This transcript of the radio show is an approximation of what I said in the show. The real spoken parts may differ slightly.
And again a mix of great Rhtyhm & Blues from the thirties to the fifties - like a rich, spicy and tasteful gumbo full of the best old-fashioned ingredients. And to start a great song from 1936 of Ella Fitzgerald together with the Mills Brothers. I played the flip some time ago, a masterpiece where the Mills Brothers mimicked a whole choir of muted trumpets. This is the other side of the platter, Dedicated to you, a pop standard that at the same time was released in a version of Andy Kirk and his Twelve Clouds of Joy on the same label, Decca. There it's just another crooning ballad - and this stands out with the velvet voice of Ella and the great qualities of one of the best vocal groups of their time. Accompanied by nothing but a guitar here is Dedicated to You.
01 - Ella Fitzgerald & The Mills Brothers - Dedicated to You
02 - Cow Cow Davenport - The Mess Is Here
And we stay on Decca with The Mess Is Here of Cow Cow Davenport, an influential pianist with - to say the least - a remarkable life story. He was born in 1894 and at a young age he showed interest in popular music but his father sent him to the Alabama Theological Seminary, where he was sent away for playing ragtime on the church piano. He joined vaudeville shows and started recording for several labels including Vocalion. There he recorded his famous Cow Cow Blues - one of the earliest recordings of boogie woogie. Somewhere in the early thirties he was partly paralyzed by a stroke and he had to give up piano playing. In '38 he was found working as a dishwasher by pianist Art Rhodes who helped him with rehabilitation and finding new recording contracts - that's how he landed at Decca.
His health problems kept on and he died in 1955. His Cow Cow blues was used several times as an inspiration, for the Cow Cow Boogie (Cuma-Ti-Yi-Yi-Ay) that was a million seller for both Ella Mae Morse and Ella Fitzgerald, and for Ray Charles' Mess Around written by Atlantic boss Ahmet Ertegün.
One more from the pre-war Decca label with Skeets Tolbert and his Gentlemen of Swing, one of the less succesful swing bands of the era - still this is very nice music. Listen to Get Up.
03 - Skeets Tolbert & His Gentlemen Of Swing - Get Up
04 - Arthur McKay & Roosevelt Sykes - Somebody's Been Ridin' My Black Gal
(jingle)
05 - Rosetta Howard & The Harlem Hamfats - Oh Rider
06 - Big Bill Broonzy - Key to the Highway
And we're slowly getting into the forties - though I wasn't really trying to play my music in chronological order today. You got one of the latest releases of the Conqueror label, Big Bill Broonzy with the Key to the Highway from 1941. Before that the Harlem Hamfats fronted by Rosetta Howard and Oh Rider, from 1938 on Decca and this shows off very well the typical style of the Decca studio band - the first in its kind.
Well then before the jingle, that was a great dirty blues of Arthur McKay with Big Bill Broonzy on the guitar - Somebody's Been Ridin' My Black Gal from 1937, also on Decca.
And if it's not enough for this label one more, of blues singer Mabel Robinson, and the small legacy of this blueswoman who sung much in the thirties style of female blues, consists of only six recordings with vocal group the Blackamoors and Sammy Price's Bluesicians. Of them, this one stands out for me with its unusual key changes. Here is Too Many Blues from 1942.
07 - Mabel Robinson - I've Got Too Many Blues
08 - George 'The Blues Man' Vann - Inflation Blues (Can't Stretch It No More)
And we made a jump to 1947 with blues singer and drummer George Vann, usually billed as the Blues Man. This Inflation Blues, he recorded it with Jack McVea and his Allstars and it was recorded for Savoy in December of 1947 but released nearly four years later in 1951. Like most record labels Savoy had been stockpiling masters for the upcoming recording strike of the American Federation of Musicians in 1948, but already after half a year recording already resumed, be it illicit, and the result of it was a big surplus of recordings, some of them released trough the next years.
Next Johnny Moore's Three Blazers and this was recorded in 1950 when Moore's greatest asset, Charles Brown had left the group for the lack of recognition he got for being the true star. More hired Floyd Dixon as a replacement, and on here he does a fair imitation of Brown - but his later sides where he just sings as himself serve him better I think. Listen to the Telephone Blues, recorded for the Aladdin label.
