Hambone was an early precurser to diddley-bow and Rap. Here’s a demonstration featuring John Holeman & Dom Flemons found here. Related posts here.
BTW, that’s “Poke Salat,” not “Polk Salad,” and everyone who heard that song thought Tony Joe White was a black cajun guy.
That’s classic D. L. Menard. Might as well keep rolling with the theme.
Like this.
Have a great weekend, folks. See you back here tomorrow with more victimization and undeserved personal grievances. =D
God’s Cricket Chorus is awesome. I want that played at my funeral, by humans, followed by “Holiday For Strings.” played by crickets. [h/t Octopus]
Here’s Tom Waits‘ response when asked by NPR, “What is the most interesting recording you own?”
“It’s a mysteriously beautiful recording from, I am told, Robbie Robertson’s label. It’s of crickets. That’s right, crickets. The first time I heard it … I swore I was listening to the Vienna Boys Choir, or the Mormon Tabernacle choir. It has a four-part harmony. It is a swaying choral panorama. Then a voice comes in on the tape and says, “What you are listening to is the sound of crickets. The only thing that has been manipulated is that they slowed down the tape.” No effects have been added of any kind, except that they changed the speed of the tape. The sound is so haunting. I played it for Charlie Musselwhite, and he looked at me as if I pulled a Leprechaun out of my pocket.” [via]
In 1977 The Steve Gibbons Band covered Chuck Berry‘s 1969 recording of Tulane and did a decent job of it.
Amy Helm can wail, and her band jams it down your throat.
Third World‘s classic “96 Degrees In The Shade” seems appropriate given this week’s heat wave (and not for the political message).
Keep cool, folks, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow.
That’s the first known recording of John Philip Sousa‘s “The Stars And Stripes Forever March.” It was recorded by Kendle’s First Regiment Band on 29 December 1901 and published by Victor Records [source]. Sousa wrote in his autobiography that he composed the march on Christmas Day, 1896, while crossing the Atlantic, after he learned of the death of his band’s manager.
In 1987, an Act of Congress declared the song to be the Official National March of the United States of America.
Every person who supported cessation and fought for Independence from England was a British subject. Every person who fought against them were also subjects of The Crown. The American Revolution was fought by the British against the British.
The abuse of power by the King had become intolerable, and 13 individual colonies eventually banded together as one to fight the tyranny. The odds were not in their favor, and those colonists in the fray knew that they would be hung (or tortured to death) if they failed.
The Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia in the summer of 1775, shortly after the war with the British had begun. It was preceded by the First Continental Congress in the fall of 1774.
The Congress appointed George Washington as commander of the Continental Army, and authorized the raising of the army through conscription.
On July 4, 1776, the Congress issued the Declaration of Independence, which for the first time asserted the colonies’ intention to be fully independent of the mother country.
The Congress established itself as the central governing authority under the Articles of Confederation, which remained in force until 1788.
While sitting in pre-holiday traffic, I listened to The Mark Levin Show, and he played the audio of those two videos with commentary. I re-learned some history.
[More Independence Day posts in our archives.]
Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks had an unusual sound for a band based in San Francisco at the peak of the psychedelic music era. From an obit in the New York Times 7 February 2016:
“He came to call his music “folk swing,” but that only hinted at the range of influences he synthesized. He drew from the American folk tradition but also from the Gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt, the Western swing of Bob Wills, the harmony vocals of the Andrews Sisters, the raucous humor of Fats Waller and numerous other sources.”
Hicks was still performing up until his demise at the age of 74.
THAT is the prettiest (and only) cover of Tom Waits‘ classic “The Piano Has Been Drinking” I’ve ever heard. The backup vocals are sultry, and note the subtle hat-tip at about 03:00.
Have a great weekend folks, and a long one if you’re taking advantage of a mid-week Independence Day.
I love this interview.
Melody Yang is a Professional Bubbler [via].
Yeah, The Blues Brothers gave it a good cover in 1979, but this one is better. Junior Wells with Buddy Guy at the 1974 Montreux Jazz Festival is nothing less than killer.
Here’s Junior Wells’ original version from 1960.
Have a great weekend, folks, see you back here tomorrow whether you like it or not.
This is scary. The Correct Answer Is 22.
Rag’n’Bone Man‘s cover of the Stones “Gimme Shelter” is killer.
More about that talented Brit via Wiki:
Rag’n’Bone Man’s first hit single, “Human“, was released on Columbia Records in July 2016. It peaked at number one in the Official Singles Charts in Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. It was certified Gold in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.
That’s is an entirely different version and a precursor to the one I’m familiar with:
Tom Waits is amazing.
Have a great weekend, folks, and for Fathers’ Day, buy your Dad a big bacon cheeseburger with fries and a pint of stout. He’ll love it, despite what your Mom says about it causing tumors in rats.
Not quite Sweded, but close. [Found here.]
Brazillian concert pianist Eliane Rodrigues discovered that her piano was defective, descended into Hell, then came back smiling. She’s no prima donna.
Doña Oxford ain’t no slouch either, and her keys melt. Let’s do one more.
The All Night Long Blues Band featured Sean “Bad” Apple, Dixie Street and Martin Grant with a nice cover of Hambone Willie Newbern‘s 1929 recording “Roll and Tumble Blues.” [Harp player Martin Grant passed away in March of 2015.]
Have a great weekend, folks. See y’all back here soon.
Kmac2021 is a one-man Spinal Tap. Reminds me of the vids entitled, “What It’s Really Like To Work In A Music Store.”
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Okay, so where do we go from here? Goin’ Down.
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Jeff Beck covered Don Nix‘s “Going Down.”
I always thought it was a Freddie King song. So what else did Nix do? A lot.
From Wiki: Don Nix began his career playing saxophone for the Mar-Keys, which also featured Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn and others. The [1961] hit instrumental single “Last Night” (composed by the band as a whole) was the first of many successful hits to Nix’s credit. […] The Mar-Keys evolved into Booker T. & the M.G.’s.
What a convergence of talent at the right time and the right place. God Bless Stax Records.
Have a soulful weekend, folks, be back here tomorrow.
Old trick, but it’s a good ‘un. I had one that was similar – the bottles flipped from right side up to upside down using the same basic gaffe (like this). [via here.]
Attitude.
“Jazz Mad” TerryToons 1931 [via]. From Wiki:
Through much of its history, the studio [Terrytoons] was considered one of the lowest-quality houses in the field, to the point where Paul Terry noted, “Disney is the Tiffany’s in this business, and I am the Woolworth’s.” Terry’s studio had the lowest budgets and was among the slowest to adapt to new technologies such as sound (in about 1930) and Technicolor (in 1938), while its graphic style remained remarkably static for decades. Background music was entrusted to one man, Philip Scheib, and Terry’s refusal to pay royalties for popular songs forced Scheib to compose his own scores. Paul Terry took pride in producing a new cartoon every other week, regardless of the quality of the films.
In keeping with the accidental Double O Theme, here’s one more.
Alfred Jesse Smith, aka, Brenton Wood, had back-to-back hits in 1967: The Oogum Boogum Song and Gimme Little Sign. Filmed in Hacienda Heights California on “Thee Mr. Duran Show,” this video dates to pre-2006. Jump to 01:53 for the song.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend, folks. Remember those we are memorializing and why.
Tacky Raccoons 