In the 20s, records were a new-ish thing. The record companies had no real idea what sold and what didn’t, and an amazing variety of music got recorded and released, just trying to figure out what might sell. It’s hard to imagine what they were thinking about some it (a wonderful commercial recording of a pan pipe instrumental from Clarksdale called “Quill Blues” by Big Boy Cleveland comes to mind), but a creative floodgate opened, particularly from 1927-1932. One of the more surprising things that hit was the jug band craze, kicked off by the Louisville Jug Band.
The pinnacle of jug band creativity was in Memphis (it sounds a dubious achievement but bear with me) including recordings by the Memphis Jug Band and Gus Cannon’s Jug Stompers. You know some of the songs–Gus Cannon’s “Walk Right In” became a hit in a cover version in the early 60s, and the Lovin’ Spoonful reworked the Memphis Jug Band’s “Prison Wall Blues” into “Younger Girl.”
Will Shade of the Memphis Jug Band (who played guitar on yesterday’s entry) was the main talent scout for Victor Records when they recorded in Memphis. Here’s his band doing “K.C. Moan,” a classic of prewar Memphis blues. It was recorded in October, 1929 on the same Victor field trip as the gospel song I posted yesterday.
As a bonus, here’s some film footage, of more historical than musical interest possibly, I’m guessing done in the early sixties, of Memphis Jug Band members Will Shade (on guitar) and Charley Burse (on a washtub bass) doing “Kansas City Blues” (“I’m going to move to Kansas City, honey where they don’t ‘low you.”).
Wasn’t Memphis Minnie at one time a member of the Memphis Jug Band? (As they had several band members in and out)
Many artists currently occupying the Billboard top 20 could learn a thing or two from these guys.
Phantom – Music today would certainly benefit. I might argue that they already learned a thing or two from these guys…they just don’t know it. And that is truly sad.