Playlist and Notes 28 February 2023

This week we start with some funky jazz (including the Eddie Fisher and Branford Marsalis). In the second portion of the show, we wrap up this month’s review of the origins and development of early blues, focusing on one of the most enigmatic singer-songwriter of the early days, Robert Johnson. We close the show with a trio of songs from South Africa. My good friend Kevan kindly gave me an album of soundtrack to the documentary film American Epic. It is a fascinating collection of early recorded music and I have chosen a couple of songs to feature on the blues segment today.

A reminder that we are hiatus next week for Spring Break. Shark Jazz and Blues will resume on 14 March with new features.

 

Eddie Fisher Quintet – A Dude Called Zeke (6:53)

Branford Marsalis Quartet – Snake Hip Waltz (5:52)

Adrian Ruiz Quintet – Cancion Para Mi Amor (5:26)

Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra featuring Dinah Washington – Evil Gal Blues (3:17)

Billie Holiday – Don’t Explain (3:24)

Charley Patton – Down the Dirt Road Blues (2:56)

Jimmie Rodgers – Waiting For a Train (2:47)

Robert Johnson – Sweet Home Chicago (3:01)

Keb’ Mo’ – Come On In My Kitchen (4:10)

Louise Phelan & Octavio Herrero – Rambling On My Mind (4:26)

Robert Johnson – Cross Road Blues (2:32)

Solomon Linda’s Original Evening Birds – Mbube (2:44)

 

Notes

Dinah Washington (1924-1963) – She experimented with many different genres but gave herself the title of “Queen of the Blues.” During the 1940s, Washington was the model of strong, assertive black women. She died at the age of 39 after an accidental drug overdose.

“Evil Gal Blues” was written by Lionel Hampton and Leonard Feather. This version was recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1945.

Billie Holliday (1915-1959) – Nicknamed “Lady Day,” Holiday was born in Philadelphia.

“Don’t Explain” was written by Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr. The inspiration was the infidelity of her first husband, Jimmy Monroe. First recorded in 1944, it has since been covered many times, including a 2005 rendition with Herbie Hancock, Damien Rice, and Lisa Hannigan.

Travel, especially by train, is a common theme in blues songs and is/was seen as representing escape and freedom.

Charley Patton (1891-1934) of Black and Native heritage considered the originator and an influential performer of the Mississippi Delta blues. In “Down the Dirt Road Blues,” he sings about going to the Nation (“I been to the Nation, oh Lord / but I couldn’t stay there”), referring to the Cherokee Nation. It was recorded in Richmond, Indiana, on 14 June 1929. He was a mentor to younger blues players, including Robert Johnson.

Jimmie Rodgers (1897-1933). Often known as the “Father of Country Music.” As Annye Anderson, pointed out in her biography of her brother, Robert Johnson,[1] in the 1920s and 1930s, it was hard to distinguish between, what we would call today, gospel, the blues, and country music. She was particularly fond of Jimmie Rodgers. What I like about this song is that its sounds like a country song, with yodeling, then all the sudden, in the middle of the song, a trumpet and trombone play a bridge. (“Nobody seems to want me / or lend me a helping hand”).

Robert Johnson (1911-1938). Perhaps the most famous, mysterious, and influential blues players ever. In 1936 and 1937, he recorded 29 original songs, along with some alternate versions, that constitutes his entire catalog. Yet, those records and songs became hugely influential, especially among British rock stars and bands in the 1970s. Johnson’s songs continue to be covered in many artists in different genres, including by Keb’ Mo’, as well as Louise Phelan and Octavio Herrero.  

As chronicled by Anderson, blues stars and their families rarely saw any financial benefit from their recorded music. The same can be said of Solomon Linda’s family in South Africa.

Solomon Linda’s Original Evening Birds were formed in 1939 and soon recorded their hit song, “Mbube.” It would later become the basis for the hit “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” The original song only had two words: mbube and zimba, the Zulu words for lion and stop. It is believed that Mbube was the first African record to sell 100,000 copies. Peter Seeger recorded a version in the 1950s, but the 1961 version, which added a few more words, by The Tokens became a global hit. Meanwhile, Linda would sell the rights to the song in 1952 for the equivalent of less than a dollar. Poverty was a major feature of the Linda Family, two children would die in fancy, one of which from malnutrition. Disney’s The Lion King (1994) would make bring the song back to prominence, and the company would conclude an undisclosed agreement over royalties with the family in 2006.[2]

 

---

[1] Annye C. Anderson, Brother Robert: Growing Up with Robert Johnson (New York: Hachette Books, 2020).

[2] Sharon Lafraniere, “In the Jungle, the Unjust Jungle, a Small Victory.” New York Times, 22 March 2006, https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/22/world/africa/in-the-jungle-the-unjust-jungle-a-small-victory.html.