Hi all,
For this month?s song of the moment I chose the old ragtime tune "Take Me Back, Babe/Beggin? Back?. The song was originally composed by T. Barrett McMahon in 1898. A sheet music version with lyrics can be seen here. The chorus melody resembles the one played by cb musicians, but the lyrics (thankfully) differ quite a bit.
https://www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=10&ved=0ahUKEwjovNrSk5zXAhVlJpoKHRlTD84QFghHMAk&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdigitalcommons.library.umaine.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D5051%26context%3Dmmb-vp&usg=AOvVaw38xPcA9OKY-bDmKl4rKedf
The first recorded version of the tune that I?m aware of was done by Blind Lemon Jefferson in August 1926, as ?Beggin? Back?. Lemon?s lyrics are quite different, and he adds long spoken narratives. The lyrics can be seen at this Weeniepedia page:
http://weeniecampbell.com/wiki/index.php?title=Beggin%27_Back
In 1927 Henry Thomas recorded ?Bob McKinney?, a song which incorporates several well known tunes like ?The Bully of the Town? and ?Make Me a Pallet on the Floor?, along with ?Take Me Back?.
The lyrics can be seen here:
http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=1232.0
In June 1928 Thomas recorded ?Bulldoze Blues?, where he again cited ?Take me Back?.
In August 1928 Frank Stokes recorded ?Take Me Back? with Dan Sane on 2nd guitar. Stokes plays out of C position, pitched at around D, and what is striking, is his occasional habit of playing the IV or F chord leaving the 2nd string open, a sound you don?t hear often.
We must wait until 1969, to hear Mance Lipscomb doing the song live, reckoning that the song is ?about 60 years old?.
Lightnin? Hopkins did the song several times, here are two solo versions, and one with a rhythm section.
Here?s a version by Corey Harris from his 1997 album ?Fish Ain't Biting?:
You can hear Frankie Basile?s version from 2004 here:
http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=401.msg2636#msg2636
Johnson, Miller & Dermody did a great trio version in 2007.
And finally here?s a young man I recently had the pleasure to share the stage with in Berlin. Carl ?Buffalo? Nichols mostly does his own folk/jazz/singer-songwriter stuff, along with his partner Johanna Rose, but I?m pleased to see him with some more traditional material as well.
There are some fairly big gaps in this song's recorded history, so if you have additional information or versions, please let us know!
Cheers
Pan
Edited to add: I've made a YouTube playlist of the tunes in this thread. You'll find it here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNEJV1lNKyyWwis80VtST1kY-48zO3zHn&disable_polymer=true
For this month?s song of the moment I chose the old ragtime tune "Take Me Back, Babe/Beggin? Back?. The song was originally composed by T. Barrett McMahon in 1898. A sheet music version with lyrics can be seen here. The chorus melody resembles the one played by cb musicians, but the lyrics (thankfully) differ quite a bit.
https://www.google.de/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=10&ved=0ahUKEwjovNrSk5zXAhVlJpoKHRlTD84QFghHMAk&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdigitalcommons.library.umaine.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D5051%26context%3Dmmb-vp&usg=AOvVaw38xPcA9OKY-bDmKl4rKedf
The first recorded version of the tune that I?m aware of was done by Blind Lemon Jefferson in August 1926, as ?Beggin? Back?. Lemon?s lyrics are quite different, and he adds long spoken narratives. The lyrics can be seen at this Weeniepedia page:
http://weeniecampbell.com/wiki/index.php?title=Beggin%27_Back
In 1927 Henry Thomas recorded ?Bob McKinney?, a song which incorporates several well known tunes like ?The Bully of the Town? and ?Make Me a Pallet on the Floor?, along with ?Take Me Back?.
The lyrics can be seen here:
http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=1232.0
In June 1928 Thomas recorded ?Bulldoze Blues?, where he again cited ?Take me Back?.
In August 1928 Frank Stokes recorded ?Take Me Back? with Dan Sane on 2nd guitar. Stokes plays out of C position, pitched at around D, and what is striking, is his occasional habit of playing the IV or F chord leaving the 2nd string open, a sound you don?t hear often.
We must wait until 1969, to hear Mance Lipscomb doing the song live, reckoning that the song is ?about 60 years old?.
Lightnin? Hopkins did the song several times, here are two solo versions, and one with a rhythm section.
Here?s a version by Corey Harris from his 1997 album ?Fish Ain't Biting?:
You can hear Frankie Basile?s version from 2004 here:
http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=401.msg2636#msg2636
Johnson, Miller & Dermody did a great trio version in 2007.
And finally here?s a young man I recently had the pleasure to share the stage with in Berlin. Carl ?Buffalo? Nichols mostly does his own folk/jazz/singer-songwriter stuff, along with his partner Johanna Rose, but I?m pleased to see him with some more traditional material as well.
There are some fairly big gaps in this song's recorded history, so if you have additional information or versions, please let us know!
Cheers
Pan
Edited to add: I've made a YouTube playlist of the tunes in this thread. You'll find it here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNEJV1lNKyyWwis80VtST1kY-48zO3zHn&disable_polymer=true