First off—a big THANK YOU to all who take the time to read this blog spot on the NEOBA site. I hope it helps add to your understanding of the blues and of its people. Thanks also goes to Andy Pressler, the president of NEOBA, for adding the artists/tunes that appear in the blog. All of that takes time and work. Also, we at The Sound of Blue hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving (and have no regrets as to how much you ate!) and will have a safe, enjoyable and Merry Christmas.
Some December Blues Births:
- December 7th.,1929—“Big” Jake Darby
- December 19th.,1942—Cornell Dupree
- December 30th.,1928—Ellas McDaniel, aka Bo Diddley
Answer to the November 2015 Blues Question: the bluesman we were looking for was/is Moses “Whispering” Smith, born January 25th.,1932, in Union Church, Mississippi. He started playing harmonica at 14 years of age and went on to work with a small band, in local jukes, through the 1950’s in Brookhaven, Mississippi. He moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1957 and worked mostly outside the music field. He teamed up with Lightnin’ Slim (Otis Hicks) and occasionally, Silas Hogan, to sometimes work local clubs/jukes. He went on with his own group to work in clubs in Baton Rouge, Monroe and Shreveport. He recorded on the Excello label in Crowley and then in Baton Rouge on the Arhoolie and Excello labels. He played festivals, concerts, t.v. and radio shows in Switzerland, England and all over Europe. While in London he recorded on the Big Bear/Polydor label (now in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England). He remained active in music in the 1970’s, but was inactive in the 1980’s due to ill health, until he passed on April 28th.,1984, in Baton rouge. It has been said he never reached his potential due to his appearance in his later life. I’m not sure that that was due to his illness or some other problem. Although a good harp player, his most recognizable quality was his deep, raspy voice, which was in the in the quality of the best “blues shouters”. That voice belied his “Whispering” nickname. By the way, he both wrote and recorded more songs than you can find listed in any printed records of his discography.
Blues Question for December 2015: this bluesman is incorrectly shown to have recorded on only five labels. He recorded on quite a few more as a “sideman” or session player, sometimes not listed in the credits. He first learned to play one instrument before he taught himself to play the harmonica at the age of six. He went on to record and/or perform with some of the “big names” of the blues at that time and some “unknowns” (who would later be well-known). Though his life was short, you have probably heard him without knowing it. Any idea who this bluesman is/was ??
Blues Trivia for December 2015: if you have listened to the blues or 1950’s rock and roll for a while, you’ve heard the song “Stagger Lee”. There is so much trivia connected to this song that I’m going to try to just hit the highlights of its history. It was first recognized in an 1897 newspaper story published in the Kansas City Leavenworth Herald as being titled “Stack-a-Lee” and was being performed by “Professor Charlie Lee, the piano thumper”. The first “printed” version was in 1911. It was first recorded by Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians in 1923. The first recording with lyrics, however, was done by Lovie Austin in 1924 and was titled “Skeeg-A-Lee Blues”. What is now considered to be the definitive version of it was recorded in 1928 by Mississippi John Hurt. If you and I had nothing better to do and lots of space and time, I could list the over 430 versions that have been recorded to this date, by all types of musicians and in a lot of different genres of music. And now, about its actual beginning—it’s a true story (mostly), with variations in the lyrics, depending on what the performer thought they should be. “Stagger Lee” was actually Lee Shelton, an African-American pimp, who lived in St. Louis, Missouri. His nickname was “Stag Lee” or “Stack Lee”, which came from the fact that he went “stag” (indicating he had no friends). Supposedly, he took the nickname from a riverboat named the “Stack Lee”, owned by the Lee family. The boat was known for its on-board prostitution. He was the “captain” of a black “Four Hundred Club”, which had a “questionable” reputation. The club’s name was taken from Ward McAllister, self-appointed “judge” of New York society, who said there were only 400 people in New York that mattered. Shelton and an acquaintance, William “Billy” Lyons, were drinking in the Bill Curtis Saloon (located in the fore-mentioned club), on Christmas night in 1895. Lyons was a member in the St. Louis underworld, as was Shelton. As such, they were “business” rivals. They eventually got into an argument, during which Billy Lyons took Shelton’s Stetson hat. Shelton then shot Lyons, took back his hat and left the saloon. Lyons died from his injuries. Shelton was arrested, charged, tried and convicted of murder in 1897. He was pardoned in 1909 but went back to prison in 1911 for assault and robbery. He died in jail in 1912.
AND YOU THOUGHT IT WAS JUST A SONG !!
AND YOU THOUGHT IT WAS JUST A SONG !!
Some December Blues Passings:
- December 5th.,1963—Susie Edwards (of Butterbeans and Susie duo)
- December 19th.,2002—Christine Kittrell
- December 31st.,1980—Robert Pete Williams
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