This transcript of the radio show is an approximation of what I said in the show. The real spoken parts may differ slightly.
And another great mix of the best of Rhythm & Blues for today, some of the earliest stuff and some greats from the fifties and anything in between. And I wanna jump off with a great goodie from 1937 - the second single of the Chicago based Sonny Boy Williamson - the First, that is, and I'll play a song of the man who took his name and whom we know as Sonny Boy Williamson the Second later today, at the end of the show.
Good Morning School Girl become a blues classic that's been convered by quite a few bluesmen. Hear Sonny Boy do it - here it is.
01 - Sonny Boy Williamson I - Good Morning School Girl
02 - Memphis Minnie - Me And My Chauffeur Blues
And you may have noticed the similarity between Sonny Boy Williamson's song and this classic of Memphis Minnie - indeed she stole the melody and claimed it as her own, that is, officially the writing credits go to her husband Little Son Joe and her producer Lester Melrose.
Memphis Minnie was known for her powerful guitar playing, or as Big Bill Broonzy said: she'd pick a guitar and sing as good as any man I've ever heard. She dressed ladylike with nice dresses and jewelry on stage, but she was nobody's fool and was well capable of defending herself against anyone who tried to fool with her. She was known for chewing tobacco all the time.
For the next one we go to a ragtime goodie that's been around from 1919. Here is a version from back in 1928. Here is the great Jimmy Noone with an instrumental version of the Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me.
03 - Jimmie Noone & His Apex Club Orchestra - Blues (My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me)
04 - Bo Carter & Mary Butler - Electrocuted Blues
(jingle)
05 - Will Day - Central Avenue Blues
06 - Lucille Bogan - New Way Blues
That were four in a row, all from 1928 - After Jimmie Noone's clarinet, you got the Electrocuted Blues and you heard Mary Butler with Bo Carter on the guitar, and I think the fiddle was done by his brother Lonnie Chatmon. Bo Barter is best remembered for his original version of Corrine Corrina and his dirty blues such as Your Biscuits Are Big Enough For Me and Please Warm My Wiener.
And we stayed in that year with the Central Avenue Blues of Will Day and he had in total eight sides, four singles released on the Columbia label in '28 and '29. Then finally, again from 1928, Lucille Bogan with the New Way Blues and that was on the Brunswick label where she was backed up by Cow Cow Davenport and Tampa Red.
Well we're not staying in the pre-depression era. From 1940 is this early blues of Big Joe Turner. On piano Pete Johnson - he also co-wrote the song with Turner. Here is the Piney Brown Blues.
07 - Big Joe Turner - Piney Brown Blues
08 - Lionel Hampton - Ridin' On The L&N
Ridin' On The L&N and L&N stands for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, one of the major railway companies of the 19th and 20th century. You got the band of Lionel Hampton and the maestro himself did the singing on this goodie.
And for the next one we go to the San Francisco based Rhythm label. The SK Groove of Saunders King, also known as the Swinging Door Groove. Saunders King was from Oakland, CA and that town had a lively but I'm afraid somewhat under-recorded Rhythm & Blues scene.
Here is the flip of Saunders King's version of Gershwin's Summertime - the SK Groove.
09 - Saunders King - Swinging Door Groove (Sk Groove)
10 - Roy Milton & His Senders - Hop, Skip and Jump
From 1948 Hop Skip and Jump of Roy Milton and his Solid Senders and that was released on the Specialty label. This made it to number 3 on Billboard's Rhythm & Blues hit list. To me, Roy Milton is part of the essence of forties West Coast Rhtyhm & Blues, but as with so many of his contemporaries, interest in him faded when Rock 'n Roll struck the nation. Still he teamed up with Johnny Otis at the 1970 Monterey Jazz festival and he continued to release albums.
And we stay at least a bit close to Milton with what I think is an unreleased take for the Miltone label that I took from a vinyl album from 1986 on the Krazy Kat label. The record has takes from both the Gotham and Miltone labels, explaining that Gotham acquired the masters of Miltone after it folded. Now pianist Dorothy Donegan - we're talking about her - she did materialize a single for Miltone, actually one of the its last issues, but the title that I'm gonna play is not on there. But I assume she took it for Miltone, that by then no longer was under control of Roy Milton.
Dorothy Donegan was a versatile pianist who could do the classical repertoire as easy as the blues or jazz. She first recorded in '42 for Bluebird - by that time she played the clubs of Chicago. There's not many early recordings of her. A few sides for the National label, then that one single for Miltone, and finally a record she did with Red Saunders for Columbia. Only after the mid-fifties she done albums with MGM, Jubilee and Capitol.
Well, here she is with The Piano Player's Blues.
11 - Dorothy Donegan - The Piano Player's Blues
12 - Gene Ammons - Jim Dawgs
Saxophonist Gene Ammons with an instrumental titled Jim Dawgs. Ammons was the son of Albert Ammons, the great boogie-woogie pianist. This was recorded in Chicago in June of 1953.
And we stay with the saxophone instrumental with Morris Lane and a 1951 recording that he did for the then new Robin label, later known as Red Robin. Bobby's boogie is dedicated to the owner of the label - Bobby Robinson. It's a traditional eight-to-the-bar boogie woogie with a good feeling. Here it is - Morris Lane with Bobby's Boogie.
13 - Morris Lane - Bobby's Boogie
14 - Erline Harris - Long Tall Papa
From 1951 on the Chess label Erline Harris backed up by John Peek and his band with the Long Tall Papa. John Peek left no trace in the Chicago scene of Rhythm & Blues except for this session with Chess.
Erline Harris had been in Chicago's clubs for a year when the recording was done - in Ralph's club on West Madison where she fronted the band of saxophonixst Epp James. She'd been traveling all over the country, and she'd recorded in New York and Cincinatti for DeLuxe, in New Orleans for the Regal label and her last recordings were this Chess session. She married in '53 and decided to quit the music and devote herself to raising a family.
For the next one we go to the West Coast for one of these typical storming songs of Mabel Scott. On the Exclusive label from 1949, here is A Bippity Be Bop Pony.
15 - Mabel Scott - A Bippity Be Bop Pony
16 - Elmore James - Sinful Woman
The Sinful woman of Elmore James on the Meteor label from 1952. Elmore James first recorded with Trumpet records, but the record that made it to a hit and to his signature song, Dust My Broom, was recorded as a test and released without approval of James. He signed with the Bihari Brothers to record on the Meteor, Modern and Flair labels.
And there's time for one more, and with that we stay with the Trumpet label where Elmore James started his recording career. I already promised you to play something of Sonny Boy Williamson II, the singer and harpist named Aleck 'Rice' Miller, who took the name of the Chicago bluesman that I opened today's show with, most likely to deceive audiences. He did deceive Trumpet label owner Lilliam McMurray, it took her years to find out, by coincidence, that there had been another bluesman with the same legendary name.
On that Trumpet label from 1953, here is Red Hot Kisses.
17 - Sonny Boy Williamson II - Red Hot Kisses
And the Red Hot Kisses of Sonny Boy Williamson II end today's show of the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman. It's been a journey again that spanned nearly three decades of African American music, and I hope I've entertained you with that and that you learned something again today. Well of course you can let me know and send me an e-mail - the address is rockingdutchman@rocketmail.com.
And today's story and playlist is on my web site, where you can also see what will be on for next week. Do a Google search for the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman and it will show up first in the search results. This is show number 191 and you'll need that to find it in that long list of episodes that I done already.
For now I'm done, and you'll have to wait another week for your next shot of Rhythm & Blues. See you next week, here on the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman!