The Legends of the Rocking Dutchman - episode 22

Broke and Busted

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

And my legends are a bit short of money, today, 'cause the central theme of this episode of the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman is poor, broke and busted. A whole lotta song will go by about poverty, and first I want to start and dig deep, really deep into the history of blues with a recording from the late twenties, way before what I usually play. Here is the great blues legend Bessie Smith with the Poor Man Blues from 1928.

01 - Bessie Smith - Poor Man's Blues
02 - Roosevelt Sykes - All my money gone blues

And from 1930 comes All my money gone blues from Roosevelt Sykes. By this time America had fallen into the Great Depression and it wasn't until the war that the nation started to climb up from the deepest economic crisis ever. Of the many people that were well off in the twenties, most had tumbled into poverty and that will probably have be the case too with the man sung about in the classic woman's blues Why don't you do right.

The song was written in 1936 by Kansas Joe McCoy as the Weed Smoker's Dream and subtitled Why don't you do now. And that's a pretty weird song - apparently inspired by a good smoke. It was released on Decca in 1936 - and I promise you to play that in a later episode of the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman. Joe McCoy later reworked the music a bit and gave it new lyrics and that was the song recorded by Lil Green in 1941 and it became an instant classic. Of course the most memorable cover is done by Peggy Lee, it was her first big hit, but you may have seen it in the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit, where Roger Rabbit's wife Jessica sings it in a night club before a stunned detective Eddie Valiant asking Betty Boop "She's married to Roger Rabbit?"

Anyhow. Here is Lil Green with Big Bill Broonzy on the guitar, with Why don't you do right.

03 - Lil Green - Why Don't You Do Right
04 - Amos Milburn - Money Hustlin' Woman

Amos Milburn singing about the Money Hustling woman, about the gold digger type of woman, who's only after the man's money - a pretty popular theme in the blues.

And the women don't make no secret of it that they're after the man's money. So listen to Annie Laurie with Get me some money. It was on the OKeh label from 1952, I have it here from a somewhat worn-out 45.

05 - Annie Laurie - Get Me Some Money
06 - Varetta Dillard - Send Me Some Money

Send me some money - that's another woman who can't do just with the love of her man. That was Varetta Dillard on Savoy from 1954. So she wouldn't get anything from the guy in the next song. Here are, the Capris with Too poor to love.

07 - Capris - Too Poor To Love
08 - Little Willie John - Love Life and Money

The great Little Willie John with Love Life and Money from 1957 on the King label. William Edward John was his full name and unfortunately he had a short life and career.

He was an instant hit maker for the King label from 1955 when he hit number 5 on the Rhythm & Blues chart with his first single All around the world and he was the first to sing R&B classics as Need your love so bad, Leave my kitten alone and of course Fever.

But he became a notorious alcohol abuser and he had a short temper and that's why King ended his contract in 1963. In 1966 he was convicted for manslaughter and died under suspicious circumstances in the Washington State Penitentiary at the age of thirty years. And with that a great talent was gone.

09 - Five Echoes - Broke
10 - Du Droppers - Dead Broke

You heard the Five Echoes with Broke and after that the Du Droppers with Dead Broke. The Du Droppers were, unlike most vocal groups, men in their late thirties and forties and they definitely had a more mature style. They recorded on the pretty unsuccesful Groove label that was the Rhythm & Blues subsidiary of RCA.

Next up Floyd Dixon singing Tired Broke and Busted.

11 - Floyd Dixon - Tired, Broke & Busted
12 - Johnny Ace - No Money

Johnny Ace with No money from 1954 on a Duke 78 that may have seen better times. Well the cracks in the grooves are part of this show and yours to enjoy, here on the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman.

For the next song I want to share a bit of an obscurity with you. I found him on a 80s LP on the Krazy Kat label. His name is Edward Gates White and though he had a college degree in music at first he didn't start his career in music. It were his co-workers at a dry cleaning service who told him to get into music again and that's what he did.

From 1948 he recorded for several labels under the names of The Gates, the Great Gates and his Hollywood all-stars and the Great Gates and his Wampus Cats, and in the early sixties as "the Man on the Moon" Ed Gates. By that time he owned his own nightclub and he'd learnt to play the piano and the Hammond organ.

So here is Edward 'Great Gates' White with Ain't Got No Money. The liner notes don't tell when this was recorded but it must have been in the early fifties.

13 - Edward 'Great Gates' White - Ain't Got No Money
14 - George Zimmeran & The Thrills - Ain't Got No Money To Pay For This Drink

(rocking dutchman jingle)

15 - Johnny Guitar Watson - Broke & Lonely
16 - Camille Howard - Money Blues

You heard Camille Howard with the money blues on Specialty and that hit number 10 on the Rhythm & Blues list in 1951þ. Before that, you got Johnny Guitar Watson with Broke & Lonely from 1961 and before the jingle George Zimmerman & The Thrills with Ain't Got No Money To Pay For This Drink.

We'll continue with the Penguins, a vocal group most know for their hit Earth Angel of 1955. The group formed a year earlier and named itself after the penguin on the Kool cigarettes. Apart from their one hit they weren't very succesful so most people will know them as one of these one hit wonders. But for doowop fans they're known as one of the best. The lead singer Cleve Duncan passed away not long ago, on November 6, 2012 while waiting in line to vote for the presidential elections. Here are the Penguins with Money Talks.

17 - Penguins - Money Talks
18 - Wild Bill Davis Trio - Bring The Money In

Wild Bill Davis and his trio with Bring the money in. Davis had been a member of Louis Jordan's band the Tympany Five and he was one of the first to play the electronic organ, he already played it in the late thirties. He was a great influence for the legendary organist Jimmy Smith and many other early adopters of the Hammond organ.

As we reach the end of the show I have time for one more song. This one has been one of my favourites for a very long time. Willie Jones gets troubles with the landlord, the grocer and everyone else whom he still owes money in Where's my money.

19 - Willie Jones - Where's My Money

From the Mr. Peacock label in 1962 that was Willie Jones with where's my money and that marks the end of this episode of the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman.

Well, it wasn't that hard to find a full hour of music about the theme of money and especially the lack of it, after all the Blues and the Rhyth & Blues often told about everyday's troubles of Arican American life in the fifties and poverty certainly was part of that.

I hope you liked my selection and if so, or if you want to ask anything about the music and the artists you heard today, don't hesitate to drop an e-mail to rockingdutchman@rocketmail.com. Or find me on the web, where you can review today's playlist, just do a google search for the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman and it will pop up first. As for now, byebye and have a great day. No, have a rocking day. See you next time on the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman!