Topic: Blues in Minor/With Minor Chords

[Pan]

Thanks Jeff!

Boy, does he look young on that LP cover!

Cheers

Pan

[Pan]

Here's a nice one by Victoria Spivey. Dixon & Godrich give a recording year 1936, not 1934, as is stated in the video. The song is in E flat major, but the A section starts in the relative C minor. There seems to be a number of pop tunes that do this, think for example of Love Me Or Leave Me etc.

I tried to transcribe the chord changes and got roughly this:

ANY-KIND-A-MAN             Victoria Spivey

Intro
|| Eb | Fm7 Bb7 | Eb | Eb ||

Verse
|| Eb | Eb | Eb | Eb |

| Eb | Fm7 Bb7 | Eb | Eb |

| G7/D | G7/D | C7| C7 |

| F7 | F7 | Bb7 | Bb7 ||

A
||: Cm | G7/D | Cm | Ab7 /  (Adim Bb7) |

                              1. 3.            2.
| Eb | Fm7 Bb7 | Eb | Fm7 Bb7 :|| Eb ||

B
|| G7 | G7 | C7 (Cm?) | C7 (Cm? |

| F7 | F7 | Bb7 | Bb7 || back to A

I'm not sure about the walk up with A dim to Bb7 on the 4th bar of the A section, the bass line seems to vary.

Also, it sounds to me like the musicians are a little unsure whether the C chord in the B section should be a minor or major. In my ears Spivey's vocals seem to indicate a major chord, and I think the bass player agrees at least on the last B section.

Corrections are welcome!



Cheers

Pan

[Pan]

Hi all

Sam Price And his Texas Bluesicians recorded "Do You Dig My Jive" in 1941, if this YouTube video is to be believed.
The song is in E flat minor (yup, that's 6 flats!) and has the typical descending chord changes, but in the chorus the song goes briefly to the E flat major key, which gives it a nice touch.

Something like this:

Verse
||: Ebm Db7 | B7 Bb7 | Ebm Db7 | B7 Bb7 |

| Ebm Db7 | B7 Bb7 | | Ebm Db7 | B7 Bb7 |

| Ebm Db7 | B7 Bb7 | Ab7 | Db7 ||

Chorus
|| Eb | Eb | Ab7 | Ab7 |

| Ebm Db7 | B7 Bb7 | | Ebm Db7 | B7 Bb7 :||



Cheers

Pan

[Pan]

Hi all

The Hokum Boys apparently recorded a fun 12 bar blues called "The Folks Down Stairs" twice (!) during 1929.
Both versions have Jimmy Blythe on piano. One has Probably Bob Robinson on vocals, the other one Banjo Ikey Robinson.
One of the versions is a pretty straightforward 12 bar blues, but the other interestingly starts in C minor, only to turn into the relative E flat major key, something like this:

||: Cm | G7 | Cm | Ab7 Eb7|

| Ab7 | Ab7 | Eb | Eb C7 |

| Bb7 | Bb7 | Eb | Eb G7 :||

Both versions can be heard on Spotify.

Cheers

Pan

[Pan]

Hi all

The South Street Trio's "Big Four" starts by switching back and forth between the relative keys of D minor and F major. The song later turns into a cycle of 5ths progression in F major.



Cheers

Pan

[Pan]

Hi again

The vocal trio Three Bad Habits recorded their only song "Three Bad Habit Blues", by Marsh Laboratories inc., Chicago, on behalf of the Simplex Piston Ring Co. of America (!), sometime in the 1920's. They were backed by a (their own?) piano, guitar and a banjo.

The song starts with a two minor chords vamp pitched near the key of C# minor:

|| : C#m | G#m :||

The chord changes then proceed from C# minor to E major something like this:

||: C#m | G#m | C#m | G#m |

| C#m | G#m | F#7 B7 | E   G#7 :||

This goes on for quite a while, before the song changes to a jazzy 12 bar blues to the end.

A unique and nicely crafted song, IMO.

The song can be heard on Document's "Too late, too late" vol. 10 compilation (a snippet can be heard here: http://www.allmusic.com/album/too-late-too-late-blues-vol-10-1926-1951-mw0000045475), or on Spotify.

