The piano may do for lovesick girls who lace themselves to skeletons, and lunch on chalk, pickles, and slate pencils. But give me the banjo... When you want genuine music - music that will come right home to you like a bad quarter, suffuse your system like strychnine whiskey . . . ramify your whole constitution like the measles, and break out on your hide like the pin-feather pimples on a picked goose - when you want all this, just smash your piano, and invoke the glory-beaming banjo! - Mark Twain, Early Tales and Sketches, Vol 2 (1864-65)
Lovely tune, used to do it with a band, Rent Party Blues is in a similar vein.
Hodges recorded it 28 March 1938, under his own name and I'm don't think Ellington did it, certainly not pre-war and of course there is the famous one at the same Newport concert as Dim & Crescendo.
Can you post a track of the Merline Johnson thing.. oh and what date is that??
Personally don't know either number but on points of information, Jeep's Blues by Hodges was recorded March 28, 1938 for Vocalion, followed by Merline Johnson and her Separation Blues for Columbia on July 7th 1938 (BUT NEVER RELEASED until that CD). Al Cooper and his Savoy Sultans recorded their version of Jeep's blues for Decca on July 28 1938. August 24, 1938 Hodges recorded a "follow-up", The Jeep Is Jumpin'.
Holy mackrel, BH you are getting into jazz and one up to you (or even up yours' ) for getting Al Cooper I forgot all about that.. odd band sort of swung but it didn't!!
I have one or two relevant books to which I can refer when the need arises. Sometimes a much quicker method than trawling through a list of umpteen possible answers (or not) via google.
Glad you have some educational material there, BH.
Ummm Cheapfeet, posting things... omg, ummm... errrrr... where do we start Surely there are some basic instructions on the site somewhere... aren't there Have you looked........ yet?
Round about May 37 Hodges started taking most of Ellingtons band in the studio under his own name (and even with Ellington on piano for several numbers!) they recorded lots of stuff, the sessions finished July 41.
They did so many titles they seemed to run our of titles as amongst some brilliant stiff we have the fogotten ones like... Krum Elbow Blues, Kitchen Mechanic's Day, Empty Ballroom Blues, Dance of the Goon..... etc
As I said before, Jeeps Blues was 28.3.38 and is see The Jeep is Jumpin was 24.8.38