Topic: Blind Roosevelt Graves Lyrics

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I've been listening a lot lately to the wonderful duets that the Mississippian Roosevelt Graves did with his brother Leroy, one of which is "I'll Be Rested (When the Roll Is Called)".  On the tune, Roosevelt plays the guitar, as he always did on his recordings, out of Spanish tuning, pitched at B flat in this case, and sings the vocal lead.  Leroy adds some terrific tambourine playing and provides the backing vocal.

Roosevelt Graves' right hand technique is an ongoing mystery.  He sounds as though he could be flat-picking, or playing with a thumbpick only, or thumbpick and fingers, or more or less conventional fingerpicking.  I think that if I had to choose only one of these options as the way Roosevelt did what he did, I would go for flat-picking, though what he plays could certainly be achieved using any one of these methods (or something else altogether).  However Roosevelt Graves did his playing, his execution, concept and rhythmic feel are wonderful and very infectious, and Leroy's time, both as a percussionist and singer, compliments his brother's beautifully.  There is so much joy in what they did together.

In the lyric transcription, the parenthetic connecting response lines are sung by Leroy.  I'll attach a YouTube version for those of you who have not heard the performance.



   I'll be resting when the roll is called (Oh yes, I)
   I'll be resting when the roll is called
   I'll be resting in the Kingdom of Heaven (Oh, my Lord)
   I'll be resting when the roll is called

   No more shouting when the roll is called
   No more shouting when the roll is called
   I'll be resting in the Kingdom of Heaven (Oh my)
   I'll be resting when the roll is called

   No more sorrows when the roll is called
   No more sorrow when the roll is called
   I'll be resting in the Kingdom of Heaven (Oh my)
   I'll be resting when the roll is called

   SOLO

   Meet my Mother when the roll is called
   Meet my Mother when the roll is called
   Meet my Mother in the Kingdom of Heaven (Oh my)
   I'll be resting when the roll is called

   I'll be resting when the roll is called
   I'll be restin' when the roll is called
   I'll be resting in the Kingdom of Heaven (Oh my)
   I'll be restin' when the roll is called

   SOLO

   Meet my elder when the roll is called
   Meet my elder when the roll is called (Oh, how I)
   Meet my elder in the Kingdom of Heaven
   Meet my elder when the roll is called

All best,
Johnm

   

[jostber]

These recordings are great favorites of mine as well. Roosevelt has some great rhythm parts in all his songs. There is also a great article on the brothers by Alex Van der Tuuk in No.1 of the Frog Jazz & Blues Annual. And was Leroy's name Uaroy?

[Johnm]

Hi Jostein,
My understanding is that it was misprinted once as Uaroy, and that the misprinting received more dissemination than his correct name, Leroy, did.
All best,
Johnm

[jostber]

Thanks. Uaroy is a pretty cool sounding name though.

[Pan]

That's fantastastic! Thanks, Johnm!

Cheers

Pan

[Alexei McDonald]

My understanding is that it was misprinted once as Uaroy, and that the misprinting received more dissemination than his correct name, Leroy, did.

Apparently, this is not true ; Uaroy is the form used in the surviving (& handwritten) Paramount ledgers.

[blueshome]

I recall the name is confirmed as Leroy in Wardlow's book, "Chasin that old devil music".

[Alexei McDonald]

I recall the name is confirmed as Leroy in Wardlow's book, "Chasin that old devil music".

In fact, Wardlow gives the name as Aaron in that book, which was, in any case, written several year before the information from the Paramount ledger was widely known.   What we really lack is a death certificate, census record or some other official document to help settle the matter.

[uncle bud]

I swear I had a jpg of that Paramount ledger showing the spelling as Uaroy but danged if I can find it. I'm sure I grabbed it off the web somewhere as well, and some cursory googling turns up zilch.

Helpful, I know. Perhaps someone else grabbed it too?

[dj]

I don't think the name in the Paramount ledger means that much, unless it was written by the artist himself.  they weren't asking to see a social security card and photo ID back then.  It's easy to imagine some white Wisconsinite asking Mr. Graves his name, re responding with a tight-lipped, half mumbled "Leroy", and the Wisconsinite totally mishearing and writing something that phonetically represented what he/she heard. 

I could swear I read some definitive evidence on Uaroy/Leroy's name, but I'll be darned if I can remember where.  I'll have to go through the bookshelf tonight.

[Alexei McDonald]

Okay, I've been to have a look in the as-near-to-definitive-as-we're-going-to-get article on the brothers by Alex van der Tuuk in Frog Blues & Jazz Annual #1, in which he says that all three names appear to be valid.   His baptismal name appears to have been Leroy, but the name he went by was Uaroy/Uarory/Uaraoy, and then sometime around 1940, he changed the name he used to Aaron.   In one census return he's even listed as Evan.

[Johnm]

I heard his name was Vance.  Are we straining at gnats yet?
All best,
Johnm

[uncle bud]

I thought that was part of our mission here. 

I agree with dj that Uaroy sure sounds like a name a studio staff member made up out of desperation, but if he actually went by it at some point, as Alexei notes, I'd call that an interesting country blues tidbit.

I say we start a campaign to make Uaroy a popular new baby name.

[Johnm]

I'd say it's in stiff competition with Shemp as an unlikely prospect to be chosen.

[jostber]

He will always be remembered by me as Uaroy. He goes by that name at Wikipedia as well:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Roosevelt_Graves