[We played in] restaurants, taverns, and gangster hangouts. Played... Italian music, German music, we played polka music... we'd play blues, too... we played wherever the dancers was - Roosevelt Scott, on the life of a bluesman in Chicago in the 1940s. From an interview with Jim O'Neal in the notes to Document 5413
Yes, Peeper is definitely played out of A position and as you noted earlier in that "Mamie" family of A tunes one can hear in Fuller, Gary Davis, Willy Trice, and others I'm no doubt forgetting.
Yes, Peeper is definitely played out of A position and as you noted earlier in that "Mamie" family of A tunes one can hear in Fuller, Gary Davis, Willy Trice, and others I'm no doubt forgetting.
Well, I think it's capoed in f# and you play it on a A position then d7 with thumb and E, my biggest problem is what he does on the first A seems to to be easy but... not really
Well, I think it's capoed in f# and you play it on a A position then d7 with thumb and E, my biggest problem is what he does on the first A seems to to be easy but... not really
Here's a youtube video of Ten O'Clock Peeper. If you can point out at which clock time on the video you have problems, perhaps we could try to help you. Fuller seems to play a "long A" form x-o-2-2-2-5, or break the chord to double-stops as in the intro x-x-x-(0)-5-3.
Question to others: Do you know about the picture on the video? I thought there were only two pictures of Fuller, and I have never seen this one before.
Cheers
Pan
« Last Edit: July 16, 2020, 12:25:24 PM by Johnm »
I've seen that pic of Fuller before, but I think it may only have popped up in the last few years. It doesn't get used much that I've seen, probably because it's a small mug from a catalog and not the greatest quality. But it sure is him, though.
I was stuck on the first notes i'm not practicing guitar for a long time in fact i'm a dble bss player so what you told was exactly what i needed to go along, for the rest of the song i've been playing pigmeat and weeping willow and it helps a lot to understand what he's doing (that kind of glissando) So it's beginning to look like music.
Hi all, Blind Boy Fuller recorded "Cat Man Blues" at a session in New York City on April 29, 1936. He backed himself out of A position in standard tuning for the song. He did two takes, and these are the lyrics to the first take. I'd appreciate help with the bent bracketed portion of the the tagline in the last verse.
Went home last night, heared a knock, I asked my wife, "What was that?" Says, I went home last night, heared a knock and I asked my wife, "What was that?" She says, "Man, don't be suspicious, that ain't nothing but a cat."
Said, I traveled this world all over, mama, taken all kind of chance Says, I traveled this world all over, mama, taken all kind of chance I ain't never come home before, seen a cat wearing a pair of pants
Said, they wouldn't call him Cat Man, if he come around in the day Wouldn't call him Cat Man, if he come around in the day But he wait 'til late at night, when he can steal my cream away
SOLO
I want that Cat Man stay away from my house, oh Lord, when I'm out I want that Cat Man stay away from my house, Lordy, when I'm out 'Cause I b'lieve he's causin' my little woman, wearing the mattress out
Lord, I walked in my front door, acting quiet as a lamb Says, I walked in my front door, acting quiet as a lamb I never raised disturbment 'til I heared my back door slam
Edited 1/18 to pick up correction from pkeane
All best, Johnm
« Last Edit: July 16, 2020, 12:26:48 PM by Johnm »
Major coincidence, I had a day off work today and was listening to a lot of Fuller trying to understand his right hand comping, including those Cat Man Blues takes. I will listen to the lyrics again tomorrow.
Maybe "I never raised disturbment" ? There is a second take (with slightly different lyrics) in which the last line sounds like "I never raised no disturbment" -- still unclear, but in take two I hear "raised", "no" (which is not in take one at all) and the "..ment" pretty clearly.
Thanks, Peter, for the line "raised disturbment", and dj, for corroboration. I should have thought to listen to the second take, always a good idea when such is available. I will make the change. All best, Johnm
« Last Edit: January 18, 2012, 08:28:13 AM by Johnm »
Rivers, Re Blind Boy Fuller's right hand work on "Cat Man Blues, Take 1", he was really working Buddy Moss's style as much as he possibly could, with lots of index finger-brushed triplets in the treble, and sparing and irregular use of the thumb in the right hand--no regular time-keeping with it, either in monotonic or alternating bass. All best, Johnm
I'd love to be able to get that sound but it sure doesn't come naturally.
Cat Man I guess is a tad easier since it's broken up with triplets, not to mention the cool double time 2 bar Blake-esque stumbling break that's in take 1 at 1 min 25 secs. What has been exercising me in general though are the driving pieces where he's flopping his hand around and playing melody over top. My appreciation of Fuller has gone up several notches lately, it's only when I started trying to play what he's actually doing on the records I realized I had a lot to learn about Fuller, both hands. Which is cool.
I do need a National at this point. I've come to appreciate that a single cone reso can sound really subtle, if you work on the touch.