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Black water risin', Southern people can't make no time. And I can't get no hearin' from that Memphis gal of mine - Blind Lemon Jefferson, Rising High Water Blues

Author Topic: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics  (Read 2066 times)

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Offline Johnm

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Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« on: December 20, 2013, 09:14:59 PM »
Hi all,
Champion Jack Dupree did a really nice version of "Stack-O-Lee" on an album called "Blues From the Gutter".  He's joined on the track by a bass player, drummer and tenor saxophonist (no personnel for the recording date was shown at youtube).  Jack accompanied himself out of Ab here, and he employs a really pretty 8-bar chord progression, like so:

   |    Ab    |    C7/G    |    Db    |    Bdim7|

   |   Ab/C  |    Eb7      |    Ab    |     Eb     |

Jack's version of the fracas between Staggerlee and Billy has some different twists, among them, the Stetson hat starting out as Billy's, rather than Staggerlee's.  The last verse gives the rendition a real New Orleans feel.  Though the song is titled "Stack-O-Lee" on the album, Jack pronounces it "Staggerlee" in his vocal, so I've chosen to spell it as he pronounced it.



Staggerlee and Billy Lyons, they was gamblin' in the dark
Staggerlee told Billy, "Billy Lyons, let's take a walk."

Staggerlee won Billy Lyons' money, and he took Billy Lyons' Stetson hat
Billy Lyons said, "Staggerlee, Lord, why'd you do me like that?"

Now Billy Lyons begged Staggerlee, said, "Please give me back my hat.
'Cause you know you won my money, please don't take my hat."

Now Billy Lyons said to Staggerlee, said, "Please, please don't take my life.
I got two little children and a poor little homeless wife."

SAXOPHONE SOLO

Billy Lyons said to Staggerlee, "Would you do your friend like that?
Saying, you won all my money, and you took my Stetson hat."

Staggerlee shot Billy Lyons, and he fell down on his knees
He said, "Lawd, have mercy, Lawd, have mercy, if you please."

Staggerlee run to the corner, and he look up and down
Said, "I'd rather see you, Billy, six feet in the ground."

Now the people started to weepin', and some of them begin to moan
Everybody was worried about poor Billy Lyons was gone

Tee-nah, tee-nah-nah, tee-nah-nah-nee-nah
Tee-nah-nah-nah, tee-nah-nee-nah-nee-nah

"Say, I want Louis Armstrong and his band to play the blues, after they lay my body down.
I want ten thousand women to be at my buryin' ground."

All best,
Johnm

« Last Edit: February 06, 2014, 03:40:02 PM by Johnm »

Offline Pan

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree-"Stack-O-Lee"
« Reply #1 on: December 21, 2013, 04:31:05 AM »
That's a fine version of "Stack-O-Lee", from a great album!

http://www.allmusic.com/album/blues-from-the-gutter-mw0000087081

Thanks for your transcription, John!

Cheers

Pan

Offline dj

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree-"Stack-O-Lee"
« Reply #2 on: December 21, 2013, 04:33:32 AM »
Quote
no personnel for the recording date was shown at youtube

The other musicians are Pete Brown, saxophone; Ennis Lowery, guitar; Wendell Marshall, bass; Willie Jones, drums.  All the songs on the LP were recorded in New York City on February 4 1958.

Offline jphauser

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree-"Stack-O-Lee"
« Reply #3 on: December 21, 2013, 09:30:03 AM »
That's a fine version of "Stack-O-Lee", from a great album!

http://www.allmusic.com/album/blues-from-the-gutter-mw0000087081
Pan

It's one of my favorite albums.  It also includes a song titled "Frankie and Johnny," but Champion Jack's lyrics don't tell the story of Frankie shooting Johnny after he cheats on her.  Instead, it's the story of another song ("Betty and Dupree") in which Dupree (Johnny) gets Betty (Frankie) a diamond ring by shooting the jewelry man.   "Frankie and Johnny" directly precedes "Stack-O-Lee" on the album and Champion Jack sort of links the two songs together by including a verse of Tee nah, tee-nah-nah near the beginning of "Frankie and Johnny" and towards the end of "Stack-O-Lee."   Ma Rainey's version of "Stack-O-Lee also creates a link between the two songs, but she does it by singing "Stack-O-Lee" to the tune of "Frankie and Johnny." 
« Last Edit: December 21, 2013, 12:09:59 PM by jphauser2000 »

