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 today some great tracks from the catalog of Decca and we're talking spring or summer of 1941 now when most of these were recorded. While in Europe the war is going on at full speed, tension in America is starting to build up with support for what later has become America's allies, and in March, a Japanese vice consul arrives in Pearl Harbor who later appeared to be the most important spy against America.
But real signs that America soon would be actively part of the war still wasn't there and that feeling shows off in the blues that I'm going to play today, that had the same subjects as they always had.
I'm gonna start with a recording done in March of 1941. Here is Georgia White with Mama Knows What Papa Wants When Papa's Feeling Blue.
7841 - Georgia White - Mama Knows What Papa Wants When Papa's Feeling Blue
7843 - Roosevelt Sykes - Low as a Toad
Low as a Toad - you heard Roosevelt Sykes. On the label he was billed as the Honeydripper - he'd been using that moniker for many years when in '45 Joe Liggins came with his million-seller the Honeydripper. A honeydripper is a smooth-talking, romantic man or a hot lover. As a young man a womanizer, and that explains for his nickname, and later known for chomping oversized cigars while pounding out his blues on the piano.
Today I spell out the catalog of Decca for a short period in 1941 and regular listeners will know that I successively work through a part of their pre-war catalog every now and then. And the music from Decca's 7000 Race series is pretty easy to find, as most of it has been re-released in various compilations. There's no such thing as a Decca records story CD box, but with comprehensive series on all of Decca's artists on the famous Document series and also many other re-releases the catalog is pretty much covered.
That would have been a pretty much oversized CD box by the way, if they'd put all of Decca's 7000 series on CD. The list consists of short of 900 78s. That makes up for almost 1,800 sides. If I'd play all of them, I would have had enough material for over a hundred shows. That's two years of shows - well listeners if I ever run out of subjects, I know what I can do.
But for now let's return to the music with number 7844 and that is Peetie Wheatstraw with You Got To Tell Me Something.
7844 - Peetie Wheatstraw - You Got To Tell Me Something
7846 - Bill Gaither - See My Grieve Blues
(jingle)
7849 - Jimmie Gordon - I'm Gonna Cut Out
7850 - Four Blackamoors - Break It Up Charlie
Break It Up Charlie, you heard the Four Blackamoors, a group that consisted of a fiddler, a pianist, a guitarist and a bass player whose names have been lost to history. A blackamoor is a statue or sculpture of African men from the 16th and 17th century.
The song released on Decca 7850, it was the flip of a recording of Yack Taylor with Sam Price and his band the Texas Blusicians. Well not very often, but every now and then Decca put different artists on each side of the 78. We'll get another example later today. The Yack Taylor song, titled You're Gonna Go Your Way - I'll play it in a later show for you.
Before the Blackamoors you got Jimmie Gordon and his Vip Vop Band with I'm gonna cut out and then I have to account for what was before the jingle - that was Bill Gaither billed as Leroy's Buddy with See My Grieve.
The next one is a recording of a vocal duet - two obscure women named Nora and Delle with Get Away From My Window.
7852 - Nora & Delle - Get Away from My Window
7853 - Georgia White - Territory Blues
Georgia White with the second one I played from her, on Decca 7853 and recorded in March of 1941, this was the Territory Blues. She recorded over a hundred sides for Decca. Now that sounds a lot, and it is a lot, but there have been more musicians with that kind of output - and only on today's playlist we got Roosevelt Sykes, Peetie Wheatstraw and Bill Gaither. It does help build that massive catalog of the label that - as I said - consists of nearly 900 records.
Next on Decca 7855 Yack Taylor with Sam Price and his Texas Blusicians with Whip It To A Jelly.
7855 - Yack Taylor - Whip It To A Jelly
7856 - Big Joe Turner - Somebody's got to go
Somebody's got to go - one of those great blues of Big Joe Turner. By the time he recorded this he played the clubs of New York but later that year he worked in Los Angeles for a while appearing in the revue of Duke Ellington and in soundies he did with pianist Meade Lux Lewis. Now the only thing with these soundies - and you can find some of them on YouTube - is that the music was recorded first and the clip has been playbacked. And so you do see Meade Lux Lewis on the piano, but the man you'd think he's the singer, it's not Joe Turner - it's comedian Dudley Dickerson mouthing Joe Turner's words and you won't find out throughout the clip whether he does such a bad playbacking job, or sound and movie are out of sync.
Next on Decca 7857 Peetie Wheatstraw with I'm A Little Piece Of Leather.
7857 - Peetie Wheatstraw - I'm A Little Piece Of Leather
7858 - Nora & Delle - You Ain't Been Doin' Right
And another of that obscure vocal duo Nora and Delle - You ain't been doin' right.
And as obscure is the next one of one Lloyd Phillips and his Jumping Jacks. This 78 is their only recording for Decca. Here is on number 7860 of the catalog, the Boggy Bottom Blues.
7860 - Lloyd Phillips' Jumping Jacks - Boggy Bottom Blues
7862 - Roosevelt Sykes - Trouble And Whiskey
Trouble and Whiskey - one more of Honeydripper Roosevelt Sykes. Sykes was one of the long-time steadies of Decca, he joined the label at its start in '34 and stayed up to '43, though by then recording had been forbidden by the American Federation of musicians because of their long-time strike that started in August of 1942.
Today I feature some issues of Decca from the summer of 1941 and for that I use the list that's posted on the website of the online 78 RPM Discographical project - a labor of love of Tyrone Settelmier and Steve Abrams. You know I always try to give some discographical information with the music I play and for that, this site is an invaluable resource to me. They have most of the leading labels and many smaller indies. I'll post a link on my website where you can search the track you have through their site, and some other useful resources.
Next up on Decca number 7864 here is another one of Yack Taylor backed up by Sam Price and his band the Texas Blusicians. Here is Don't Stop Now.
7864 - Yack Taylor - Don't Stop Now
7865 - Jimmie Gordon - Looking For The Blues
You got Jimmie Gordon with Looking for the Blues on Decca number 7865, one of his about sixty sides he done for Decca. He stayed most of his career with the label, with one odd Bluebird release before and two releases on the King label in 1946 with what was billed as the Bip Bop Band, a far more modern sounding combo than what he recorded with in his Decca years before the 1942-44 recording ban of the American Federation of Musicians.
Well as is the case with so many of these musicians, hardly nothing is known about him before he recorded and after '46 nothing is heard of him anymore so the only thing remaining is the complete collection of his music on the Document label.
I got time for one more today and that will be Nora Lee King with her version of the women's blues classic Why Don't You Do Right - a record she shared with the Mail Plane Blues of Georgia White that was on the flip. So here is Nora Lee King.
7866 - Nora Lee King - Why Don't You Do Right
And with that goodie of Nora Lee King I end this episode of the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman where I spotlighted the Decca label for a short while in 1941. Why Don't You Do Right is a great song with a remarkable history, it started as the Weed Smoker's Dream of the Harlem Hamfats written by Joe McCoy. He re-used the melody with new lyrics and Lil Green got to sing it, also for the Decca label. Now most people know it as the first major hit of Peggy Lee who did it with Benny Goodman, after he heard her playing that record over and over again in her dressing room, and he decided to make an arrangement over it for the band.
Well that'll be it for today, and all of today's story you can find it on my website, easiest way to get there is to search the web for the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman. On there you can also find how to reach me, but to be sure I'll get you teh email address anyhow, and that is rockingdutchman@rocketmail.com.
Next week there will be another hour of the best of Rhythm & Blues, so I hope to see you then. So tune in again for the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman!