The Legends of the Rocking Dutchman - episode 104

Legends Mix

This transcript of the radio show is an approximation of what I said in the show. The real spoken parts may differ slightly.

And for my show number one hundred and four a blend of tunes like I get you so often - not with a central theme but just great Rhythm & Blues. You know, for show 104 you might think I'm exactly two years on this radio station, but in fact it's longer, as I have an unnumbered Christmas show that comes in between. In fact it should be number 102 or so but I let that moment silently pass, after all I also celebrated my 100th show.

And today's mix I wanna begin with a more than wonderful blues. Vocal is Mabel Robinson and she's being backed up by Sam Price and his Texas Blusicians. From 1942 on Decca here is I've Got Too Many Blues.

01 - Mabel Robinson - I've Got Too Many Blues
02 - Lee Brown - Lock And Key Blues

Lee Brown with the Lock and Key Blues and that's from 1939 on Decca. I got this in relation to a show I did some time ago on Decca's releases in '39. You know, one of the things of making a radio program is that I always have to aquire new material - which has gone so much easier since these subscribed music services came up and they prove to be a tremendous source of material. And with that previously hard-to-get piece of music that I was looking after comes a whole album with more great and enjoyable music. Today's set mainly comes from that kind of aquisitions and this was one of them.

The next one is of the Los Angeles vocal group the Four Blazes later named Hollywood's Four Blazes, not to be confused with the Chicago group. This was released on the obscure Melodisc label that I did a special on some time ago. This though wasn't included on the CD set that featured this label. Here is Jack You Just Ain't Booted.

03 - George Crawford & The Four Blazes - Jack You Just Ain't Booted
04 - Banjo Ikey Robinson - A Minor Stomp

(jingle)

05 - Monte Easter - Monte's Blues
06 - Memphis Slim - Life is Like That

Life Is Like That - you heard Memphis Slim and he recorded that for the Miracle label in 1947. In these years he'd started to play with a combo with saxophones, drums, a piano and bass like most jump blues groups of these days and he named his the House Rockers after his hit Rocking the House. For Miracle he recorded numerous sides but lot of them never got released by then.

Before that you got Monte Easter with Monte's Blues and that was from 1946 on the New York based Sterling label. And then before the jingle, that instrumental that started with a banjo and ended with a small swing combo - that was Banjo Ikey Robinson and the title is the A Minor Stomp and he recorded that in 1935 for Decca.

Next Buddy Johnson with an instrumental Mush Mouth that was recorded in 1954 for Mercury. Now Johnson's outfit is one of the few big bands that survived the transitions to Rock 'n Roll and to soul music. Now more big bands made it but only because they started specializing in jazz and turned away from popular music styles. Johnson remained in the spotlights of Rhythm & Blues with up to date arrangements and his big band style never sounded out of fashion or outdated.

Here is Mush Mouth.

07 - Buddy Johnson - Mush Mouth
08 - Margie Day - Mole In The Hole

The Mole in the Hole of Margie Day backed up by the orchestra of Vernon Hoffer and that was released on Decca in 1954. Margie had a stormy career after she joined the Griffin Brothers in 1950 and she had good hits for the Dot label including Street Walkin' Daddy, the Little Red Rooster and Sadie Green. On Decca she was less succesful but still a singer in demand on the road - and she continued to tour until she got pregnant for her second baby in 1964 - to return for a brief comeback in the late sixties.

Next up from 1951 Peppermint Harris on the Aladdin label with It's You Yes It's You.

09 - Peppermint Harris - It's You Yes It's You
10 - L.C. Williams - My Darkest Hour

L.C. Williams was that with My Darkest Hour and that was released on the Bayou label in 1953. L.C weren't really initials, it was just his given name and he himself said they stood for Love Crazy. Williams spent his short life in Houston that had a lively Rhythm & Blues scene and he recorded for local labels like Gold Star and Freedom. His session for New York record boss Bob Shad of the legendary Sittin' In label was done in Houston as well.

Williams was an alcoholic, drinking cheap wine, and he died at the young age of 30 years old of complications of tuberculosis.

