The Perdido Wahoo Line: Ted Sturgis and Benny Harris

For some sixty years or more, it has been ubiquitous to ascribe the addition of a frequently played riff to the tune "Perdido" to bop trumpeter Benny Harris, though a few, including pianist Billy Taylor, believed this not to be the case. The authors have documented the history of this misattribution and show that the line was indeed written by bassist Ted "Mohawk" Sturgis and first introduced by the Stuff Smith Trio with Sturgis and Taylor at the famous Town Hall Concert, June 9, 1945.