This transcript of the radio show is an approximation of what I said in the show. The real spoken parts may differ slightly.
And legends is what you're gonna get from me, legends that literally were on my head today and yesterday. I played them on my mp3 player while I rode the bus to my work and back home. And it's such great music that I want to share that with you. But first a song that I promised you some time ago on this program, when I told you the story of the women's blues classic Why don't you do right. It was written in 1936 with quite different lyrics as the Weed Smoker's dream and played by the writer, Joe McCoy and his Harlem Hamfats. Later he changed the text and it was Lil Green and later Peggy Lee who made it famous. But here's the original from '36 on Decca - the Harlem Hamfats with the Weed smoker's dream.
01 - Harlem Hamfats - Weed smoker's dream
02 - Memphis Minnie - Kissing In The Dark
The great Memphis Minnie with Kissing in the dark, from 1953 and the song is about STD's. Minnie was a blues veteran by then, a woman in her mid-fifties, as she was born in 1897 in Louisiana. In the early forties she was one of the first blues women to take up the electric guitar.
Joe McCoy of whom you just before heard the Weed Smokers Dream was her husband from 1929 to 1935 and together with him she recorded the immortal song When the Levee Breaks about the 1927 Mississippi flood.
Kissing in the dark was one of her last recordings. In 1957 she suffered a heart attack and also, the demand for this kind of blues had stopped with the rise of the rock 'n roll. She lived in an nursing home from 1961 until her death in 1973, long enough to see the interest in her music return with the blues revival.
Time for some music again. Here is Wynonie Harris with Shake that thing
03 - Wynonie Harris - Shake that thing
04 - Wynona Carr - Till The Well Runs Dry
And from Wynonie we went to Wynona - Wynona Carr with Till The Well Runs Dry. Originally as a gospel singer under the name of "Sister" Wynona Carr but she was not satisfied with the very moderate success she had on the Specialty label. And so she switched to Rhythm & Blues that I think better suited her, but it didn't bring much success either. In 1959 she got tuberculosis and that unfortunately put an end to her singing career.
Next on my mp3 player were the Rhythm Aces with Flippety Flop, a song from 1955 on the Vee-Jay label.
05 - Rhythm Aces - Flippety Flop
06 - Roy Brown - New Rebecca
And that was Roy Brown and his Mighty-Mighty men with New Rebecca, the flip of his big hit Hard Luck Blues from 1950 on the DeLuxe label. Roy Brown is of course most known for his original version of Good Rocking Tonight, that later was covered by his idol Wynonie Harris who brought it to the top of the R&B hit list. Between 1948 and 52, Roy Brown had many hits for DeLuxe that is a subsidiary of King records, but after he won a lawsuit against King for unpaid royalties his fortune turned. Rumours say that he'd been blacklisted for that, but that's hard to prove of course. He also got troubles with the IRS and the rise of Rock 'n Roll that he himself helped to start, also put a definitive end to his success.
Also from the DeLuxe label is the Drivers with Smooth Slow and Easy from 1956. From the label of a promotional copy of it comes the introduction: "Brand new to DeLuxe rocords, the drivers come by their name naturally. During the day all the boys work as truck drivers for a Cincinatti concern. They started singing as a hobby and enjoyed it so much that they decided to try for a musical career."
So here it is, Smooth Slow and easy.
07 - Drivers - Smooth, Slow & Easy
08 - Larks - I Ain't Fattening Frogs For Snakes
From 1951 the Larks on the Apollo label with I Ain't Fattening Frogs For Snakes, the flip of Eyesight to the blind that was their first hit. They were originally from Raleigh, NC, and in 1950 they drove to New York to record, and that seemed to work. On one single day, they'd recorded under four different names for four labels: as the Selah Jubilee Singers for Jubilee, as the Jubilaires for Regal, as the Four Barons for Savoy and as the Southern Harmonaires for Apollo. They stuck to Apollo and changed their name into the Larks, after a bird like other succesful vocal groups like the Orioles and the Ravens.
Next a girl group from 1958 the Dew Drops. I found it on a CD titled A million worth of Girl Groups and this one, at least to me, stood out between all these girlie doowop tunes. Here is He was out with a lady.
09 - Dew Drops - He Was Out With A Lady
10 - Ray-O-Vacs - You Gotta Love Me Too
From 1950 on Decca perhaps one of the obscurest of all Rhythm & Blues groups, the Ray-O-Vacs. With that smoky voice of Lester Harris and that unknown saxophonist with his unique style, this band was pretty unique and easy to distinguish in style - and therefore it's become one of my favourites. On the bus ride to my work it was You Gotta Love Me Too that made my day.
A great contrast with the next song from 1960. Bob Crewe backed up by the Sid Bass Orchestra with This Little Girl of Mine, on the Warwick label.
11 - Bob Crewe - Little Girl Of Mine
12 - Charles Brown - Big Legged Woman
You Big legged women keep your mini skirts down, you got something down there makes the preacher lay his bible down. That was Charles Brown with lyrics that leaves little to the fantasy.
I want to go on with Etta James with the Pick up, from 1957 on the Modern label, a great talking conversation she's having with a saxophone.
13 - Etta James - The Pick-Up
14 - Little Esther - I'm A Bad, Bad Girl
The great Little Esther, like Etta James discovered and brought to the spotlight by Johnny Otis. But at the end of 1950 she left Otis and went recording for the Federal label with little success. You heard I'm a bad girl and according to the label she was accompanied by the Earle Warren Orchestra. I don't know who the male singer was.
Another higlight of that day was the next song of Jimmy Ricks from 1953 from the Mercury label. Ricks was the lead singer of the Ravens with his wonderful bass voice, but the flip of the Ravens' Come a little closer was billed to Jimmy Ricks and his Orchestra. Listen to She got to go.
15 - Jimmy Ricks - She's Got To Go
16 - Ruth Brown - A New Love
A new Love, that was the great Ruth Brown on Atlantic of course, from 1957. Next Mabel Scott with the Boogie Woogie Choo Choo train.
17 - Mabel Scott - Boogie Woogie Choo Choo Train
18 - Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown - Hurry Back Good News
19 - Joan Shaw - Hand Holdin' Baby
And with the Hand Holding Baby of Joan Shaw this episode of the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman has come to an end. Before that you got Clarence Gatemouth Brown with Hurry Back good news. This is what I've been listening to, the last two days while traveling on the bus to my work. When weather permits, I ride the 7 miles to and from work on my bicyle, something not uncommon in my country that is flat and has small distances. But I don't want to get wet so when it rains I take the bus, change over at a small railroad station to another bus, and that brings me to my work. So in the bus lines 23 and 45 you may encounter a rocking Dutchman and then you know - it's me. And I hope you agree that this is great music to enjoy while traveling to wherever you want to go. These times are much more blessed than the era this music came from, after all it would be a little unpractical to bring your gramophone and a bunch of records with you on the bus. Sony's inventon of the walkman and later the mp3 player and the music playing feature of the modern cell phone make everyone have your own music with you, everywhere you go.
Time's up for now so I just have to give my email addres in case you want to comment on this show or ask a question, that is rockingdutchman@rocketmail.com. You can also find me on the web, 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 again, next time, here on the Legends of the Rocking Dutchman!