Hi all,
Here is another prime example of a player employing thumb leads all over the guitar--Clifford Gibson accompanying Sluefoot Joe (Barefoot Bill) on "House Top Blues".  Whew, what spectacular playing!



All best,
Johnm

Hi all,
I've been working on an arrangement of (In The Evening) "When The Sun Goes Down" and was surprised to find that it had never been transcribed here.  It is a classic, and deservedly so.  It is so much harder to compose a blues with this kind of staying power than you might think, and Leroy Carr composed more than his fair share, often working with a woman friend who co-wrote with him.  What a soulful and beautiful singer he was!  Listening to his and Scrapper's original recording of the song, at https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=11988.msg106309#msg106309 , where Gordon had selected it for a Song of the Month a while ago, I was surprised to find how up-tempo Leroy and Scrapper took it, for so many of the covers of it have been quite slow.  In any event, here are Leroy's lyrics.

INTRO

In the evening, in the evening, mama, when the sun goes down
In the evening, baby, when the sun goes down
Well, ain't it lonesome, ain't it lonesome, babe, when your lover's not around, when the sun goes down

Last night, I laid a-sleeping, I was thinking to myself
Last night I laid a-sleeping, I was thinking to myself
Well, wondering and thinking why the one that you love, will mistreat you for someone else, when the sun goes down

The sun rises in the East, and it sets up in the West
The sun rises in the East, mama, and it sets in the West
Well, it's hard to tell, hard to tell, which one will treat you the best, when the sun goes down

Hey-ey-ey-ah, hee-hoo-eee
Hey-ey-ey-ah, hee-hoo-oh
Hey-ey-ey-hi, hoo-oo-ee

Goodbye old sweethearts and pals, yes, I'm going away
But I may be back to see you again, some old rainy day
Well, in the evening, in the evening, babe, when the sun goes down, when the sun goes down

OUTRO

All best,
Johnm

Hi all,
The Carolina Buddies recorded "The Story That The Crow Told Me" at their first session, in New York on March 25, 1930.  The band's personnel for that session had Walter Smith handling the vocal, Posey Rorer the fiddle, Buster Carter the banjo, Lewis McDaniels the guitar, and "unknown" the crow special effect.  Here is the song:



FIDDLE SOLO

Now if you will listen, I'll sing you a song
It's awful funny but it won't last long
All about a crow in a hickory tree
One little story that a crow told me

REFRAIN:  Caw, caw, One little story that a crow told me
Caw, caw, in a hickory tree

FIDDLE SOLO

My gal taken sick, well, the other day
The doctor said she's gonna pass away
I got her a corset at the dry goods store
She's better shape now than she was before

REFRAIN:  Caw, caw, One little story that a crow told me
Caw, caw, in a hickory tree

FIDDLE SOLO

I bought myself a suit of union underwear
To keep me from the cold and chilly air
I wore it six months without a change of ration
And I couldn't get it off 'cause I lost the combination

REFRAIN:  Caw, caw, One little story that a crow told me
Caw, caw, in a hickory tree

FIDDLE SOLO

I had a cow that I dressed in silk
She fell down and sprained her milk
My wife went to milk, for she thought it was a cinch
To milk that cow with a monkey wrench

REFRAIN:  Caw, caw, One little story that a crow told me
Caw, caw, in a hickory tree

FIDDLE SOLO

On a cold winter night, well, I thought I'd breeze
The old white cow, she froze her knee
Sneezed so hard that she caught the croup
Her tail got stiff and she couldn't stoop

REFRAIN:  Caw, caw, One little story that a crow told me
Caw, caw, in a hickory tree

FIDDLE SOLO

Throw back and hook, and give back a line
The fish won't bite in the wintertime
Stood on the ice 'til my feet got cold
Watching the crawfish dig him a hole

REFRAIN:  Caw, caw, One little story that a crow told me
Caw, caw, in a hickory tree

FIDDLE SOLO X 2

All best,
Johnm

Hi all,
We've had no responses for several days on the puzzler on Carolina Slim's "Worrying Blues", so I'll post the answers.  Here goes:

For Carolina Slim's "Worrying Blues":
   * His playing position was A position in Dropped-D tuning, as Chris first noted.  You can really hear that low root on the IV chord when he first goes to his D chord.
   * He fretted the long ascending/descending run from :11--:16 as follows:  On the + of beat four, he hits a bent fifth fret of the third string.  On beat one he plays a triplet moving up the second string from the third fret to the fourth fret to the fifth fret.  On beat two, he plays a triplet going from the third fret of the first string to the fifth fret of the second string to the third fret of the second string.  On beat three, he plays another triplet, going from the first fret of the second string to the second fret of the third string to the open third string.  On beat four, he plays a triplet descending the fourth string chromatically, second fret, first fret, open.  On beat five, he hits the bent third fret of the fifth string twice, on 6 +.  And on beat six, he concludes the run with a triplet, hitting the bent third fret of the fifth string and then hitting the second fret of the third string twice, finally resolving into the open fifth string on the downbeat of the next measure.  The length of this run and it's circuitous quality are very Lightninesque.
   * From :19--:21, Carolina Slim brushes the first three strings, while fretting the sixth fret of the third string and the fifth fret of the second string, as both Old Man Ned and Prof Scratchy had it.  Getting that unison between the fifth fret of the second string and the open first string gives the brush stroke a neat buzzy quality.
   * From 1:49--1:52, Carolina Slim starts a slide from the second fret of the fourth string on the + of beat two of a 2-beat measure, arriving at the seventh fret of the fourth string on beat one and filling out the beat by hitting that note two more times for a triplet.  On beat 2 + he goes from the seventh fret of the fourth string to the open fourth string.  On beat three, he plays a triplet going from the bet third fret of the fifth string to the open fourth string and back to the bent third fret of the fifth string.  On beat four, he plays another triplet, going from the bent third fret of the fifth string and hitting the second fret of the third string twice, finally resolving to the open fifth string on the downbeat of the next measure.  Once again, the placement of the run and its sense of taking however much time is necessary to complete the musical thought is very much in Lightnin' Hopkins' style.

I think that Phil's observation that Carolina Slim sounds like a combination of Blind Boy Fuller and Lightnin' Slim is spot on.  Behind his singing, Carolina Slim shows a stronger Fuller influence in his phrasing and timing, utilizing several of Fuller's pet moves in A, but in his soloing, he shows a much stronger Lightnin' Hopkins influence.  And of course, Lightnin' recorded several songs played in A out of Dropped-D tuning, which is something Fuller never did.  It's really a shame that Carolina Slim passed away so young, both for his own sake and for his friends and family, of course, but in a musical sense, because he wasn't presented with the opportunity to come into his own, in a way.  Despite that, he recorded a lot of really strong music, and as I listen to him more, I'm more and more impressed all the time.  He really had a lot to offer.

Thanks to all who participated, and I hope you enjoyed Carolina Slim's "Worrying Blues".  I'll try to find another puzzler to post soon.  Incidentally, I hope those of you who are guitarists will try some of these runs--they're great!
All best,
Johnm   

I'm glad that helped, monts.