Cheers

Pan

[Pan]

Hi all

Bo Carter's "Some Day" is a very nice 12-bar blues with a 12-bar bridge in the relative minor key. Some great falsetto singing there too.



Cheers

Pan

[volpino]

Not really country blues, but the Harlem Hamfats 'Weed Smokers Dream' translates well into picking. Some of the classic blues gals did some great bluesy stompy stuff as well, like Trixie Smith's 'My Man Rocks Me'.

[alyoung]

The Hamfats' "Root Hog Or Die" is another minor-key song that transfers quite well to gtr picking.  I do it in Em.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
There are a raft of Papa Charlie Jackson tunes with what would normally be VI7-II-V7-I circle-of-fifths, raggy progressions in which Papa Charlie used a ii minor chord in place of the V7 chord.  So, in the key of C, this would play out as A7, D or D7, D minor, C.  The D minor chord delivers the chromatic descending line on the first string, moving from the F# in the D or D7 chord to the F note in the D minor, which you would get from the G7 chord if you played the more commonly-encountered circle-of-fifths progression.  He also used the ii minor chord in place of the V7 in raggy tunes in D, substituting an E minor chord, fingered like a D minor moved up two frets, for an A7 chord.
All best,
Johnm

[Pan]

Hi all

Elder Charles Beck and His Congregation did a nice version of "Dry Bones" in a minor key. He recorded it in 1939 as well, but this 1946 version with a jazzy trumpet and string bass could be found on YouTube. Despite of being in a minor key, the tune ends up in a glorious major chord!



Cheers

Pan

Edited to add: Spotify has another version (perhaps the 1939 one?) which appears to be in a major key. http://open.spotify.com/track/2H6ltidNcon7pIduDyJNUn

[Pan]

Hi all

Eddie boyd did  "What make these things happen to me"  as "Little Eddie Boyd's Trio" in December 24, 1948 in Chicago, IL; with Eddie Boyd, voc, p; Willie Lacey, g; Ransom Knowling, b; Judge Riley, dr. (see Stefan's discography below).

The song starts out like a common 12 bar blues, but after bar 5, instead of another bar of the IV chord, there's a neat little progression from I (with the 5th on bass) to VIm, then II7 -V7 - I - V7, to finish the A section in just 8 bars.
The IV chord isn't always played on bar 2, on the A section.
The tune is in fact a 32 bars AABA form. 

The chord changes, I believe, are something like this:

INTRO
|| C | F | G7 | C G7 ||

A
||: C | (F) | C | C7 |

| F | C/G Am | D7 G7 | C  G7 :|| (repeat)

B
|| C7 | C7 | F7 | F7 F7 E7 Eb7 |

| D7 | D7 | G7 | G7 || (back to A)



http://www.wirz.de/music/boydfrm.htm

Cheers

Pan

Edited as kindly suggested by Mr. Mando (see his post below).

[mr mando]

Hi Pan,
thanks for pointing out this tune which I'd not listened to before with much attention to its harmonic structure. I've just listened closely and without an instrument in hand to check, I seem to hear a II note in the bass in bar 7 of the A part (where you have to F), so maybe a Dm7 (or even a D7) could be another possibility for this position in the form.

[Pan]

I've just listened closely and without an instrument in hand to check, I seem to hear a II note in the bass in bar 7 of the A part (where you have to F), so maybe a Dm7 (or even a D7) could be another possibility for this position in the form.

Hi Mr. Mando

Re-listening, I think you're right! Good catch, a II7 - V7 sounds more like it. Thanks, and I'll make the change.

Cheers

Pan

[Pan]

Hi all

Lil Johnson recorded "That Bonus Done Gone Through" in 1936, with Black Bob on piano.



Also, her 12-bar "Minor Blues", with Montana Taylor on piano,  from 1929 starts in C minor but then turns to the relative E flat major, very much resembling the way that later musicians played "Hesitation Blues". The song doesn't appear to be on YouTube, but those of you who have access to Spotify, can hear it here:

http://open.spotify.com/track/0JkLF5C2mNihMRhlsyzTpJ

Edited to add: re-listening I noticed that the harmonic rhythm in the beginning of "Minor Blues" is slower than in "Hesitation Blues", giving the chords a whole bar each, but other than that, the changes do resemble Hesitation Blues.

Cheers

Pan