Topic: Little Laura Blues

[blueshome]

Another test confection I've demoed for an upcoming recording session. S.J.Estes' "Little Laura". 
1st guitar in Spanish, 2nd in standard.
Recorded with Garage Band via an AKG1000 through my son's Apogee Duet preamp thingee. Shame the mp3ing squashes so much out.

[Johnm]

Hi Phil,
What a great tune to do, and I don't know that I've ever heard anyone else do it, apart from Sleepy John, though I remember his version was based on an earlier song.  Kudos on the original guitar arrangement.  If you pitch it a bit higher, 1/2 or 1 step, your vocal will probably brighten up and project a bit more.  I never noticed before how much the melody is like that of Alec Johnson's "Sundown Blues".  Good work.
all best,
Johnm

[blueshome]

Thanks for the advice John. I've played this off and on for about 10 years and taught myself it in Spanish as I thought thats how Sleepy John played it. There's a Sonny Boy Williamson song recorded a bit earlier it may be based on but I can't recall the title. I do feel SBW was heavily influenced by Sleepy John and Hammie Nixon.

[frankie]

nice choice of a tune, Phil.  I agree with John about pitching the tune higher...  maybe even higher than A.  This is a great tune!

Don't a lot of the SBW sides have some of the same personnel as the SJE sides (Yank and Hammie - maybe RL McCoy, too?).  At times, listening to SBW, I'd forget who exactly I was listening to...   love that stuff. 

[blueshome]

Here we go! In for a penny in for a pound, up to Bb.

BTW 1st guitar is 1912 Bruno, 2nd c.1910 Sterling parlour. Not much older than me.......
Little bit of compression & reverb on the vox/gtr1 track.

[Parlor Picker]

Given the Memphis connection, could this song be about Little Laura Dukes? I'm sure we'll never know.

That was a good tip, repitching the vocal.

[uncle bud]

I agree, sounds better at Bb, and I like the guitar pitched there too! I'll also pile on and say great pick on the tune.

[Bunker Hill]

Given the Memphis connection, could this song be about Little Laura Dukes? I'm sure we'll never know.

PP, fwiw in 1964 at the Fairfield Halls Francis Smith asked Estes to give him the background to some of his songs, of Little Laura he explained she was a very young girl named Laura Duberry and the wife of a man who ran a whiskey house in the dry county of Madison. (Blues Unlimited 18, Jan 1965 p.5)

Make of it what you will.

[eagle rockin daddy]

Really nice Phil, great groove with the guitar, and really good vocals.

Mike

[Parlor Picker]

Bunker Hill: thanks for the enlightenment. We can always rely on you! Thinking about it, "Duberry" and "Dukes" aren't that far apart...

[Bunker Hill]

Bunker Hill: thanks for the enlightenment. We can always rely on you! Thinking about it, "Duberry" and "Dukes" aren't that far apart...

The same thought came to me as I typed it but didn't want to wander into my own world of speculation.

Elsewhere in a Robert Nighthawk discussion I reproduced part of Robert Springer's interview with her. I'll dig out that issue of Blues Unlimited and see if she had anything to say about Estes!

[Stefan Wirz]

Little Laura Dukes discography now online !