What’s the Matter With the Mill
Some more Memphis Minnie for you everyone, I referred to this song in the previous post to highlight a different side of her songs.
Memphis Minnie – What’s The Matter With The Mill.mp3
Even though it was undoubtedly the general miserable drunkenness and desperate heartache that got me into blues to begin with, I always like it when you get songs like this. Songs about really mundane topics, that highlight how different the lives of these singers might have been to our own lives. Because that’s the beauty of the more “standard” blues songs; they make you feel like no time at all has passed since the 1920s, or at least that not much is different in the ordinary struggles and challenges of human lives.
Another favourite in this category is a song by Skip James, called Little Cow and Calf Is Gonna Die Blues. Of course, sometimes these to types of songs were combined, and one of the greatest examples of that remains his own Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues.
Chickasaw Train Blues (First Memphis Minnie post!)
I can’t quite believe that this is the first Memphis Minnie song that I’ve ever posted!
The cover of the record that properly introduced me to Memphis Minnie, after I came across it in a local thrift shop!
When you look up Memphis Minnie on any website like wikipedia or last.fm or just google her, the first statement you will come across is very probably that she was one of the very few, and maybe even the first (depending on the source) of female blues singers to be a match for the male blues musicians when it came to playing guitar and anything at all basically besides just singing. It all sounds very impressive when you read it like that, but if you’re anything like me that might actually put you off listening to her. Which is why I’m so happy that I started listening to her before I googled her.
Memphis Minnie was not, in my opinion, one of the great vocalists of the early aucoustic blues era. There’s never any doubt about her genuine talent and intuitive knowledge of the blues, though. Her songs covering everything from broke down mills to going home with a stranger, Memphis Minnie is undoubtedly one of those singers that anyone can identify and sympathise with.
With artists and personalities like this, it’s always a challenge to decide on that one song which will serve as an introduction to anyone who will listen. That irrevocable first impression. In this case though, the choice was made easier by the fact that you have a female singer referring to another woman as a “low down dirty dog”. It’s a pretty male term, so it grabbed my attention straight away.
So, without further ado; ladies, gentlemen and chickasaws:
Memphis Minnie – Chickasaw Train Blues (Low Down Dirty Thing).mp3
Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe
Goin’ To Leave You Blues
This is probably my favourite song. Of all.
Big Boy Cleveland – Goin’ To Leave You Blues.mp3
Although of course I don’t really think it’s possible to have one favourite song anymore than you can have one favourite movie or food or person or basically anything, but that’s still how I think of this song.
I discovered it not too long before leaving Cardiff, and I remember sitting on the carpeted floor of my tiny and extremely cold room, listening to this song on repeat all through the night. In reality of course it was probably just two or three times in a row but it felt like the entire night because there’s just something magical about this song.
You need to play this song pretty loud because the recording isn’t great and it’s hard to make out the words – there’s still lots that I can’t make out. But just the feeling that you get from this song is something pretty unique. I’ve been waiting for a good occasion to post this, and decided that this would be my Christmas present to all of you. I sincerely hope you enjoy it.
Big Boy Cleveland is, sadly, one of those blues musicians about whom very little is known. He’s credited to this song and to an instrumental piece called Quill Blues. Sometimes also to a version of Stack O’Lee Blues, but I have the exact same version of that credited to someone else entirely. There are no known pictures of him that I have ever been able to find, but when you search for him this album cover comes up instead:
Pretty fitting if you ask me.
Have a wonderful Christmas.
Hx
Dark Was the Night – Cold Was the Ground
1) I waited all autumn for the right opportunity to post this, just for that dark autumn night with a bonfire in the forest type feeling I get from it, but I waited too long and now it’s winter. Better late than never?
2) Someone also said they’d spread the word about this blog if I posted some Blind Willie Johnson, and seeing as I was planning to do so anyway I don’t think that’s a bad deal at all.
So here is the song:
Blind Willie Johnson – Dark Was The Night – Cold Was The Ground.mp3
I was going to post the clip from Walk the Line in which young Johnny Cash listens to this song on the radio, but that proved impossible to find online. So instead, here is him performing Nobody’s Fault But Mine, which was later made famous by Nina Simone and apparently, umm, Led Zeppelin…?
Enjoy, and good night.
PS: There was some confusion as to whether the ground was in fact hard or cold (though I imagine it was probably both). On the compilation I got the track off, they called it “…Hard was the ground” but I’ve noticed that most other places it’s “…Cold was the ground” so I’ve changed it back to that now. H.
Shake It And Break It
I was actually searching for some pictures of Louise Johnson when I came across this article about Charley Patton, which I think makes for quite an enjoyable read. So instead of posting the one Louise Johnson song that I have, I’ll save that for another time and share with you the one Charley Patton song that I have instead. If that’s alright with you.
Charley Patton – Shake It And Break It.mp3
It’s a real nice song, albeit it’s not always easy to make out the words. I like the tune, though.
Frankie
It’s that time of year again – the leaves start falling, the rain keeps pouring, and I start listening to this song more than I listen to most other songs again.
Mississippi John Hurt – Frankie
For those unfamiliar with Mississippi John Hurt, he’s one of the big guns of delta blues and you should definitely listen to him more. I’m sure I’ll post more of his songs at some point as well. Here’s a video of him playing some other song, look how sweet he is as well!:
Baby, You Gotta Change Your Mind
This might, strictly speaking, be too cheerful to count as “blues”. It’s a nice song and it makes me want to dance like they did in the 20s, even now in the middle of the night with hardly any energy left to spare.
Blind Boy Fuller – Baby, You Gotta Change Your Mind
It’s also the first song I post by someone called Blind Something! Exciting times. And look at this!:
Up Country Blues
Warning for the faint of heart: this little number consists exclusively of harmonica. No singing, and no other instruments. It’s nice though, I’m almost even tempted to call it cute. It also gave the title to the first volume of the massive Broke, Black & Blue anthology which I can not recommend quite strongly enough.
DeFord Bailey – Up Country Blues
Bedside Blues
Because I’m sat by my desk (about two feet away from my bed) at 1:25 in the morning, looking out at the trees across the street as green as anything in the summer night. And once I’ve finished posting this, I will go to bed.
I ain’t gon’ be your low down dog no more.
Apparently, Jim Thompkins is one of those blues artists who appeared out of nowhere, recorded one really great song, and then disappeared from the surface of the earth.
In this song, the only surviving out of two known songs that he recorded, he borrows lines at least from an Ida Cox song (although not that one), as well as what is possibly my favourite song in the world (at least if I’m pressed to mention one). I’ll wait for a real worthy opportunity to reveal what that is and post it, though. Although one tag for this post could be a clue.
Good night. Sleep well.
