Topic: 8 Bar Blues With 12 Bar Breaks

[dj]

I spent a lot of time in the car today with 2 Blind Boy Fuller CDs to keep me company, and I noticed that among the 46 songs on those 2 CDs are 2 in which Fuller plays an 8 bar blues with a 12 bar introduction and (mostly) 12 bar instrumental breaks.  The two songs are Untrue Blues and Bye Bye Baby Blues.  Untrue Blues is in A, capoed up a fret, and Bye Bye Baby Blues is in G.  In both cases, the tune is a standard
        |  I  |  V  |  IV  |  IV  |  I  |  V  |  I  |  I  |
8  bar blues, but the intro and most of the instrumental breaks are a
        |  I  |  I  |  I  |  I  |  IV  |  IV  |  I  |  I  |  V  |  IV  |  I  |  I  |
12 bar blues.  Bye Bye Baby Blues does contain one instrumental break in the 8 bar format.  It's interesting to note that in this piece Sonny Terry, accompanying on harmonica, follows Fuller perfectly on the verses and on the 12 bar intro and break but seems a little lost on the 8 bar break, as if the 8 bar/12 bar format is how they's played it in practice or previous performance and the 8 bar break was something unusual. 

Which leads me to the question: did anyone else, and especially any East Coast artists, play this 8 bar/12 bar format?

[Johnm]

Hi dj,
Buddy Moss's "New Lovin' Blues", played in dropped D tuned a full step low, follows the 8-bar vocal/12-bar instrumental format that Blind Boy Fuller employed in "Untrue blues" and "Bye Bye Baby Blues".  It's kind of nice to give the players a chance to stretch out when soloing.
All best,
Johnm

[frankie]

Bye Bye Baby Blues is in G.

Hi dj - Bye Bye Baby Blues is played in E, probably capoed up to sound in G.  Nice tune...  there's an unnamed song that Rev. Davis recorded - called "Blues in E" on the Heritage CD "I Am A True Vine" - which starts off sounding very much like "Slipping 'til My Gal Comes In Partner" until the similarity is pointed out, then he interpolates an eight bar section that goes like this:

        |  I  |  flat VII  |  IV  |  IV  |  I  |  II  |  V  |  I  |

or

        |  E  |  D  |  A  |  A  |  E  |  F sharp  |  B7  |  E  |

He plays around with the chords even more than that, especially once he moves back to the 12 bar section.  I like the VII chord (D), personally...  neat.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I was listening to Frank Stokes and realized that his song "Frank Stokes Dream" fits in this category.  In the song, which starts out as an 8-bar blues, Frank switches to to a 12-bar form for the instrumental solos that follow each verse, beginning after his second verse.  After the third verse, he switches to a 12-bar form for the two remaining verses as well.  His time is so strong that all this switching around poses no problem at all for the listener, and as good as his stuff is with Dan Sane, it is a treat to hear Frank Stokes play solo.
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Mance Lipscomb's "Charlie James" is an 8-bar blues with a sort of one-off form:

   |    I    |    IV   |    I    |    I    |

   |   V7   |    I    |    I    |    I    |

which he precedes with an introductory 12-bar solo.  Once he gets into the singing of the song, all of his subsequent solos are on the 8-bar form, though.
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Much as on his "Frank Stokes' Dream", Frank Stokes soloed both to 8-bar and 12-bar forms on his "Mistreatin' Blues", though it was sung solely as an 8-bar blues.
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Mississippi Bracey's "I'll Overcome Sunday" is an 8-bar blues that goes to a 12-bar form for its solo.
All best,
Johnm

[Johnm]

Hi all,
On Leadbelly's version of "Take A Whiff On Me", he sometimes switches from the song's 8-bar form to a 12-bar blues form for his solo.
All best,
Johnm