Offline Johnm

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #4 on: February 06, 2014, 03:50:24 PM »
Hi all,
Here is Champion Jack Dupree's version of "Frankie & Johnny" that Jim Hauser cited in the last previous post in this thread.  As he noted, it conflates the names Frankie and Johnny with the story of Betty and Dupree.  It appeared on the same album as Champion Jack's version of "Stack-O-Lee", and the ensemble is the same.  Here is a video of the performance, which is played in F:



Well, Frankie, Frankie told Johnny, "Lord, I want a diamond ring."
Oh, Johnny told Frankie, "I'll get you most anything."

Oh, Johnny went down to the German, on Rampart and Dumaine
He walked in the store, the German had a diamond in his hand

Tee-nah, tee-nah-nah, tee-nah, nah-nee-nah
Tee-nah-nah-nah-nah, tee-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah

Oh, Johnny, Johnny shot the German, and he shot him through the head
He ran out the door and he fell on the sidewalk dead

When Frankie, Frankie got the news that the German was dead
She come runnin', hollerin', Lord, talkin' all out her head

Well, Johnny started to runnnin', Lord, and he didn't know where to go
They found Johnny hidin' in the grocery store next door

Well, the policemen hand-cuffed and beat him, and they took Johnny out of sight
He said, "That's all right, Frankie, everything gonna be all right."

SAX SOLO X 2 (Spoken: Oh yeah!)

Tee-nah, tee-nah-nee-nah, tee-nah-nah, nah-nee-nah
Tee-nah-nah-nah-nah, tee-nah-nee-nah-nee-nah

All best,
Johnm


Offline Blues Vintage

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #5 on: August 27, 2020, 04:30:41 PM »
Junker Blues

The blueprint for "The Fat Man" (Fats Domino) and "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" (Lloyd Price).
The song was written sometime in the 1920s by Willie Hall, known as "Drive 'em Down" Hall. Hall never recorded nor received credit for the song.
Dupree (a light drinker and did not use other drugs) recorded the song also on the classic LP "Blues From The Gutter".

Key of F

Champion Jack Dupree - Vocals, Piano
Wilson Swain or Ransom Knowling -  Bass

Recorded January 28, 1941 in Chicago, IL





They call they call me a junker
'Cause I'm loaded all the time
I don’t use no reefers I’ll be knocked out with that Anjou wine

Six months six months ain’t no sentence
And one year ain’t no time
They got boys in penitentiary doin’ from nine to ninety-nine

I was standin’ I was standin’ on the corner
With my reefers in my hand
Up stepped the sergeant took my reefers out my hand

My brother my brother used the needle
And my sister sniffed cocaine
I don’t use no junk I’m the nicest boy you ever seen

My mother my mother she told me
And my father told me too
That that junk is a bad habit why don’t you leave it too

My sister she even told me
And my grandma told me too
That usin’ junk partner was gon’ be the death of you
« Last Edit: August 31, 2020, 02:57:37 PM by harry »

Offline Johnm

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #6 on: August 28, 2020, 02:47:14 PM »
Thanks for posting that, Harry, that's a great tune!

I think the missing variety of wine in the first verse is Anjou wine

I think the last word in the first line of the second verse is "sentence", with a very mumbly pronunciation. This is based on many other singers singing the same verse with the word "sentence" in that place in the phrase. In the fourth verse, I think his sister "sniffed" cocaine, once again with a lazy pronunciation.

All best,
Johnm

Offline Blues Vintage

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #7 on: August 28, 2020, 05:20:54 PM »
Thanks John.

Offline Johnm

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #8 on: August 30, 2020, 02:24:19 PM »
Hi Harry,
When I went to post "Junkers Blues" in Weeniepedia, I heard a couple of more things:

Third line of the third verse:
   UP STEPPED the sergeant

Last line of the last verse:
   That using' junk WAS FINALLY gon' be the death of you

Offline Blues Vintage

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #9 on: August 30, 2020, 02:51:32 PM »
Thanks John, but I keep the original last line of the last verse.

