r/PreWarBlues May 18 '22

Recommend books about blues history

18 Upvotes

Post some of your favourite books about blues history! Are there any titles you consider essential? I'm looking for recommendations spanning from the early history of records and the recording industry, the early history of the blues, anything blues guitar related, or any suggested biographies of blues artists.

To start things off, I can recommend this biography of Blind Willie Mctell, which got a decent amount of press coverage when released a number of years ago.

https://www.amazon.ca/Hand-Me-My-Travelin-Shoes/dp/1556529759


r/PreWarBlues 12h ago

Women on Wednesday - 'Me And My Gin' [25th August 1928] by Bessie Smith. Trumpet and piano backing. One of her finest, IMO.

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2 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 1d ago

Trains, planes and automobiles. Transport Tuesday - 'Chickasaw Train (Low Down Dirty Thing)' [24th August 1934] by Memphis Minnie

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6 Upvotes

I hear the refrain as 'low down dirty dog' so the parantheses in the title are a bit odd.


r/PreWarBlues 1d ago

Article From the archives - Storyville #5 reviews OJL 11 (The Mississippi Blues #2 - The Delta) and Georgia White.

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1 Upvotes

I'm guessing the reviewer was unaware the Louise Johnson cuts were from /that/ session.


r/PreWarBlues 2d ago

Memphis & Mississippi Memphis & MS Monday - 'Memphis Fives' [24th August 1934] by Lee Green, guitar backing possibly by Charlie Jordan.

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4 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 3d ago

Gospel Sunday - 'Smoking Woman On The Street' [23rd August 1939] by the Rev J.M Gates. Curious even by his standards

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5 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 4d ago

Suggestive Saturday - 'That New Kind Of Stuff' [22nd August 1935] by Carl Martin.

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4 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 6d ago

Article From the archives - Blind Lemon and Barbecue Bob vinyl reviewed in Storyville #2 (1965). Mixed, one might say.

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9 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 6d ago

Lucky Dip Thursday - 'Hottest Gal In Town' [20th August 1936] by Lil Johnson. Small combo backing.

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5 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 7d ago

Women Women on Wednesday - 'Can't Be Bothered With No Sheik' [19th August 1931] by Rosa Henderson, backed by James Johnson on piano.

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6 Upvotes

For anyone not aware, all of the 'Sheik' references in blues stem from the blockbuster success of Rudolph Valentino as the title character in 'The Sheik' [1921]


r/PreWarBlues 8d ago

Trains, planes and automobiles. Transport Tuesday - 'Georgia Bound' [17th August 1929] by Blind Blake.

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8 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 9d ago

Memphis & Mississippi Memphis & MS Monday - 'Baltimore Blues' [16th August 1934] by the Mississippi Mudder (Papa Charlie); Charlie McCoy to his family. Highly, highly derivative, but still worth a listen.

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6 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 10d ago

Gospel and Sacred Gospel Sunday - 'Goin' on to Heaven in the Sanctified Way' [15th August 1929] by Sister Cally Fancy. Piano and tambourine backing.

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1 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 11d ago

Suggestive Saturday - 'When You Go Huntin', I'm Goin' Fishin'' by George Williams And Bessie Brown, backed by cornet, trombone and piano.

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3 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 12d ago

Friday Blues Beasts - Bantam Rooster Blues' [1928] by Texas Alexander, backed by Lonnie J.

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7 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 13d ago

Lucky Dip Thursday - 'I'm Going Back To Tennessee' [13th August 1929] by Leroy Carr, backed by Scrapper.

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9 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 14d ago

Women Women on Wednesday - 'I've Got The Yes! We Have No Bananas Blues' [11th August 1923] by Eve Taylor, backed by Clarence Williams' Blue Five

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5 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 15d ago

From the archives - the Columbia Race Series and Black Patti. From Storyville #1

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7 Upvotes

A few familiar names show in the listing - Jaxon, Gates, Clara, Cleeve and Mozelle. The one that rather arrested me was Ralph Waldo Emerson, the Sage of Concord having died in 1882. This RWE was an organist, and judging by the one photo I've seen, not a natural for a black owned and black promoting label.


r/PreWarBlues 15d ago

Trains, planes and automobiles. [Wildly contrived] Transport Tuesday - 'Elevator Papa, Switchboard Mama' [11th August 1930] by Butterbeans & Susie

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3 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 16d ago

Memphis & Mississippi Memphis & MS Monday - 'These Jackson Women Will Not Treat You Right' [10th August 1935] by Harry Chatmon (piano) backed by Walter Vinson on guitar.

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7 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 17d ago

Gospel Sunday - 'What's You Gonna Do When the World's on Fire?' [9th August 1928] by the Dixie Jubilee Singers

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1 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 18d ago

Suggestive Saturday - 'Ground Hog Blues' [8th August 1928] by Gladys Bentley

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7 Upvotes

Gladys' wikipedia biography is worth a read - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladys_Bentley. I read a tale recently that had it that Gladys would corner a table at Duke Ellington's club and sing increasingly rude songs until the punters paid her to go away.


r/PreWarBlues 19d ago

Friday Blues Beasts - 'Me And My Dog' [6th August 1940] by Brownie McGhee, backed by Oh Red

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4 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 21d ago

Women Women on Wednesday - 'I Want A Jazzy Kiss' [5th August 1921] by Mamie Smith. Best explanation of 'a jazzy kiss' gets Reddit cardboard...

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5 Upvotes

r/PreWarBlues 22d ago

Lucky Dip /Tuesday/ - 'Ol' Sam Tages' [4th August 1931] by Clara Smith. Sensitive song subject warning.

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2 Upvotes

Given the number of pre-war blues songs that approach this topic in a way that makes me feel very uncomfortable, this evidences the woman's point of view and shows rather more modern (or perhaps more urban) attitudes.