Hi all, Fred McMullen recorded "DeKalb Chain Gang" in 1933, with Curley Weaver backing him. Fred McMullen was playing slide in Spanish tuning and Curley Weaver accompanied him out of G position in standard tuning. Fred McMullen was a terrific slide player, one of the best, and was horribly under-recorded, with just a handful of titles. I first heard this track on the old album "Country Blues Classics, Volume 1" on Chris Strachwitz's Blues Classics label. McMullen and Weaver's duet sound is beautifully worked out, and Curley works in some tremendous long bass runs. In the second solo, the duet, in the IV chord, switches from the underlying triple, swung eighth feel the song has been in up to that point to a duple, straight eighth feel, which sounds terrifically syncopated and funky.
SOLO
Eh, liquor and a gun caused me to ache and pain Eh, liquor and a gun caused me with this achin' pain And they give me six to twenty years on DeKalb County gang
And I'll tell all you people, that ain't no place to go And I'll tell all you people, that ain't no place to go Well, they treat you cruel, dog you from morning to night
SOLO
Well, they beat me and they slashed me, .45 in my side Well, and they beat me and they slashed me, .45 in my side I got dry from hot, mama, workin' all day long
Bring the rings, chains from around my leg Take these rings and chains from around my leg But I b'lieve, be long, they's gonna kill me dead
All best, Johnm
« Last Edit: January 08, 2014, 04:34:48 PM by Johnm »
Hi all, "Man of My Own" is not really a Fred McMullen cut, it's a Ruth Willis cut, but it features Fred McMullen very prominently in an accompaniment role, joined by his sidekick, Curley Weaver. The duo's back-up is beautifully worked out, with Fred McMullen playing slide in Spanish tuning in the key of C, and Curley Weaver backing him up out of C position in standard tuning. I first heard this song on the old Yazoo anthology, "Country Blues Bottleneck Guitar Classics", and it's stuck with me all the years since. Ruth Willis does such a strong job on the vocal. I'd appreciate correction/corroboration on the bent bracketed phrase in the last verse. I can't figure out why Fred McMullen wasn't recorded more.
I went down 18th Street, didn't have on no hat Asking all the women where was my man at REFRAIN: I'm leavin' you, baby, I'm leavin' you, baby I'm leavin' you, baby, tryin' to find a man of my own
I'm gonna grab me a train, ride it 'til it stops Not gonna stay 'round here and be your stumblin' block REFRAIN: I'm leavin' you, baby, I'm leavin' you, baby I'm leavin' you, baby, tryin' to find a man of my own
Woke up this mornin', at the break of day Looked on my pillow where my man used to lay REFRAIN: So I'm leavin' you, baby, I'm leavin' you, baby I'm leavin' you, baby, tryin' to find a man of my own
SOLO
My suitcase is packed, trunk's already home So it won't be long 'fore your mama be gone REFRAIN: So I'm leavin' you, baby, I'm leavin' you, baby I'm leavin' you, baby, tryin' to find a man of my own
You caused my heart to weep, you caused it to moan So watch this mean old train I'm on REFRAIN: So I'm leavin' you, baby, I'm leavin' you, baby I'm leavin' you, baby, tryin' to find a man of my own
Edited 1/21 to pick up corrections from Gumbo and banjochris
All best, Johnm
« Last Edit: July 09, 2020, 06:57:00 AM by Johnm »
Thanks very much for the help, Gumbo and Chris. I will get the "on" in the first verse and the fix in the second line of the last verse. That last verse, especially, had me stumped forever. Thanks! All best, Johnm
Hi all, Fred McMullen chose to play "Wait And Listen" with a slide in Spanish, but in the key of the V chord, so that his tonic chord lives at a seventh fret barre with his slide. This is one of the most disorienting tunes to suss out via sound that I know of. In his IV chord, G, he keeps walking into the third of the chord in the bass on the fifth string, as you would do in Vestapol, but unlike in Vestapol, the IV chord's root is the open fifth string--talk about confusing! Fred McMullen's lyrics don't always make the most (or any) sense, and I think he may have been challenged to sing and play at the same time--understandably so, given his guitar part. Oh well, here it is:
Well, you can wait and listen, hear me, when I cry, now don't you hear me talkin', pretty mam' Well, you can wait and listen, hear me when I cry When you hear me cryin', know that somethin'' all wrong
Ooooo, wait and listen, hear them, when he make, now don't you hear me talkin', pretty mam' Well, you can wait and listen, get him, when he may Well, it's true-ooo, baby, something church's tone
Well, he dug her grave with a long-handled silver spade, now don't you hear me talkin', pretty mam' Well, he dug her grave with a long-handled silver spade Well, he let her-ooo down with a great long leather line
SOLO (Spoken: Play it)
Well, I followed my baby, to the buryin' ground, now don't you hear me talkin', pretty mam' Well, I followed my baby, to the buryin' ground What make it sad-eee, baby, had done let 'er down
Mmmm, smoke like lightnin', church bell shine like gold, now don't you hear me cryin', ooooo Smoke like lightnin', church bell shine like gold Well, it was such and I cry, mama, see my baby layin' on the bed
OUTRO
All best, Johnm
« Last Edit: July 09, 2020, 06:58:13 AM by Johnm »
Hi all, I've been very happy to discover some more cuts featuring Fred McMullen and Curley Weaver that I wasn't aware of previously. "Poor Stranger Blues" finds the duo employing the same division of labor that they had used on "DeKalb Chain Gang", with Fred McMullen playing slide in Spanish tuning and Curley Weaver supplying absolutely stellar backing out of G position in standard tuning. This is simply wonderful duet playing; the way the two respond to each other instrumentally, play with the time and control the duration of their notes all combine for a sound that is sparkling in its finish. And if that's not enough, they sing great together, with Curley's vocal harmony leaning on the VI note of the scale over both the I and IV chords--it's a great sound. Is this the first recording of the song that became "I'm A Stranger Here"? It seems likely. I'm not at all sure I have the opening line of the second verse right and would appreciate correction/corroboration. Here is the track:
INTRO
And I'm a stranger here, just passin' through your town And I'm a stranger here, just passin' through your town And just because that I'm a stranger, everybody want to throw me down
Even a badmouth sister in a stranger's land Even a badmouth sister in a stranger's land And that is reason why they calls me a strangerman
And my Mama told me, Daddy told me, too And my Mama told me, Daddy told me, too "And if you foolin' with these strangers, they be callin' you a stranger, too."
