Topic: Tunes You're Listening To

[uncle bud]

The worst part of the demise of the Juke for me is the loss of the discovery of songs and artists I hadn't paid attention to before, or sometimes hadn't even heard before. There are so many greats tunes out there and the randomness of the Juke often brought specific songs to my attention that weren't from the obvious "country blues hit parade" or the artists that I obsess over. I thought I'd start a thread about tunes that catch our attention in our daily listening, now that the Juke is offline.

Today for me it was Booker White's "High Fever Blues." It's played out of C position, not something one would expect from Booker, I'd venture. It's a really cool and pretty simple tune that I intend to work out soon.

[mississippijohnhurt1928]

'Let My Baby Ride"- R.L. Burnside

It's an interesting song, very....Not Burnside-ish.

[othartheom]

I was listening to the Mississippi Sheiks today and when the song "Sales Tax" came on it made me think about the fees being charged to internet radio and the Weenie Campbell radio specifically.

[Stuart]

I've been listening to the Document CD "Blind Alfred Reed--Complete Recorded Works." Two tunes, "How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live" and "Money Cravin' Folks" seem apropos.

[LoneWolf]

The juke really got me into the music of Larry Johnson. I think he's great. I'm listening to him a lot these days.

It also introduced me to the great, too obsecure, ROY DUNN, who is one of my favorites today.

[dave stott]

I agree the biggest thing I miss is the Juke and the ability to learn about artists.

Mmy playing selection currently varies between:

Big Bill Broonzy JSP collection Vol 3 1940 - 1951
Lightnin Hopkins the complete Alladin recordings CD
Buddy Guy, Blues Singer CD
Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, Alone and Acoustic

[uncle bud]

Glad people are exploring their CD collections as they deal with Juke withdrawal. For this thread though, I really meant are there specific songs you're listening to. While the old "what are you listening to" chestnut usually results in lists of albums, those can be limited if there is no detail about particular songs that are turning your crank etc.

On thing I can imagine about 78s is they would force you to listen the one song under the needle. 24-track CDs often seem to me to be the wrong way to listen to this music, though I do that all the time. And then boxed sets can quadruple or even quintuple that.

Anyway, back to the songs. This morning for me it's "Turpentine Blues" by Will Weldon. This is the Will Weldon who has been said to be Casey Bill, though I don't believe it, since the two sound nothing alike. Will Weldon in fact sounds stylistically like he's coming from St. Louis, and for the time of this recording, he would have been associated with the Memphis Jug Band. Turpentine Blues is a duet with the main guitar played out of E position, in a style that is in the Charley Jordan vein, though not as flashy. (The flip side of the record would have been "Hitch Me to Your Buggy and Drive Me Like a Mule", a similar sounding song.) This is a fun tune that would probably take about 10 minutes to put together if you know how to play any Charley Jordan.

[JimNJBlues]

What a great idea.  And while I'd usually go down to the Weenie Juke and request it, I guess now I'll just spend a lot more money on cds.
  For me, lately I've been obsessing with two tracks by Robert Lee Westmoreland; "Hello Central" & "Good Looking Woman."  I don't know if he recorded anything else, but I love these two.  Also, Willie '61' Blackwell & Willie Brown doing "Four O'Clock Flower Blues."
  And Kokomo Arnold's "Milkcow Blues," but that's probably familiar to most of you.

[dj]

I too spent the weekend with the Big Bill Broonzy Volume 3 JSP set.  Not particularly listening to particular songs (sorry!), but listening to what Big Bill was up to at the time.  I have to say, when I list my favorites, Big Bill usually isn't on the list.  But, as so often happens when I'm listening to him, I was just floored by the strength and expressiveness of his singing.  Bill was a GREAT singer.  I'll have to go back to the earlier volumes to see when it started, but it seems that by the early 40s, Bill's singing was greatly influenced by Peetie Wheatstraw.  I know that's true of a lot of blues singers of the time, but while Bill would come out with things that made me stop and say "That's Peetie Wheatstraw", he did that in the context of a style that was unmistakably his own.

I don't know why I tend to overlook Broonzy unless I'm listening to him at the time.  I'll have to try to overcome that.   

       

[Bunker Hill]

  For me, lately I've been obsessing with two tracks by Robert Lee Westmoreland; "Hello Central" & "Good Looking Woman."  I don't know if he recorded anything else, but I love these two. 

His only known 78 and by 1972 only one copy of which had come to light. Probably a few others around by now. Westmoreland made the recording for the Trepur label out of La Grange, Georgia circa 1953. The label owner was the white pre-war country singer Rupert McClendon and the only record he ever issued on the label. Bizarre. As for Westmoreland, he was last heard of in mid-60s.

But I guess all this information (from 1976 LP notes by Bruce Bastin) must now be in the booklet to whichever CD the tracks now appear on.

[Buzz]

Got the old 1929 remastered album of Yank Rachell, Sleepy John Estes, and Noah Lewis, and have been listening and playing along with the cigar box mando in Yank tuning. .. tunes like New Minglewood Blues, The Girl I Love Got Curly Long Hair, Divin' Duck', Milk Cow Blues, others. I followed Rich del Grossos observations of how Yank tuned his box down, so I did it, and will leave the box so tuned for a while to be able to play. LEave the other mando in standard for all else. Also listening to older Steve JAmes, like Two Track Mind. Like his version of Milwaukee BLues, , which I want to learn.

I will be seeing my Weenie buddies in about 10 days or so, like Thursday of next week at pre-soak! I am already excited.

Cheers,
 Buzz

[dave stott]

ahhh specifics is where you were headed

Lightnin Hopkins - Pet your Poodle.... he is all over the fretboard on that tune

Big Bill Broonzy - Worrying you off of my Mind.... I love that version

also, recent talk of Larry Doby, the 1st black baseball player in the Amercian League, got me playing Brownie Mcghee's tune "Roby Doby Blues"

[JimNJBlues]

  For me, lately I've been obsessing with two tracks by Robert Lee Westmoreland; "Hello Central" & "Good Looking Woman."  I don't know if he recorded anything else, but I love these two. 

His only known 78 and by 1972 only one copy of which had come to light. Probably a few others around by now. Westmoreland made the recording for the Trepur label out of La Grange, Georgia circa 1953. The label owner was the white pre-war country singer Rupert McClendon and the only record he ever issued on the label. Bizarre. As for Westmoreland, he was last heard of in mid-60s.

But I guess all this information (from 1976 LP notes by Bruce Bastin) must now be in the booklet to whichever CD the tracks now appear on.

  Actually I got both tracks on mp3 over on the Honey site, so I didn't know any of this.  Thanks!  I googled him at the time I found them and came up with about nothing...

[mississippijohnhurt1928]

The juke really got me into the music of Larry Johnson. I think he's great. I'm listening to him a lot these days.

It also introduced me to the great, too obsecure, ROY DUNN, who is one of my favorites today.

Check the Blindman's, you'll see in the Post-War section I posted a video of Larry.

[JimNJBlues]

And while I'm here, I'll throw in a vote for Barbeque Bob's "Good Time Rounder."  I guess it's fairly typical of his faster songs, but he does this falsetto thing in the middle that I just can't get over...