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Blues Off the Record

Jan 23, 2021 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

With Sonny Boy Williamson III

12:02 PM		The Mississippi Jook Band Hittin' the Bottle Stomp Back to the Crossroads: The Roots of Robert Johnson
12:04 PM		Josh White The House I Live In The House I Live In
12:07 PM		Woody Guthrie This Land Is Your Land This Land Is Your Land: The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings 1997
12:10 PM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
12:10 PM		The Carter Family When the World's on Fire American Epic: The Best of The Carter Family Columbia/Legacy 2017
12:13 PM		Sister Rosetta Tharpe & The Rosettes Amazing Grace Vacation in the Sky
12:17 PM		Mahalia Jackson Come On Children, Let's Sing The Essential Mahalia Jackson Columbia/Legacy 1972
12:19 PM		The Zion Travelers (We'll Understand It Better) Bye and Bye The Dootone Masters Ace Records 2013
12:21 PM		The Harmonizing Four Mary Don't You Weep The Harmonizing Four & God Will Take Care of You Vee-Jay Records 1993
12:23 PM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
12:27 PM		The Chosen Gospel Singers Stay With Me Jesus The Lifeboat Fantasy Records 1992
12:29 PM		The Hall Johnson Choir Run on Down to the River Jordan Lord I Can Ride
12:31 PM		The Ink Spots I Cover the Waterfront The Anthology Geffen 1998
12:35 PM		The Mills Brothers Tiger Rag The Decca Singles, Vol. 1: 1934-1937 Verve Reissues 2017
12:37 PM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
12:40 PM		Big Joe Williams The Death of DR. Martin Luther King Shake Your Boogie Wolf Records International GmbH 2015
12:42 PM		Reverend Charlie Jackson Something to Think About God's Got It: The Legendary Booker and Jackson Singles (Remastered) [Expanded] CaseQuarter 2018
12:46 PM		Big Maybelle Heaven Will Welcome You Dr. King Eleanor Rigby/Heaven Will Welcome You Dr. King Traffic Entertainment Group / Rojac 2009
12:49 PM		Otis Span, Muddy Waters Tribute to Martin Luther King Live the Life
12:54 PM		Thomas Walton and the Blind Disciples Ode to Martin Luther King All God's Children
12:57 PM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
12:59 PM		Marchers We Shall Not Be Moved Freedom Songs: Selma, Alabama Folkways Records 2004
1:01 PM		Charley Patton I Shall Not Be Moved (Take 1) Charley Patton Vol. 2 (1929) Document Records 1990
1:05 PM		Rev. Julius Cheeks And Family Where Do I Go From Here Family Reunion Savoy Records 1978
1:09 PM		Homer Quincy Smith I Want Jesus to Talk with Me American Primitive, Vol. II - Pre-War Revenants Revenant 2005
1:11 PM		Blind Roosevelt Graves and Brother Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind On Jesus) American Epic: The Collection Columbia/Legacy 2017
1:14 PM		Slim Duckett & Pig Norwood Sister Mary Wore Three Lengths of Chain Alabama: Black Secular and Religious Music (1927-1934)
1:19 PM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
1:19 PM		Mother McCollum Jesus is My Air-O-Plane Guitar Evangelists (1928-1951)
1:23 PM		Sister Mathews Stand By Me Guitar Evangelists (1928-1951)
1:26 PM		Alberta Hunter I'm Going to See My Ma Alberta Hunter Vol. 4 (1927-c. 1946) Document Records 1996
1:29 PM		Ida Cox & Coleman Hawkins Quintet St. Louis Blues Blues for Rampart Street (Remastered) Prestige 1990
1:32 PM		Bessie Smith Muddy Water (A Mississippi Moan) The Complete Recordings, Vol. 5: The Final Chapter Legacy/Columbia 1996
1:35 PM		Trixie Smith My Unusual Man Trixie Smith Vol. 2 1925-1929 Document Records 1995
1:38 PM		Lucille Hegamin Mississippi Blues Lucille Hegamin Vol. 1 (1920-1922) Document Records 1995
1:42 PM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
1:42 PM		Skip James Cyprus Grove Blues American Epic: The Collection
1:45 PM		Jack Gowdlock Poor Jane Blues "Too Late, Too Late" Vol. 8
1:48 PM		Old Train Caller from New Orleans Calling Trains Field Recordings Vol. 3: Mississippi
1:49 PM		Thomas J. Marshall Arwhoolie (Corn Field Holler) Field Recordings Vol. 3: Mississippi
1:50 PM		Thomas (Jaybird) Jones The Keghouse Blues Field Recordings Vol. 3: Mississippi
1:55 PM		Sylvester Jones & Wallace Chains Smokey Mountain Blues Field Recordings, Vol. 6: Texas (1933-1958) Document Records 1997
1:57 PM		Memphis Jug Band Cocaine Habit Blues American Epic: The Best of Memphis Jug Band Columbia/Legacy 2017
2:02 PM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
2:04 PM		Morton Harvey Memphis Blues Really the Blues?: A Blues History
2:06 PM		Jelly Roll Morton King Porter Stomp The Complete Library of Congress Recordings Rounder 2005
2:07 PM		Jelly Roll Morton The Story of "King Porter Stomp" The Complete Library of Congress Recordings Rounder 2005
2:16 PM		Big Bill Broonzy Shuffle Rag Trouble In Mind Smithsonian Folkways Recordings 2000
2:17 PM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
2:17 PM		Tampa Red Detroit Blues The Essential Tampa Red RCA/Legacy 1941
2:23 PM		Tampa Red and Georgia Tom Reckless Man Blues Tampa Red The Guitar Wizard
2:23 PM		The Hokum Boys Only the Blues Ain't Goin' That Way Black Swan 2005
2:26 PM		Georgia Browns (Curley Weaver, Buddy Moss, Fred McMullen) Tampa Strut Curley Weaver (1933-1935)
2:29 PM		Little Hat Jones Hurry Blues Texas Blues (1927-1935)
2:33 PM		Uncle Bud Walker Look Here Mama Blues Mississippi Blues Vol. 1
2:35 PM		Big Road Webster Taylor World In a Jug Mississippi Blues Vol. 1
2:39 PM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
2:40 PM		Willie Reed All Worn Out and Dry Blues Texas Blues (1927–1935)
2:44 PM		Otto Virgial Got the Blues About Rome Mississippi Blues (1935-1951) WOLF RECORDS 1997
2:48 PM		Robert Lockwood, Jr. Little Boy Blue Mississippi Blues (1935-1951) WOLF RECORDS 1997
2:50 PM		Set Break: ----------------------------------------------------
2:50 PM		Robert Nighthawk Maggie Campbell Masters of Modern Blues HighTone Records 1994
2:54 PM		Elmore James One Way Out Dust My Broom
2:56 PM		Blind John Davis Paris Boogie (Woogie Boogie) Blind John Davis Vol. 1 (1938-1952) Document Records 1999

Chat is archived.

Love the sounds of the spoons on Hittin the Bottle Stomp on Saturdays. I know good tunes are ahead

Thanks Brian!

Has anything by Tommy Grady ever been played on this program? ;-)

From google it looks like Tommy Grady was an R. Crumb creation?

Hi SBW IIIrd! Terrific show, as per usual. I totally agreed with you about the earlier singer (was it Sister Mathews on "Stand By Me"?) who sounded much like Sister Rosetta Tharp -- which is of course a very high compliment.

Yes! From the 1975 R. Crumb strip “That’s Life!” (possibly inspired by Robert Johnson) As the story goes, a rural blue singer cuts a record in the city and is then murdered by someone over a woman. The record is soon deleted from the label’s catalogue and quickly forgotten. Decades later, a record-hunting geek retrieves the sole-remaining copy from an old lady’s “junk” and plays the unknown artist for a group of fellow blues enthusiasts.

Richard: Yep that's the recording! David: I'll have to track down the Crumb

R. Crumb is apparently a roots music 78s collector/devotee of the type that would make the legendary Harry Smith proud.

He's also recorded some jug-band style music with his "Cheap Suit Serenaders." He did a neat series of cards in the 80s that have been reprinted and even issued as a book with a great CD.

Terry Zweigoff is a friend who did a great documentary about crumb and featured Steve Buschemi as a 78 collector in his film "Ghost World"

Zweigoff's first film, Louie Bluie, is worth a watch and features Yank Rachell, Ikey Robinson, and Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong

Love Ghost World. For the blues 78 part of the story. And especially for turning me on to the Bollywood song Jaan Pehechaan Ho. I did a pretty good transcription to that on GuitarPro

Blues Hammer! Appearing at a bar near you.. what a telling o too true scene. But makes me smile

Too true indeed!

Cool, thanks. I certainly recall the R. Crumb blues greats trading cards -- a professional musician buddy in NYC had a set! My one disappointment, as I recall, is that Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter wasn't included. Probably because he was in prison during most of the golden era of 78 rpm "race records" production so wasn't as well represented as Rbt. Johnson, John Hurt, Rbt. Wilkins, Blind Lemon, et al. At least that's what I recall and believe. It's awesome, tho, I ought to get the book/CD set.

https://www.openculture.com/2013/10/r-crumbs-heroes-of-blues-jazz-country-features-114-illustrations-of-the-artists-favorite-musicians.html

one of my rules of thumb is that any CD whose cover is illustrated by R. Crumb is worth getting

I suppose it's more of a rule of Crumb

I approve of this pun and the rule! I found a copy of his Big Brother and the Holding Company Yes Leadbelly is an interesting case since he was promoted by John Lomax and

Sent too early! I approve of this pun and the rule! I found a copy of the Big Brother and the Holding Company lp with his cover art recently at an outdoor fleamarket in Columbus. Yes Leadbelly is an interesting case since he was promoted by John Lomax and always fits awkwardly into "blues" or "folk"

There’s a cute in-joke in the Ghost World film where Buscemi’s character sets up a table of records at a yard sale. When a customer inquires about the Cheap Suit Serenaders, he tells her “Nah, that one's not so great." (The director Zwigoff was in the Serenaders!)

Aha! And the old o so true "guy that won't sell the records he displays for sale " thing.

This leads me to want to watch the Crumb and Pekar movies/ docs again

Yes, SBW IIIrd, you're right on about Leadbelly standing in -- or being caught between -- both "blues" or "folk" especially later with his John Lomax folklorist field recordings connection.

Thora Burch.... missing in action or something. Scarlett Johansson role in film is so tiny and looks like they trimmed her lines down to feature Thora role more. And SJ ended up skyrocketing after

Thanks for the movie recommendations, everyone!

Thanks for listening!

I saw Thora Birch in "The Last Black Man in San Francisco" not long ago.