I had to double check the list twice for this one, as it seemed almost certain to have been done before...
So far as I can tell, it was first recorded (and possibly written) by Jim Jackson. He is not an artist particularly well known to me- but its notable how often he seems to crop up when I do research for SOTM threads. He did early versions of Travelling Man and In the Jail house now- two of the previous SOTMs I have done.
Unusually, we have no fewer than 4 takes of the original available, listed as parts 1 to 4 on the Document recordings. It seems that parts 1 and 2 were released on one record in 1927 and then parts 3 and 4 on another, in May 1928- presumably due to the success of the first. They are all essentially the same song and accompaniment, with different lyrics. Its interesting that it had a heavier boom-changish groove than many of the later more urban versions seems to have. I also noted that Part 1 sounds in F whilst all the others sound in E. A recording speed issue or a deliberate adjustment of tuning (or capo)?
The song was so popular that Jackson churned out a further version also in 1928- this time called ?move to Louisiana? where the refrain changes to ?move to Louisiana Sugar, New Orleans going to be my home?
Charley Patton was presumably inspired by that version for his?Move to Alalbama? Charley retains the boom-chang (which is very much in his style anyway) but changes Kansas for Alabama and swaps ?baby where they don't allow you? for ?make Georgia be our home?. It was recorded in October 1928- 5 months after Jackson's 'Louisiana' version was released.
Then there's Broonzy. It seems like an archetypal Broonzy song to me.
And the wonderful MJB
I'm not so keen, personally, on the later more urban versions which became so popular- but I am sure there are some great versions which people will throw into the mix below...
So far as I can tell, it was first recorded (and possibly written) by Jim Jackson. He is not an artist particularly well known to me- but its notable how often he seems to crop up when I do research for SOTM threads. He did early versions of Travelling Man and In the Jail house now- two of the previous SOTMs I have done.
Unusually, we have no fewer than 4 takes of the original available, listed as parts 1 to 4 on the Document recordings. It seems that parts 1 and 2 were released on one record in 1927 and then parts 3 and 4 on another, in May 1928- presumably due to the success of the first. They are all essentially the same song and accompaniment, with different lyrics. Its interesting that it had a heavier boom-changish groove than many of the later more urban versions seems to have. I also noted that Part 1 sounds in F whilst all the others sound in E. A recording speed issue or a deliberate adjustment of tuning (or capo)?
The song was so popular that Jackson churned out a further version also in 1928- this time called ?move to Louisiana? where the refrain changes to ?move to Louisiana Sugar, New Orleans going to be my home?
Charley Patton was presumably inspired by that version for his?Move to Alalbama? Charley retains the boom-chang (which is very much in his style anyway) but changes Kansas for Alabama and swaps ?baby where they don't allow you? for ?make Georgia be our home?. It was recorded in October 1928- 5 months after Jackson's 'Louisiana' version was released.
Then there's Broonzy. It seems like an archetypal Broonzy song to me.
And the wonderful MJB
I'm not so keen, personally, on the later more urban versions which became so popular- but I am sure there are some great versions which people will throw into the mix below...