Topic: Miller's Breakdown

[Johnm]

Thanks for the responses on the Honeyboy Edwards puzzler, Prof Scratchy and Old Man Ned.  Any other takers?  Come cone, come all!  Answer just one question or all three.
All best,
John

[blueshome]

Going with the Prof although I did think Spanish at one point.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I think everyone who intended to respond to the Honeyboy Edwards puzzler has done so by now, so I will post the answers:

For Honeyboy Edwards' "Army Blues":
   * His playing position was G in standard tuning as all who responded had it--well done!
   * Honeyboy fretted the bend at the end of the first line of the first verse at the sixth fret of the first string as Prof Scratchy had it, with Old Man Ned and blueshome concurring.
   * Honeyboy fretted the ascending run he played into the IV chord at 1:02--1:03 as follows:  He hits a pick-up note on the open fourth string on the + of beat three in the 9th bar of the form.  For beat four of that measure he plays a triplet walking up from the open fourth string chromatically, open to first fret to second fret.  He concludes the ascending run by hitting the third fret of the third string on the downbeat of the tenth measure, landing on the seventh note of the C7 chord to which he is resolving. 

Honeyboy's playing on these early recordings is much as it was later in his life--simultaneously technically flashy and really country, with lots of metric irregularities, chords omitted from the progression and changing the form in subtle ways as he progressed through the song.  These "country" qualities made him very challenging to play with for other musicians (especially guitarists), in much the way that Robert Lowery was challenging to play with; you absolutely could not take anything for granted in terms of where chord changes were going to fall, or even if they were going to be played, in the course of a song's rendition.  I saw some pretty darn good musicians get lost by Honeyboy in the course of backing him.  Really, he was a born soloist, not an ensemble player except as professional opportunities put him in that role.

I hope folks enjoyed the song and I thank Prof Scratchy, Old Man Ned and blueshome for their participation in the puzzler.  I'll try to find another good one.
All best,
Johnm

[Prof Scratchy]

I imagine most folks will have seen by now the wonderful clip of Honeyboy Edwards from 1942. It?s amazing that these gems get unearthed after so many years. In colour and with recently overdubbed sound, you really get a sense of what a stellar player he was in his younger days:


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[jpeters609]

This footage is amazing. It's silent, but the "American Epic" folks expertly edited in Honeyboy's Library of Congress recording of "Army Blues," which he likely recorded at some point on the same day.

Also, the dancers seen in the footage were also filmed by Lomax, but at a different location. They were not actually there, in Clarksdale, dancing to Honeyboy's music.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I have a new puzzler for those of you who are interested.  It is Wade Walton's version of "Shake 'Em On Down", from his Prestige-Bluesville album of the same name in the early '60s.  Wade Walton had a barbershop in Clarksdale, Mississippi and it was evidently a musical gathering place in much the same way as Archie Edwards' barbershop was in Washington, D. C.  Here is Wade Walton's version of "Shake 'Em On Down":



INTRO

For my breakfast, give me, soft-boiled egg, for my dinner, give me, fish and bread, for my supper, lay me down 'tween your legs,
REFRAIN: Must I holler, baby, must I shake 'em on down
Mmmm, done stopped hollerin', b'lieve I shake 'em on down

There's no heaven, baby, there's no burnin' hell, where I'm goin', pretty baby, when I die can't nobody tell
REFRAIN: Must I holler, baby, must I shake 'em on down
Mmmm, done stopped hollerin', b'lieve I shake 'em on down

SOLO

Baby, baby, you don't seem to understand, I can get me a woman quicker 'n you can a man
REFRAIN: Must I holler, baby, must I shake 'em on down
Mmmm, done stopped hollerin', b'lieve I shake 'em on down

Mama, mama, look at sis', standin' in the backyard tryin' to, do the twist
REFRAIN: Must I holler, baby, must I shake 'em on down
Mmmm, done stopped hollerin', b'lieve I shake 'em on down

CODA 

The questions on Wade Walton's 'Shake 'Em On Down" are:
   * What playing position/tuning did Wade Walton use to play the song?
   * Where did he fret the signature lick he plays throughout the song, and for the first time, from 0:00--:04?
   * What does Wade Walton fret for the IV chord he plays from :28--31?

Please use only your ears and your guitars to arrive at your answers, and please don't post any answers before 8:00 AM your time on Wednesday, June 13.  Thanks for participating and I hope you enjoy "Shake 'Em On Down".

All best,
Johnm

[Prof Scratchy]

The questions on Wade Walton's 'Shake 'Em On Down" are:
   * What playing position/tuning did Wade Walton use to play the song? -Spanish capoed at 2fr

   * Where did he fret the signature lick he plays throughout the song, and for the first time, from 0:00--:04? - bends then releases third fret of fifth string followed by a brush of open third and fourth strings with immediate hammer-on to third fret of fourth string. He then bounces off the 3fr 4str to play again the open 3str-4str brush.

   * What does Wade Walton fret for the IV chord he plays from :28--31- possibly x5x005

[Forgetful Jones]

 * What playing position/tuning did Wade Walton use to play the song?
          Spanish tuning around A

  * Where did he fret the signature lick he plays throughout the song, and for the first time, from 0:00--:04?

     - Thumbs open 5th (and lets other strings ring)
     - Hits open 3rd & 4th strings and quickly cuts them off.
     - Followed by triplet of: xx00xx   xx3xxx  xx00xx (bending that 3rd fret     
       on 4th string)
     - Thumbs 3rd fret 5th string (bent)
     - Followed by same open strings & triplet as described above.

He seems to let strings ring throughout the song, so where I typed "x" I didn't mean that those strings are muted.

* What does Wade Walton fret for the IV chord he plays from :28--31?

     x5x505 It sounds like there's something else going on there. Maybe something alternating between
     3rd and 2nd strings.

I'm not super confident with any of those answers. Maybe not even with the tuning- perhaps the 2nd string is somewhere outside of Spanish?

[Old Man Ned]

Do I love this tune...this is what I'm getting so far:
Open G, capo'd up

from 0:00--:04
----------------------------
---0------------------------
0--0--0---0------0--0----0
0--0----4--------------4---
0-------------3w-----------
-----------------------------

w=bend

The IV chord he plays from :28--31 is bugging me. I'm approximating this with

--5-
--0-
--0-
--5-
----
----
where there is some emphasis to bring out the 4th and 3rd strings and the first string at the 5th fret just rings out, if that makes any sense.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
It appears that everyone who intended to respond to the puzzler on Wade Walton's version of "Shake 'Em On Down" has done so, so I will post the answers now.

For Wade Walton's "Shake 'Em On Down":
   * His playing position was Spanish tuning, as everyone who responded had it--well done!
   * His signature lick, which he first plays from :00--:04 works like this, I believe:  On beat 1, he brushes the open fifth and fourth strings, and on the + of beat one, he brushes the open third and second strings. On beat two he brushes the fourth third and second strings, fretting the fourth string at the fifth fret, pulling off to the third fret of of the fourth string and then hammering back to the fifth fret on the + of beat two, while simultaneously brushing the open third and second strings on the + of beat two.  On beat 3, he hits the third fret of the sixth string followed by a brush of the open third and second strings on the + of beat 3.  Beat four repeats what he played on beat 2.  This signature lick has a wonderful spareness to it, especially when played underneath his singing, and Wade Walton plays it with great control and consistency.
   * Wade Walton's IV chord is as Prof Scratchy had it X-5-X-0-0-5.  It's conceivable that he fretted the sixth and fourth strings, but he did not sound them.  I have never heard another player in the style utilize this voicing of a IV chord when playing in Spanish.  What is also interesting is that when Wade Walton plays the IV chord in his turn-around in his solo, he plays a conventional IV chord, barring the top four strings at the fifth fret.

Thanks  to Prof Scratchy, Forgetful Jones and Old Man Ned for participating in the puzzler, and I hope folks enjoyed Wade Walton's version of "Shake 'Em On Down".  I'll look for another puzzler to post soon.
all best,
Johnm

   

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I've got a new puzzler for those of you who are interested.  It is Larry Johnson's "Say What You Mean", taken from an album recorded when he was twenty-one years old, in 1959.  Like a lot of musicians, Larry's voice deepened over the years, and it's interesting to hear how much higher his vocal range was on this early recording than in his later years.  Here is "Say What You Mean":



INTRO

Say what you mean, and mean just what you say
Say what you mean, and mean just what you say
Because there's phonies dropping out, they're dropping out day by day

Well, you tell her that you love her, say you love her to her bones
Well, when you tell it to her, don't you tell it to her wrong
REFRAIN: Say what you mean, and mean just what you say
Because there's phonies dropping out, they're dropping out day by day

Now, there used to be a time that you could keep your woman fooled
But if you take it real close, man, they playin' it real cool
REFRAIN: Say what you mean, and mean just what you say
Because there's phonies dropping out, they're dropping out day by day

OUTRO

The questions on Larry Johnson's "Say What You Mean" are:
   * What playing position/tuning did Larry use to play the song?
   * Where did he fret his bass run signature lick, which he plays from :18--:21, and throughout the song?
   * Where did Larry fret what he played over his IV chord, from :57--:58?

Please use only your ears and your guitars to arrive at your answers, and please don't post any answers before 8:00 AM your time on Monday, July 2.  Thanks for your participation and I hope you enjoy Larry Johnson's rendition of "Say What You Mean".
All best,
Johnm

[Stuart]

In the interest of thread drift, Stefan Wirz put all of "presenting the country blues" up on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjaKUgK9hbx9nUaFRXe0fAVZPV9vty2sY

[Johnm]

Hi all,
Any takers for the Larry Johnson puzzler, "Say What You Mean"?  Come one, come all!
All best,
Johnm

[Prof Scratchy]

Am in the Western Isles just now with not enough internet connection to play videos, so may have to pass on this one!

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[blueshome]

I?ll have go.
C standard
Run is 4th string 0121 5th string; 3 roll strings 6&5 at 3rd fret 4th string 01
5th string 3