09 - Johnny Moore's Three Blazers feat. Floyd Dixon - Telephone Blues
10 - Saunders King - Lazy Woman Blues
From 1952 on the RPM label Saunders King the Lazy Woman Blues and I just love the instrumental backing, both the trumpet as the saxophonist halfway in the record. Had this been a Chicago recording instead of from the West coast, I would have bet that, just judging by the style, it was Eddie Chamblee on the saxophone - but there was a whole route 66 in between them. Unfortunately for this session the all-knowing jazz discography of Tom Lord says 'unknown personnel'.
Next on the Specialty label Earl King with Eating and Sleeping. New Orleands born King had a remarkable start of his career, when his idol and inspiration Guitar Slim was injured in a car accident. While Guitar Slim was recovering, he did a succesful stand in job in Slim's band while on tour. His recognition in his own right came in 1955 and later when he recorded for the Ace and Imperial labels where he wrote rock standards like Cone On, that was succesfully covered by Jimi Hendrix.
Here is from 1954 Eating And Sleeping.
11 - Earl King - Eating and Sleeping
12 - Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown - My Time's Expensive
My Time is Expensive - you heard Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown. His career got a jump start in Houston while attending a gig of T-Bone Walker in the Bronze Peacock club in 1947. Walker got ill and couldn't finish his show. Brown took up his guitar and improvised the Gatemouth Boogie there on stage. This move didn't just get him a regular spot playing at the Peacock, but owner Don Robey decided to start a record label to showcase Brown's guitar playing talent. Well it won't be a surprise if I tell you that record label from Houston was Peacock, that indeed started with Gatemouth Brown but also recorded local legends such as Floyd Dixon, Willie Mae 'Big Mama Thornton, Marie Adams, Memphis Slim and Jimmy McCracklin.
Next Jay McShann's band fronted by Crown Prince Waterford. Waterford had replaced Walter Brown in 1944 and stayed with McShann for just a few months before Jimmy Witherspoon took his place. This comes from a session he did with for the new Philo label, the label that later became Aladdin records. Here is the Merry Go Round Blues.
13 - Jay McShann feat. Crown Prince Waterford - Merry-Go-Round Blues
14 - Buddy Johnson feat. Ella Johnson - My Old Man
My Old Man of Buddy Johnson and of course it's his sister Ella doing the vocals. Johnson started his big band in 1938 soon to be accompanied by his sister and the band has been around well into the sixties and managed to remain a major attraction in the popular genres - where most big bands just died and a few got to the more specialized jazz.
Next from 1949 on the Savoy label Dee Williams and her band. Devonia Williams was the pianist of Johnny Otis' band and her sextet, that including her counted seven, was a combination of musicians lent from elsewhere including Gene Montgomery on sax and Roy Porter on drums, both from Howard McGhee's bebop combo. Well in the forties lines between Rhythm & Blues and the serious jazz were thin and the saxophonist of an avantgarde jazz bands could honk in a recording session as well.
Here is her Bongo Blues.
15 - Dee Williams Sextette - Bongo Blues
16 - Arbee Stidham - Sixty Minutes To Wait
17 - Roy Milton & His Solid Senders - So Tired
And these three-in-a-row ends this show of the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman. So tired was that of Roy Milton and his combo the Solid Senders and one of the many releases he had with the Specialty label. So Tired was recorded in Los Angeles in February of 1951. And before that you got from the Sittin' In With label, Arbee Stidham with Sixty Minutes To Wait. Stidham played several instruments, like the saxophone, the guitar and the harp but he had to keep it to the guitar after the injuries he suffered from a car accident in the fifties made it impossible for him to play wind instruments anymore.
Well it was a pleasure again serving you a hot mix of Rhythm & Blues, that started today with some great thirties blues and swing and it worked its way to the forties and fifties through the hour. I hope you enjoyed the music and well, you can always let me know what you thought of it and send me an e-mail to rockingdutchman@rocketmail.com. And to read back what I told you today and the playlist, or if you wanna see what I'll play next week, well just go to my website, just do a google search for the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman and it will show up first in the search results.
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!