Offline Johnm

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #10 on: August 30, 2020, 04:21:54 PM »
Harry,
I did the word order wrong, it should have been
  That usin' junk FINALLY WAS gon' be the death or you.

"Usin' junk find out what" in the transcription is some pretty tortured syntax.

Offline Blues Vintage

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #11 on: August 31, 2020, 07:47:19 AM »
OK, makes sense. I made that change.

Offline David Kaatz

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #12 on: August 31, 2020, 11:49:15 AM »
I don't hear finally at all in that last line, last verse. To me it sounds more like
That usin' junk partner was gon' be the death of you.

I think there is an implied comma preceding and following "partner", so:
That usin' junk, partner, was gon' be the death of you

Offline Johnm

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #13 on: August 31, 2020, 12:50:28 PM »
Good on you, Dave, that is certainly right! I will make the change in the version in Weeniepedia.

Offline Blues Vintage

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #14 on: August 31, 2020, 03:00:25 PM »
Thanks Dave, you should participate more often. I've made the change.

Offline David Kaatz

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #15 on: August 31, 2020, 09:21:18 PM »
Thanks for the kind words, Harry. I would like to, but I find my timing is well behind other master listeners, who usually catch hard to hear stuff.
Glad to help.
Dave

Offline Blues Vintage

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #16 on: October 07, 2020, 09:53:42 AM »
Hurry Down Sunshine

Champion Jack Dupree – Vocals, Piano
prob. Jesse Ellery – Guitar
prob. Wilson Swain – Bass

Chicago, Illinois
November 27, 1941

Key of G





Well I been to Lou’siana down to the Gulf of Mexico
Well I been to Lou’siana down to the Gulf of Mexico
Well I buy wine and women most everywhere that I go

My black woman said she loved me but I believe she told a lie
My black woman said she loved me but I believe she told a lie
When my heart get to achin' and then I sit right down and cry

It's so cold in Chicago ‘til the mockingbird can't sing
It's so cold in Chicago ‘til the mockingbird can't sing
I say hurry down sunshine see what tomorrow bring

« Last Edit: October 08, 2020, 03:12:24 PM by harry »

Offline Johnm

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #17 on: October 07, 2020, 12:15:31 PM »
Hi Harry,
It turns out the video you posted won't show in the U.S. but I believe this one will:



All best,
Johnm

Offline Blues Vintage

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #18 on: October 08, 2020, 11:53:00 AM »
Heavy Heart Blues

Champion Jack Dupree – Vocals, Piano
prob. Jesse Ellery – Guitar
prob. Wilson Swain – Bass

Chicago, Illinois
November 27, 1941

Key of G





I lay my cards my cards on the table
But you won’t give me a break
That’s alright mama someday you’ll poor heart will ache

Here’s another another thing mama
Well I ain’t nobody’s fool
Cause I’m a hard working man I ain’t nobody’s tool

Cause you stay you stay away all the summer
And you don’t come home in the fall
It’s too late now mama someone else is in your stall

Then I look babe I look out my window
And I see you on the street
The load your heart be carryin’ be too heavy for your feet
« Last Edit: October 11, 2020, 05:24:23 PM by harry »

Offline waxwing

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #19 on: October 08, 2020, 12:51:45 PM »
Hi harry,

In Hurry Down Sunshine, 1.1 & 1.2:

Well I been to Lou’siana and DOWN to the Gulf of Mexico
Well I been to Lou’siana and DOWN to the Gulf of Mexico

The phrase "down to the Gulf of Mexico" is ubiquitous in old blues, so that's what I would listen for first to rule out.

Wax
"People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it."
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Offline Blues Vintage

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #20 on: October 08, 2020, 03:15:12 PM »
Thanks Wax.

Offline Johnm

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Re: Champion Jack Dupree Lyrics
« Reply #21 on: October 11, 2020, 01:23:25 PM »
Thanks for posting that "Heavy Heart Blues", Harry. That tagline on the last verse is beautiful writing.
All best,
Johnm

 


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