Topic: "Ow Can't Stand It"???

[Cleoma]

Has anyone here ever heard of an old blues or maybe jug band song called "Ow Can't Stand It"? It might really be "I Can't Stand It" but sounds like "ow".  Trying to track it down for a friend.

Looking forward to seeing some of you folks up in Port Townsend,
Suzy Thompson

[Johnm]

Hi Suzy,
That track is by Will Shade, and it is on the old Folkways set, "The Rural Blues", that Samuel Charters put together.  I remember listening to it as a kid and thinking, "Why is he saying "Ow can't stand it."?"  It's a great tune
    Whatcha gonna do when your troubles get like mine
    Take a mouthful of sugar and drink a bottle of turpentine
    Ow can't stand it
I'm pretty sure it is on the Juke, under the name "I Can't Stand It", since I sent that set to John D. and he put it on the Juke.
All best,
Johnm

[Cleoma]

I'm not sure which version is on the Juke (haven't quite figured out how to hear it) but I believe that what I am looking for is from a Document LP which is of a private party at which Gus Cannon and Will Shade (and others I think) entertained.  Apparently it is extremely funky!  Unclear to me whether that's the same cut that's on the Rural Blues album. 

Anyone out there have that Document vinyl?  I would be VERY interested in hearing it, especially that one cut.
Thanks, Suzy

[Stuart]

Suzy:

Here's the Folkways link for "The Rural Blues:"

http://www.folkways.si.edu/search/AlbumDetails.aspx?ID=315

It's only available from them as a custom CD. I have the vinyl and a tape of it, but they're both back in WA, so that's no help. Anyone have a copy at hand??

Stu

[Stuart]

Suzy:

Here's a link to the AMG Will Shade page:

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:g9dfyl28xpsb

Click on "Memphis Jug Band" and follow your instincts--they'll lead you to the Document CD and the JSP set that have "I Can't Stand It" (and others as well).

Hope this helps,

Stu

[Cleoma]

Thanks for the suggestion, but all I found on that site was reissues from the 20's and 30's -- what I am looking for was recorded either in the late 1950's or early 1960's.  I don't think that Document ever released the LP of Will Shade and Gus Cannon on CD, at least, I can't find it anywhere on their site, although that doesn't necessarily mean anything as the Document CDs go out of print fairly quickly.

If anyone has Rural Blues (the stuff Sam Charters recorded) and has an easy way to get it onto CD or even cassette, I would love to have a copy.
Suzy

[Stuart]

Suzy:

If no one else comes through, I can probably get you a cassette copy of "The Rural Blues" (I even still have the liner notes after all these years) when I return to Shoreline, WA in October. I know what you mean about the 50s/60s LPs. Not all have been re-released on CD. Many were one-time or one-shot deals by small independents. You might check the print version(s) of the All Music Guide--perhaps also under Gus Cannon, or any other associated musicians or groups. Another possibility is to check OCLC--sometimes the libraries have LPs in their holdings.

Still another possibility is that the particular version of "I Can't Stand It" you recall was on an anthology, which will make it more difficult to track down, as some of this stuff is not thoroughly cross-referenced.

In any event, I'll keep it in mind and if I run across anything relevent, I'll post it here.

Regards,

Stu

[dj]

The song is indeed on the Juke.

I'm not sure which version is on the Juke (haven't quite figured out how to hear it)

To request it, go to the Juke.  On the left-hand side of the page, the second Beige bar from the top says Menu.  Click on the third item under this: Playlist ans Requests.  At the top of the page you'll see Search by Title for ..... , where title is in a white box and there's an empty white box following the "for".  Type I Can't Stand It in the empty white box, click on Go, and the fourth and last item in the resulting list will be the song you want.  Click on the little brown button that says request and wait for the song to play.

Incidentally, the song was recorded in Memphis on December 5th, 1956.  The Rural Blues was actually issued on the RBF label (RBF 202) and has apparently never been issued on CD.  I can't find any reference to the performance ever being issued on the Document label.

