapolis.wordpress.com/2018/05/07/the-landscapes-of-wes-montgomery/.
Wes Montgomery told music critic Ralph J. Gleason in 1961: "I started in 1943, right after I got married. I bought an amplifier and a guitar around two or three months later. I used to play a tenor guitar, but it wasn't playing you know. I didn't really get down to business until I got the six-string, which was just like starting all over to me.” According to the Indianapolis Recorder, “Montgomery . . . was finally booked into the 440 Club in 1944.” Williams quoted Flo Gavin, another Indiana Avenue musician, on Montgomery’s early performances at the 440 Club. Mullins quotes a 1961 interview with Montgomery in which the guitarist spoke about learning Charlie Christian solos around 1943 and then playing them out around the Avenue. He continued, “Then a cat heard me and hired me for the Club 440.” During the 1940s, Montgomery played with Indianapolis bands: the Four Steps in Rhythm and Four Kings and a Jack.
[4] Polk’s Indianapolis City Directory, 1947 (Indianapolis: R. L. Polk & Co., Publishers, 1947), 617, Archive.org; “Vital Statistics,” Indianapolis Recorder, September 27, 1947, 14, Hoosier State Chronicles; Sanborn Map Company, Indianapolis Sanborn Map #372, 1950, Vol. 4, Indianapolis San born Map and Baist Atlas Collection, Indiana State Library, accessed Indiana Memory.
By 1947, Montgomery lived (with his family and the Arringtons) at 1217 Cornell Street, Indianapolis.
[5]“Local Talent Presents Colossal Show at Camp,” Indianapolis Recorder, September 2, 1944, 4, Hoosier State Chronicles; Leo Lesser, “The Avenue,” Indianapolis Recorder, April 8, 1950, 12, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Billy Strayhdorn Rates Montgomery Quartet Tops,” Indianapolis Recorder, August 19, 1950, 13, Hoosier State Chronicles; “BeBop Society’s ‘Jazz at Auditorium’ Billed for Sun., Sept. 3 at YWCA,” Indianapolis Recorder, August 26, 1950, 13, Hoosier State Chronicles; Advertisement, Indianapolis Recorder, September 2, 1950, 13, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Jazz at the Auditorium Due Sunday Sept. 3 at Phyllis Wheatley YWCA," Indianapolis Recorder, September 2, 1950, 13, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Phalanx, Gradale Members Attend 4th State Conclave,” Indianapolis Recorder, April 28, 1951, 4, Hoosier State Chronicles; Bob Womack, “Musical Upbeat,” Indianapolis Recorder, June 6, 1953, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Central Hospital Patients to Hear First Jazz Concert There July 15,” Indianapolis Recorder, July 5, 1952, 4, Hoosier State Chronicles; Henry Butler, “Jazz Concert for Hospital,” Indianapolis Times, July 10, 1952, 36, Hoosier State Chronicles; Bob Womack, “Musical Upbeat,” Indianapolis Recorder, November 1, 1952, 13, Hoosier State Chronicles; Bob Womack, “Musical Upbeat,” Indianapolis Recorder, December 6, 1952, 13, Hoosier State Chronicles; “George’s Bar and Orchid Room,” Advertisement, Indianapolis Recorder, January 3, 1953, 13, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Weekly Standings Musicians’ Poll,” Indianapolis Recorder, May 2, 1953, 13, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Weekly Standings Musicians’ Poll,” Indianapolis Recorder, May 9, 1953, 13, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Weekly Standings Musicians’ Poll,” Indianapolis Recorder, June 20, 1953, 12, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Recorder, Musicians, Singers Contest Winners Announced,” Indianapolis Recorder, July 11, 1953, 12, Hoosier State Chronicles; “These Made Them Happy,” Indianapolis Recorder, September 19, 1953, 1, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Weekly Standings in Musicians’ Poll,” Indianapolis Recorder, April 16, 1955, 12, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Annual Recorder Musicians and Entertainers’ Poll Winners Selected by Recorder Theatrical Writers,” Indianapolis Recorder, January 28, 1956, 11, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Know Your Entertainers,” Indianapolis Recorder, December 29, 1956, 12, Hoosier State Chronicles; “2nd Annual Recorder Musicians and Entertainers,’” Indianapolis Recorder, February 16, 1957, 12, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Guitarist Wes Montgomery Dies,” Indianapolis Star, June 16, 1968, 1, Newspapers.com; Bob Womack, “Wes Montgomery’s Combo Featured Nicely at the Swank Hub Bub Lounge,” Indianapolis Recorder, January 25, 1958, 12, Hoosier State Chronicles; Bob Womack, “Musical Upbeat,” Indianapolis Recorder, February 15, 1958, 12, Hoosier State Chronicles; “The Hub Bub Lounge Weekly Schedule,” Advertisement, Indianapolis Recorder, March 1, 1958, 12, Hoosier State Chronicles; Advertisement, Indianapolis Recorder, July 19, 1958, 12, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Jimmy ‘Mr. Five by Five’ Rushing Comes to George’s Bar from Jazz Festival,” Indianapolis Recorder, July 19, 1958, 12, Hoosier State Chronicles; “The Mastersounds at Shortridge Mon. Nite, November 3 at 8 P.M.,” Indianapolis Recorder, November 1, 1958, Hoosier State Chronicles; “1444 Gallery Spots Top Jazz Groups,” Indianapolis Recorder, July 4, 1959, 12, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Jazz Concert Nite at 1444 Gallery,” Indianapolis Recorder, July 11, 1959, Hoosier State Chronicles; “’Deb’ Andrews, Montgomery in ‘Jazz at Gallery’ Series,” Indianapolis Recorder, September 12, 1959, 12, Hoosier State Chronicles; Bob Womack, “Musical Upbeat,” Indianapolis Recorder, October 17, 1959, 12, Hoosier State Chronicles; Ron Woods, “Turf Club Owner Unmoved; Still Won’t Serve Negroes,” Indianapolis Recorder, March 12, 1960, Hoosier State Chronicles; Advertisement, Indianapolis Recorder, October 27, 1962, 12, Hoosier State Chronicles; Wes Montgomery Interviewed by Jim Rockwell, People in Jazz, WABX FM Detroit, 1968, accessed Daily Motion, https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4uqd62.
Beginning in 1948, he toured with composer Lionel Hampton for several years, before leading his own group, the Montgomery Quartet. One of their first concerts was at the Phyllis Wheatly YWCA in 1950. During the 1950s, he performed regularly in Indianapolis with his brothers Monk and Buddy. He played with them off and on throughout his career. In 1950, he played with his brothers in the Montgomery Combo; at the whites only Turf Club, 1444 Gallery, Henri’s Lounge, Sunset Ballroom, George’s Bar and Orchid Room, and Hub-Bub Lounge; and for community-based performances at Camp Atterbury, the Senate Ave YMCA, the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA, Central State Hospital, and Shortridge High School. Wes Montgomery was voted the best guitar player in the city according to a poll by the Indianapolis Recorder in 1953; and subsequent years.
[6] Wes Montgomery Interviewed by Ralph J. Gleason, 1961, reprinted JazzProfiles, April 10, 2017, https://jazzprofiles.blogspot.com/2017/04/wes-montgomery-1961-ralph-j-gleason.html; John Godspeed,” Montgomery Swings on Guitar,” Baltimore Sun, March 6, 1966, 98, Newspapers.com; Eliot Tiegel, “Jazz Beat,” Billboard 79, No. 33 (August 19, 1967), 12, GoogleBooks; Walter Burrell, “Hollywood Happenings: Wes Montgomery,” Indianapolis Recorder, September 2, 1967, 12, Hoosier State Chronicles; Wes Montgomery Interviewed by Jim Rockwell, “People in Jazz,” WABX FM Detroit, 1968, accessed Daily Motion, https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4uqd62; Nancy Wilson, “Wes Montgomery: ‘The Unmistakeable Jazz Guitar,” September 26, 2007, NPR’s Jazz Profiles, https://www.npr.org/2007/09/26/14687657/wes-montgomery-the-unmistakable-jazz-guitar; Aaron J. West, Caught Between Jazz and Pop: The Contested Origins, Criticism, Performance Practice, and Reception of Smooth Jazz, PhD Dissertation, University of North Texas (December 2008), 49, accessed https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark%3A/67531/metadc9722/m2/1/high_res_d/dissertation.pdf.
