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Author Topic: who was Tampa Kid?  (Read 4669 times)

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Offline cakewalk

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who was Tampa Kid?
« on: October 31, 2007, 03:00:43 PM »
hello all!

I have come across a CD with a song by Tampa Kid. Teh slide guitar work sounds like it is played on a tricone, very similar to Tampa Red but slightly different. The voice sounds a bit like Big Bill--but slightly different. The liner notes are unrewarding. any answers?

cakewalk

Offline frankie

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Re: who was Tampa Kid?
« Reply #1 on: October 31, 2007, 03:22:18 PM »
Going from memory here, but I think the Tampa Kid was Joe McCoy.

Offline dj

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Re: who was Tampa Kid?
« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2007, 03:40:39 PM »
The Fourth Edition of Blues & Gospel Records has the Tamps Kid sides as v, acc. own guitar (i.e., the Tampa Kid on vocals accompanied by his own guitar), and at the bottom of the entry states that the Kid "gives a passable imitation of Tampa Red".   

Offline Bunker Hill

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Re: who was Tampa Kid?
« Reply #3 on: November 01, 2007, 12:23:13 AM »
The first time a Tampa Kid track was reissued was in 1975 by Yazoo on their compilation Voice Of The Blues: Bottleneck Gutar Masterpieces (L1046). Of "Keep On Trying" all note writer Steve Calt could muster was:

Tampa's influence is more prounounced on the like named Tampa Kid who plays Keep On Trying in open E tuning, with capo at the fourth fret.

Offline blueshome

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Re: who was Tampa Kid?
« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2007, 04:04:56 AM »
There's little doubt that Tampa Kid was Joe McCoy, especially on hearing some of the later slide work Joe did under his own name. The touch and the vocals are a giveaway.

Offline dj

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Re: who was Tampa Kid?
« Reply #5 on: November 01, 2007, 06:26:21 AM »
Quote
There's little doubt that Tampa Kid was Joe McCoy

Johnny Parth obviously agreed with that.  The Tampa Kid sides are on DOCD 6020, Charlie & Joe McCoy Volume 2.


Offline cakewalk

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Re: who was Tampa Kid?
« Reply #6 on: November 01, 2007, 11:19:59 AM »
thanks kids, I knew I could count on you!!

cakewalk

Offline uncle bud

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Re: who was Tampa Kid?
« Reply #7 on: November 21, 2007, 11:51:50 AM »
Having just listened to the two Tampa Kid tracks, "Keep On Trying" and "Baby Please Don't Go", I would have to say that I don't think these are played by Joe McCoy at all. The vocals in particular don't sound like him at all. I agree with cakewalk that the voice sounds something like Broonzy but isn't quite him. But I don't buy that this is Joe McCoy. Judge for yourself. Since the songs are pretty obscure, I've attached a file of Keep On Trying, which Tampa Kid recorded September 1936.

[attachment deleted by admin]

Offline CF

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Re: who was Tampa Kid?
« Reply #8 on: November 21, 2007, 01:10:07 PM »
Yeah Andrew, offhand he doesn't sound like Joe to me altho' I must say Joe's chameleon style often makes him hard for me to recognize.
Stand By If You Wanna Hear It Again . . .

Offline Rivers

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Re: who was Tampa Kid?
« Reply #9 on: November 21, 2007, 02:01:29 PM »
Sounds like a white singer to me.

Tampa Kid session was Tues, 22 Sept 1936, Chicago.
Session matrices were 90878-A Keep on Trying and 90879-A Baby Please Don't Go
Released on Decca 7278

B&GR says Joe McCoy did no sessions between 1 Nov 35 (Bluebird) and 17 Dec 1940 (Okeh)

Joe did record for Decca in 1934 (w/Minnie) and 35 (as Georgia Pine Boy and Hallelujah Joe).

I'd like to know who was on either side of those Tampa Kid matrix numbers. I have no idea how to find that out.
« Last Edit: November 21, 2007, 02:21:52 PM by Rivers »

Offline uncle bud

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Re: who was Tampa Kid?
« Reply #10 on: November 21, 2007, 03:14:29 PM »
B&GR must not cross-reference with the Harlem Hamfats sessions, which began in 1936 and went on for at least a couple years after that.

As a point of comparison, one could listen to the Hamfats' "Oh Red", which I believe has Joe singing, recorded in 1936. A very different voice. The smoother voice in the Hamfats (on tunes like "Let's Get Drunk and Truck") seems to be Herb Morand, which actually bears a bit more of a resemblance to the Tampa Kid than Joe McCoy does, IMO, but Morand was a trumpet player.

Offline Rivers

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Re: who was Tampa Kid?
« Reply #11 on: November 21, 2007, 03:34:12 PM »
Ah, good one. I didn't check the accompanist index.

Harlem Hamfats was Decca, in Chicago,
14 Aug 1936 matrix ending at 90838
2 Oct 1936 matrix starting at 90912

So Tampa Kid is between these. No other adjacent sessions with Joe as accompanist.

Other news:
Red Nelson w/Charlie McCoy, 9 Sep 1936, last matrix is 90859

[edit: don't forget Decca also recorded jazz and classical so there's no guarantee I'll find something in B&GR immediately pre- or post-Kid]

Mmm... it would be really nice to have all this in a sortable database. Data mining is all the rage. Oh Lord, wouldn't that be a project?
« Last Edit: November 21, 2007, 03:50:23 PM by Rivers »

Offline Flatd7

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Re: who was Tampa Kid?
« Reply #12 on: November 21, 2007, 04:40:31 PM »
I seem to remember that this was CHARLIE McCoy not Joe? Is that possible? I know that "Keep On Trying" is on a McCoy Brothers CD.

Offline Rivers

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Re: who was Tampa Kid?
« Reply #13 on: November 21, 2007, 06:07:27 PM »
Call me crazy but the Tampa Kid I reckon is a pretty hot player. So I flipped through that slim volume B&GR scanning for Decca and matrixes from 908.. to  909... Only took an hour since the book is pretty well laid out. Here's what was going on at Decca Chicago around the time Tampa Kid recorded:

14 AugHarlem Hamfatsw/Joe McCoy g.last matrix 90838
09 SepRed Nelsonw/Charlie McCoylast matrix 90859
10 SepGeorgia Whiteunknown g.last matrix 90865
10 SepStella Johnsonw/Dorothy Scott's Rhythm Boys w/unknown g.last matrix 90869
15 SepJoe Robinsonw/Dorothy Scott's Rhythm Boys w/unknown g.last matrix 90866**
15 SepJustine Lamar w/Dorothy Scott's Rhythm Boys w/unknown g.last matrix 90867
?? SepLittle David v. acc. own p.last matrix 90871
22 SepTampa Kidv. accomp own g.90878 & 90879
29 SepJustine Lamarw/Dorothy Scott et alfirst matrix 90901
02 OctHarlem Hamfatsw/Joe McCoy g.first matrix 90912

** You would think this should be 10 Sep, see Georgia White, though sometimes Decca matrix #s are out of sequence according to B&GR

Also lurking in the vicinity, though a bit further away chronologically, were Kokomo Arnold and Peetie Wheatstraw.

I just lay this out for you to try and draw some conclusions. I'd love to know who was on 90872 to 90877, and 90880 to 90900. I don't think I missed them in B&GR so have to conclude they were off-genre.
« Last Edit: November 21, 2007, 06:34:15 PM by Rivers »

Offline Rivers

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Re: who was Tampa Kid?
« Reply #14 on: November 21, 2007, 07:44:16 PM »
You could well be right Spike. If so they do an incredible, almost supernatural, job of staying out of each other's way.

 


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