Topic: Vampire Women-Spark Plug Smith

[a2tom]

What can anyone tell me about the tune Vampire Women or the artist Spark Plug Smith?  It's really grabbed my attention, may even try to learn it.

tom

[GhostRider]

Hi:

Yeah, neat tune. The guy sounds caucasian.

Jorma Kaukanen (sp?) does a nice cover of this on his first (?) solo album.

Alex

[dj]

Spark Plug Smith seems to be a bit of a mystery.  The Document website lists him as "Born in Carolinas", but Bruce Bastin's Red River Blues, which is the definitive authority on East Coast blues, doesn't mention him (at least he's not in the index).  From the Roots & Blues review of his Document CD: "David Evans proposes that Spark Plug Smith was maybe just a crooner, performing in a simple direct manner with rudimentary guitar playing. A listen to You Put That Thing On Me, In A Shanty In Old Shanty Town, and Mama's Doughnut will convince you of this."  Dai Thomas, at /www.earlyblues.com/blues_singers.htm, lists Spark Plug Smith as playing a "Martin 2-17", implying that either a picture of Smith or some biographical data exists somewhere.  If the cover of the Document CD is a picture of Spark Plug Smith and not Tallahassee Tight, then he definitely was black.  All of Spark Plug Smith's recordings were made over a 3 day period, January 5, 6, & 7 1933 in New York City.

[a2tom]

Thanks for the info.  Didn't know about that Document CD.  I haven't heard most of his songs, apparently, but Vampire Women is certainly "crooning" - the guitar part isn't quite what I'd call rudimentary, however.  It isn't outrageously comlicated, but has some seemingly intricate little bass and arpeggio picking.  May simplify down on a closer listen, though.  Effective in the tune, at any rate.

tom

[a2tom]

Spent a few minutes with this last night.? It is sort of odd, in that the chordal stucture drifts through numerous different forms.? The main form, manifest in the intro and points later, is a great example of the circle of 5ths concept (I haven't counted measures, just the sequence):
C - E7 - A7 - D7 - G(7) - C

When he starts singing he uses:
C - G - C - G

Later he sings over:
G -D7 -G (least certain of this part, need to listen again, but he definitely is mostly on the G - at one point he hints at walking back up to the C, only to stay on the G, neat sound).

Then finally there are sections that use:
C - C7 - F - Ab - C


I'd believe the guy is from the east coast (Carolinas?) - definite marks of the Piedmont style.? It also does tend to follow that "crooning" concept - he seems to be singing and doing whatever he needs to on guitar to play along, more than the other way around.? Lastly, the guitar part isn't horribly complicated, but I wouldn't call it easy either - he gets pretty funky with the timing and patterns he picks over some of those chords changes.

tom