Next recorded in Sam Phillips' Sun studio but released on the Chess label, Howling Wolf with Moanin' at Midnight. This is one of these blues classics that were example for the sixties blues revival and probably the kind of music most people think of when you ask them how blues sound - a guitar, a harp and this great kind of singing.

Howling Wolf's real name was Chester Burnett and other than most bluesmen his life wasn't a story of poverty. He had been able to cash on his success in Memphis without spending it on gambling, drinking or women, and he drove himself in a car to Chicago with 4,000 dollars in his pockets. Also there he was succesful enough to hire the best of musicians with a good pay, and stayed away from the big spending and the extravaganza.

Moaning at Midnight was re-released on his first album, Moanin' in the Moonlight, in 1959. Well here it is.

11 - Howlin' Wolf - Moanin' At Midnight
12 - Lucille Bogan - B.D. Woman's Blues

Well - these are blues too but what a contrast. Lucille Bogan was that, under the name of Bessie Jackson, one of the queens of the dirty blues of the thirties with the B.D. Women's Blues. B.D. stands for Bull Dyke, the masculine type of lesbians, and of them she sings "Comin' a time, B.D. women, they ain't gonna need no men" "They got a head like a sweet angel and they walk just like a natural man".

These were pretty risque blues but not very extraordinary for Bogan. The uncensored version of her blues Shave 'em dry is one of the very few extremely explicit songs that survived as a recording, and it gives a good idea of what these blueswomen sang in the juke joints that were packed with drunk black men. I can't play it here - well you can say it's a pornographic lyrics packed in a blues. You can look it up on Youtube if you're interested.

13 - Sunnyland Slim - Jivin' Boogie
14 - Lester Young - Jammin' With Lester

On the Aladdin label jazz great Lester with this fine instrumental titled Jammin' with Lester. The session that brought us this tune was just after his dischargement from the army. He'd been drafted in 1944 and unlike many other musicians he wasn't placed in some army band but in a regular place in the army. He was found with marijuana and convicted and served in detention barracks - and after that he was dishonorably discharged. Youngs D.B. Blues, on Aladdin's predecessor Philo, is about his detention - D.B. stood for Detention Barracks.

Before that you got Sunnyland Slim with the Jivin' Boogie and this was released on the Chicago based label Hy-Tone. His recordings for Specialty and Hy-Tone are his earliest ones.

Next the Lazy Woman Blues of Saunders King - a recording that must have sounded somewhat old-fashioned 'cause it sounds pretty forties - but it was from 1952 released on the RPM label.

15 - Saunders King - Lazy Woman Blues
16 - Earl Bostic - That's The Groovy Thing

That's The Groovy Thing and that double-sider of Earl Bostic ends this 104th show of the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman. It was released as a double-sider as the very last issue of the Queen subsidiary of King records. Originally Queen had been designated for Rhythm & Blues while King was hillbilly - nowadays called Country & Western. All next issues of R&B got on King - be it on a separate series.

Well of course you can let me know whether you liked the show - or maybe you want to ask me something or make a comment. Well the address is rockingdutchman@rocketmail.com and of course you can also visit my web site, do a Google search for the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman and it will show up first in the search results. On my site you can review today's playlist, read back what I told you today and see what's on for next week.

And if you like the show - please tell your friends about it. Or even better, if you happen to know a local radio station in your home town where my program would well fit in their schedule, well you'd make me very happy to recommend me to them. You know, the kinda music that I play, there's very, very few radio programs on it.

Both the musicians and their audience, well, nearly all of them are dead by now. For most people the seventies or the sixties are about the limit of what they still know about, and then there's some nostalgy to the late fifties cause some popular movies covered the rise of Rock 'n Roll. But we hardly have any recollection nor any icons of the African American music of the pre-Rock 'n Roll era, that was so incredibly important for the development of modern popular music. Help me keep the sounds alive with spreading word of mouth about this program. Thank you.

As for now, time's up so have a wonderful and rocking day. See you next time, here on the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman!