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I'm so poor I have to lean up against a fence to gargle - Big Bill Broonzy, Looking Up at Down

Author Topic: Tunes You're Listening To  (Read 28135 times)

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Offline MTJ3

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Re: Tunes You're Listening To
« Reply #45 on: August 17, 2007, 12:19:16 AM »
And speaking of underrated vocalists, if there's any prewar vocalist who's more underrated than Bill Gaither, it's probably Bumble Bee Slim...Oops, I'm on a soapbox.       

That's a great soapbox to be on, dj.  (Could you scoot over just a little?  That's it.  Much better.  Thanks.)  There are these "really obscure" guys like Gaither, Slim, Wheatstraw, Walter Davis, etc. who only recorded, oh, 100 or so sides each, and nobody knows or listens to them today.  Ditto the the so-called "Blues Queens," who were equally prolific and arguably more influential.  (See, e.g., the Springer article in Nobody Knows Where The Blues Come From.)  They weren't guitar heroes, one may not be mesmerized by them, and one may not be interested in some of the formal stuff these guys were doing to stretch the idiom (Johnm writes a lot about this stuff), but if one ignores them, one is resigning oneself to ignorance about a LOT of the tradition (and the place of ones, e.g., guitar hero du jour therein).  And, imho, one is missing a lot of good music to boot.  If you don't believe me, I dare you to check out, e.g., Lucille Bogan's version of "Sloppy Drunk" (free at www.redhotjazz.com) and compare that to Carr's and Bumble Bee Slim's later and (you fill in the adjective after you listen:_______________) versions of same and truthfully tell me othewise.

Offline dj

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Re: Tunes You're Listening To
« Reply #46 on: August 17, 2007, 02:40:06 AM »
Quote
If you don't believe me, I dare you to check out, e.g., Lucille Bogan's version of "Sloppy Drunk"

I took that dare  :) , and Bogan's version is certainly a good one, well worth checking out.  It's basically the same lyrics that Leroy Carr, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Jimmy Rogers sang, and that are still sung today.  But it's slower, and the tune is firmly in the "Rollin' And Tumblin'" family.  It's worth checking out just to hear Charles Avery do the familiar "Rollin' And Tumblin'" riff on piano.  And, of course, for Bogan's singing.

Does the more familiar melody to "Sloppy Drunk" originate with Leroy Carr?

Thanks for pointing that one out, MTJ3!  I really must get some more Lucille Bogan recordings some day.  I only have a few on some compilation disks.

       

Offline Great Bear

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Re: Tunes You're Listening To
« Reply #47 on: August 17, 2007, 06:07:17 AM »
Josh White (Ace of Hearts AH65)




Offline uncle bud

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Re: Tunes You're Listening To
« Reply #48 on: August 17, 2007, 08:38:05 AM »
Her Name Was Hula Lou - the Carolina Tar Heels

I've listened to this far too much to be considered healthy. It cracks me up for some reason. The delivery is beautiful. You can find it on the Good for What Ails You compilation. It's the Tar Heels version of a popular song, recorded by Sophie Tucker in 1924 (and others?). You can find sheet music for ukulele and the original lyrics here.


mississippijohnhurt1928

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Re: Tunes You're Listening To
« Reply #49 on: August 24, 2007, 01:16:41 PM »
I just purchased 100 glorious tracks of pre-war Mississippi blues!


Offline Buzz

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Re: Tunes You're Listening To
« Reply #50 on: August 26, 2007, 09:13:31 PM »
Will have to check out this box set, though I have a number of the tunes on other sets.

Been listening to other stuff , myself:
Jelly Roll Morton: Sweet Substitute, Each Day, and all others on my 5 CD set
Lightnin' Wells: Sweet Substitute, von Ronk's version, very nice, cool time change and I like the chord sequence. Also, learning it from a jazz fake book in Ab, but Lightnin' plays it in G, all 1/2 step lower. Having to learn Fo, and Eo. First on the guitar, then on the mandolin ;D
Paul Rishell and Annie Raines: Movin to the Country CD
Howard Armstrong: Louie Bluie
Rich del Grosso: Keep Your Nose Outa My Business, great version of Divin' Duck Blues in G.I like the entire CD,
Sleepy John Estes, Yank RAchel, and Noah Lewis: all great material. Noah Lewis had a wonderful voice, and his harp playing was incredibly deep and strong--listen to Devil in the Woodpile and Chickasaw Special--that on is 'killer'. That man can play a harmonica, y'all.
Johnny Young: whatever I have on the shelf... :P

All best,
Buzz
Do good, be nice, eat well, smile, treat the ladies well, and ignore all news reports--which  can't be believed anyway,

Buzz

Offline CF

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Re: Tunes You're Listening To
« Reply #51 on: August 28, 2007, 07:25:12 AM »
Blind Willie McTell's 'Love-Makin' Mama'.

Something like,

'You may fall from the mountains
fall in the deep blue sea
But you ain't done the right fallin'
Til you fall in love with me . . .'

Love that
Stand By If You Wanna Hear It Again . . .

mississippijohnhurt1928

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Re: Tunes You're Listening To
« Reply #52 on: August 28, 2007, 01:43:39 PM »
Well, I've been listening to Venerable Music Radio, but as we've said before, nothing can beat Weenie Juke.


I like when they play some Blind Blake or Louie Bluie, etc.

But when they put on world music and too much pre-war country, it gets old fast.

mississippijohnhurt1928

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Re: Tunes You're Listening To
« Reply #53 on: August 28, 2007, 01:45:40 PM »
Well, I've been listening to Venerable Music Radio, but as we've said before, nothing can beat Weenie Juke.


I like when they play some Blind Blake or Louie Bluie, etc.

But when they put on world music and too much pre-war country, it gets old fast.

Some of it is just so....... of it's time, that I can't stand it!!! (Songs like "Silly Billy Brown" :P)

Offline uncle bud

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Re: Tunes You're Listening To
« Reply #54 on: September 18, 2007, 09:17:49 AM »
Am listening to Bo Carter, "Last Go Round", from Document Vol. 2. Interesting song, played out of A position and sounding rather Lemon-y in places without copying any Blind Lemon riffs. Also sounds a lot like it's flatpicked. Accompaniment behind the vocals is familiar Bo-style chords up the neck out of D position, but the verses then go into flatpicked bass line  solos each time round. Think I'll have to work on this one. Fun tune that has passed me by somehow.

Offline uncle bud

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Re: Tunes (Not Albums or Artists) You're Listening To
« Reply #55 on: September 18, 2007, 01:26:25 PM »
That's great, guys, but to stay on topic and differentiate this thread from the usual list of CDs style of thread, if you could post specific songs you're listening to, focused on, or that have jumped out at you in your listening recently. The idea of the thread was to tease out individual songs from the often overwhelming number (some would say the plethora) of CDs available to us, the Complete Recorded Works in 12 volumes of so-and-so, the 5-CD-this and 4-Cd-that etc etc.

Offline Slack

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Re: Tunes You're Listening To
« Reply #56 on: September 18, 2007, 02:48:52 PM »
Quote
That's great, guys, but to stay on topic

FYI, I've split off the posts and seeded a new topic in the new "Other Musical Interests" board called surprisingly enough "Other Tunes You're Listening To".  :)

Offline uncle bud

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Re: Tunes You're Listening To
« Reply #57 on: September 19, 2007, 07:56:24 AM »
Today, it was "Down in the Cemetery" by Billy Bird. This is on the Document Rare Country Blues Volume 3 CD, which was, I believe, one of the sale CDs at Document a little while back, and if it pops up there again is well worth snagging. Worth snagging anyway.

It could actually have been almost any of the four titles from Billy Bird ("Mill Man Blues", "Alabama Blues Part 1 and 2" being the others), since the accompaniment is very similar on all of them. It's the accompaniment that caught my ear. "Mill Man Blues" is definitely influenced by Carl Martin's Crow Jane accompaniment. The others, like "Down In the Cemetery", still have Crow Jane-ish elements, but a little less pronounced. The thing that really grabs me on the accompaniment, though, is the signature riff on the I chord (E), which plays around on the flat 7th, tonic and 6th on the top two strings and is hypnotic in a weird repetitive way. He uses it on every tune.

Identity issues apparently surround Billy Bird. Anyone know who's really playing here? He's got the Carl Martin thing going pretty good.
« Last Edit: September 19, 2007, 07:57:40 AM by uncle bud »

Offline frankie

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Re: Tunes You're Listening To
« Reply #58 on: September 19, 2007, 04:53:50 PM »
Anyone know who's really playing here? He's got the Carl Martin thing going pretty good.

I think I read in the notes to Yazoo's "Guitar Wizards" that the guitarist was believed to be Carl Martin.  It doesn't sound like him to me...  much more like the guitar player on The Two Poor Boys "My Baby's Got A Yo-Yo" - Joe Evans.  It was discussed in this thread.  It's possible that the "Crow Jane" accompaniment we associate with Carl Martin may really have originated with Evans.

Offline dj

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Re: Tunes You're Listening To
« Reply #59 on: September 19, 2007, 05:50:05 PM »
I have to say I like Bird's moaning (ululation?) on the last verse of "Alabama Blues - Part 2".

 


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