[7] “New York Beat,” Jet Magazine 27, No. 1 (October 8, 1964), 63, GoogleBooks; Bob Womack, “Believe Me . . When I Tell You,” Indianapolis Recorder, January 29, 1966, 11, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Wes Montgomery,” Indianapolis Recorder, February 19, 1966, 10, Hoosier State Chronicles; “Wes Montgomery Is A Unique Guitarist,” Pittsburgh Courier, September 24, 1966, 13, Newspapers.com; Leonard Feather, “How to Reach the ‘Rock’ Set: String Along,” Los Angeles Times – Washington Post Service, reprinted (Louisville) Courier-Journal, April 23, 1967, 114, Newspapers.com; Jack Curtis Dubrowsky, Easy Listening and Film Scoring, 1948-78 (New York: Taylor & Francis, 2021), 82, Google Books; Brian Felix, “Wes Montgomery’s A Day In The Life: The Anatomy of a Jazz-Pop Crossover Album,” Jazz Perspectives 8, No. 3 (September 2015): 237-258, accessed Taylor & Francis Online, https://doi.org/10.1080/17494060.2015.1083784.
[8] “Self-Taught Guitarist Wes Montgomery, 45, Dies at Peak of Career,” Boston Globe, June 16, 1968, 71, Newspapers.com; “Heart Attack Kills US Best-Selling Jazz Guitarist Wes Montgomery,” Sacramento Bee, June 16, 1968, 13, Newspapers.com; “Guitarist Wes Montgomery Dies,” Indianapolis Star, June 16, 1968, 1, Newspapers.com; “Wes Montgomery, 45, Dead of Heart Attack,” Billboard 60, No. 48 (June 29, 1968): 6, GoogleBooks; Josef Woodward, “Wes Montgomery: The Softer Side of Genius,” Jazz Times, March 5, 2020, https://jazztimes.com/features/profiles/wes-montgomery-the-softer-side-of-genius/.
At the time of his death, he had three albums on the Billboard Magazine charts, including A Day in the Life, which had been No. 1 for 37 consecutive weeks.
[9] Rhythm & Blues, Billboard 77, No. 43 (October 23, 1965), 45, GoogleBooks. “Names in the News,” Indianapolis News, April 2, 1966, 2, Newspapers.com; David Leander Williams, Indianapolis Jazz: The Masters, Legends and Legacy of Indiana Avenue (Charleston, NC: The History Press, 2014), 90; Recording Academy, Grammys, https://www.grammy.com; Phillip F. Elwood, “Four Guitarists in the Grooves,” San Francisco Examiner, February 22, 1966, 27, Newspapers.com; Fremont Power,”Home Folks Lost When Wes Left,” Indianapolis News, March 17, 1966, 32, Newspapers.com; Leonard Feather, “How to Reach the ‘Rock’ Set: String Along,” Los Angeles Times – Washington Post Service, reprinted (Louisville) Courier-Journal, April 23, 1967, 114, Newspapers.com; “Verve Jazz Sale,” Advertisement, Los Angeles Times, December 18, 1966, 489, Newspapers.com; Leonard Feather, “Strange Case of Jazz Guitarist,” Los Angeles Times, April 23, 1967, 606, Newspapers.com; Hazel Garland, “Video Vignettes,” Pittsburgh Courier, May 20, 1967, 13, Newspapers.com; “NARAS Awards,” Billboard 79, No 12 (May 25, 1967), 43, GoogleBooks; Topy Malagaris, “The Sound,” Chicago Tribune, November 22, 1967, 39, Newspapers.com; “Nine Persons and a Moog Win Grammies,” San Francisco Examiner, March 12, 1970, 30, Newspapers.com; “Moog’s Sound Wins Grammy; Blood, Sweat & Tears Score, Buffalo News, March 12, 1970, 29, Newspapers.com; “Aretha, 5th Dimension, Simon Grammy Winners,” Jet 37, No. 26 (March 26, 1970), 62, GoogleBooks; Recording Academy, Grammys, https://www.grammy.com.
Montgomery was nominated for six Grammy Awards (officially called the National Academy of Recording Artists Award). His 1965 album Bumpin’ (Verve) was nominated for two Grammy awards. In 1967 he won a Grammy for Goin’ Out of My Head, recorded 1966 and released on Verve Records. In 1970, Montgomery posthumously won a Grammy for Willow Weep for Me (recorded 1965 and 1969, released Verve Records).
Keywords
Arts & Culture; African American