The Harlem Hamfats was a Chicago jazz band formed in 1936. Initially, they mainly provided backup music for jazz and blues singers, such as Johnny Temple, Rosetta Howard, and Frankie Jaxon for Decca Records,Moore, Allan F. The Cambridge Companion to Blues and Gospel Music, Cambridge University Press, page 36, (2002) - ISBN 0521001072 but when their first record "Oh Red" became a hit, it secured them a Decca contract for fifty titles.Oliver, Paul. Screening the Blues PB: Aspects of the Blues Tradition, Da Capo Press, page 83, (1989) - ISBN 0306803445 They launched a successful recording career performing danceable music. Biography The group were not from Harlem, and nor were they "hamfats". The name 'hamfat' derives from early 20th century slang in which the word was used to designate something as second-rate or a poor substitute. There is some disagreement about the roots of the word. Some beli

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