(Thanks to Stefan Wirtz's web site for the info on the RBF issue.  Hey, Stefan, how about a Document LP discography?  )

[Slack]

I'm not sure which version is on the Juke (haven't quite figured out how to hear it)

To request it, go to the Juke.  On the left-hand side of the page, the second Beige bar from the top says Menu.  Click on the third item under this: Playlist ans Requests.  At the top of the page you'll see Search by Title for ..... , where title is in a white box and there's an empty white box following the "for".  Type I Can't Stand It in the empty white box, click on Go, and the fourth and last item in the resulting list will be the song you want.  Click on the little brown button that says request and wait for the song to play.

And to cover all the bases.  To "hear" the juke, click on the Weenie Juke Radio link and then click on one of the small "Tune In" graphics below the 24K column (if you connect to the internet with a phone line) or the 48K column (if you have a broadband connection).  If you are using Windows, the Windows Player is already installed on your computer - so try the graphic that intersects the "Windows Player" row and the 24K column ... and see what happens.

Cheers,
slack

[Cleoma]

Well, I tried requesting I Can't Stand It, but I got a message saying "refused" because it had already been recently requested!!
Oh well.  I'm about to be away from computers for a few weeks, I guess I'll try again when I get back.
Suzy

[Stuart]

dj:

The link in my earlier post:

http://www.folkways.si.edu/search/AlbumDetails.aspx?ID=315

takes you to the Folkways/Smithsonian page for "The Rural Blues." They haven't re-issued it as yet, but it is available as a "custom CD" (or cassette)--click on the "Format" box. A word of warning is in order, however--I once ordered a custom CD from SI/FW and the sound was less than I bargained for, with no bass or midrange.

A few asides--several years ago I requested a Document catalog and I still have it--out in WA. It contains every CD and every track. Maybe I'll make a photocopy and pass it on to some poor unsuspecting soul someday.

And in the "correct me if I'm wrong dept" as I recall,  wasn't/isn't "RBF" short for "Records, Books, Film?"

Regards,

Stu

[Rivers]

Just in case we're off track, Bobby Cadillac & Coley Jones (of Dallas String Band fame) did a number called 'I Can't Stand That'. I have it on Matchbox vinyl, MSE 208

[Stuart]

Rivers:

Thanks for the info. There's still a lot of very interesting stuff that was issued on vinyl that still hasn't made it to CD.

I'm always off-track, but that should be obvious by now--maybe its my saving grace, if in fact I have any.

When I was searching around for info to help Suzy, I saw that there were numerous songs with "I Can't Stand It" (or "That," etc.) for or in the title. I guess that's because there's lots of things that people just can't stand. Another archetype of the human condition expressed in song, which is one of the things that makes this music so great.

Thanks again,

Stu

[Stuart]

Correct me if I'm wrong (and even if I'm right)--I was listening to the Memphis Jug Band cd today. When "I Can't Stand It" came around, I wasn't paying close attention and heard the line in question as "(H)ow can I stand it?" with "can" and "I" clustered. Could this be a case where the title predisposed us to hear something different than what is actually being sung? "H" is often dropped or silent, for example "hour" vs. "our," "whale" vs. "wail," etc. Plus the regional accents and variation in pronunciation also are at play here. "Ow" is closer to "how" than it is to "I." Don't overlook the obvious.

Stu

[Johnm]

Hi Stu,
I can't speak to the Memphis Jug Band version of the song, never having heard it, but the Will Shade version on the Rural Blues set put together by Sam Charters is definitely sung as "Ow Can't Stand It".  The contraction "can't" can be clearly heard.
All best,
Johnm

[Stuart]

Hi John:

I'll have to wait until I get back to WA, get out "the Rural Blues" and listen with  the headphones. Not that I doubt your word, it's just that it's an unusual "vowel shift" to say the least. My equipment here in NJ is just a combo, but its a poor carpenter who blames his tools. Nevertheless, this is fascinating in itself, and maybe Will pronounced "I" as "Ow." I'll have to listen to his other songs for clues.

My Best,

Stu