Edward L. Vinson Jr. was born in Houston, Texas, on December 18, 1917, and earned his lifelong nickname when a lye-heavy hair-straightening product burned off his hair in patches; rather than hide, he shaved the rest and became Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. He came up in the loud, collaborative Texas scene of the 1930s, touring with the Milton Larkin Orchestra alongside peers like Cedric Haywood and Wild Bill Davis and later working with Big Bill Broonzy. In the big band era, an alto saxophonist had to push enough air and sharpen enough bite to cut through a wall of brass without a microphone, and that boot camp gave Vinson an iron technical foundation and a physically commanding tone.

This episode follows his 1940s breakthrough with the Cootie Williams Orchestra and the recording of "Cherry Red," his paradoxical vocal style as a blues shouter  ...