And then I'm goin' back home, try to be a man And I'm goin' back home and try to be a man And that is reason why that won't be no stranger there
SOLO
You come here, mama, give me your right hand You come here, mama, give me your right hand And I'll be dogged and treated like a stranger here
All best, Johnm
« Last Edit: July 09, 2020, 06:59:11 AM by Johnm »
Hi all, Fred McMullen is a player I keep forgetting about, and I shouldn't, because he is my favorite slide player out of Georgia. "I Just Can't Stand It" is kind of a companion piece to "Man of My Own", for it utilizes the same personnel as that stellar track: Fred McMullen on slide guitar in Spanish (and vocal, this time), Curley Weaver playing second guitar out of C position in standard tuning and Ruth Willis. The whole piece is so niftily done, and Fred McMullen's playing is so exciting and varied, and always with a terrific tone--wow! The verses alternate between Fred's and Ruth's vocals. I'd appreciate help with any bent bracketed words or phrases. Here is "I Just Can't Stand It":
INTRO
I likes your lovin', likes your jive, look-a here, mama, tell me the reason why REFRAIN: Lord, I just can't stand it, Lord, I just can't stand it Lord, I just can't stand it, can't stand to do that way
Look here, papa, don't get rough, I likes your lovin' 'cause you struts your stuff REFRAIN: Baby, I just can't stand it, I just can't stand it Just can't stand it, can't stand to do that way
Look-a here, mama, don't get rough, comes down to lovin', babe, I got you some REFRAIN: Lord, I just can't stand it, Lord, I just can't stand it Lord, I just can't stand it, can't stand to do that way
Look here, baby, don't get scared, lovin' I got'll make you talk out of your head REFRAIN: Baby, I just can't stand it, I just can't stand it Just can't stand it, can't stand to do that way
Now you count from your fingers, back to your thumbs, you comes down to lovin', babe, it can't be done REFRAIN: Oh, I just can't stand it, oh, I just can't stand it I just can't stand it, can't stand to do that way
When you wear your clothes, you may wear them green, but way I use my lovin', it makes me mean REFRAIN: Baby, I just can't stand it, just can't stand it Just can't stand it, can't stand to do that way
SOLO
Edited 9/28 to pick up correction from banjochris
All best, Johnm
« Last Edit: September 28, 2020, 04:51:26 PM by Johnm »
1.1 I wonder if it's "jaw" or "jive," both meaning roughly the same thing, and he misspeaks a bit. I suspect "jive" is what was intended, to rhyme with "why"
Hi all, I believe the last title assigned to Fred McMullen is "Rolling Mama", which is another duet with Curley Weaver but with a different playing position for Curley than on the other Fred McMullen cuts: here Fred continues to play slide out of Spanish tuning, which Curley backs him out of A position in standard tuning, a playing position I don't recall him using very much when seconding other Atlanta guitarists. I find Fred McMullen's vocal here really hard to hear and decipher, and I halfway believe he messed up some of his lyrics, especially his last verse, the first line of which is almost a spoonerism. I'd very much appreciate help with any bent bracketed places. Instrumentally, both guitarists were impeccable, as was usual for them. Here is "Rolling Mama":
INTRO SOLO
I used to love a long tall woman, she learned me how to roll I used to love a long tall woman, learned me how to roll And I have a good home, baby, 'til the women next door broke up my [game]
Oooo, walkin' down in Texas, baby, nothing down there harm a man like me When you're walkin' down in Texas, baby, nothing down there harm a man like me And a little old woman like you, baby, starts your [ ], quick as [ ]
Mmmmmmmmmmmm Mmmmmmmmmmmm And I swear I can't carr' no towns, baby, you, love with me now
SOLO
And it's, [break] me some blue days, and you'll be [dead] It make me blue someday, two days, Lord But if I could do any better, mama, Lord, I would sing you, same old song
Edited 9/29 to pick up correction from harry
All best, Johnm
« Last Edit: September 29, 2020, 05:44:56 PM by Johnm »
Thanks for the suggestions, Harry. I'm letting "I just Can't Stand It" stay as is. I like the 4.3 correction in "Rolling Mama", and have made the change, thanks. 2.3 we need to keep listening.