Blues | Old Time Blues

Please note: this article dates to Old Time Blues’ first year and does not meet the standard of quality to which more recent postings are held. Thank you for your understanding.

Last Thursday, June 11, marked the 111th birthday of boogie woogie pioneer Clarence “Pine Top” Smith, who was born on that day in 1904. While Smith was not the first pianist to play in that style, his “Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie” is believed to be the first recorded song to use the term “boogie woogie” in its title*.

Clarence Smith was born in Troy, Alabama, and got his nickname from his childhood fondness for tree-climbing. In 1928, Cow Cow Davenport recommended him to Vocalion Records, and he recorded eight sides with them in three sessions in December 1928 and January 1929. On March 15, 1929, Pine Top Smith was shot dead at the age of 24 during a fight in a dance-hall a day before he had a recording session scheduled. Whether or not the bullet was intended for him is disputed.

On the first side of Vocalion 1245, Pine Top Smith plays his famous “Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie”, take “A”, with his spoken instructions to dancers, recorded December 29, 1928 in Chicago, his first recording session. Just the sort of a performance that you’d hear at a 1920s rent party.

Contrary to what he might have had us believe, Joe Willie “Pinetop” Perkins was not the originator of “Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie”, he got his name from playing Clarence Smith’s composition, which Smith claimed he came up with at a house-rent party in St. Louis, Missouri. It also made a hit in 1938 when it was recorded by Tommy Dorsey’s orchestra as simply “Boogie Woogie”. Please read Mr. Brad Kay’s comment for a definitive explanation.

Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie, recorded December 29, 1928 by “Pine Top” Smith.

On the flip, Pine Top sings on another fine boogie woogie number, “Pine Top Blues”, take “B”, recorded on the same day, which lifts some of its lyrics from other popular blues songs of the day.

Pine Top Blues, recorded December 29, 1928 by “Pine Top” Smith.

It seems fitting that the first record posted on this site (the introductory one notwithstanding) is the one that inspired the name: Old Time Blues, played by Mamie Smith’s Jazz Hounds; an early black jazz record, and a pretty fine one at that.

This disc, recorded February 21, 1921 in New York City for Okeh records, interestingly does not feature Mamie Smith herself, instead her backing group, the Jazz Hounds, play a pair of instrumental tunes. Rust lists the personnel as being Johnny Dunn on cornet, Buster Bailey on clarinet, Leroy Parker on violin, Phil Worde on piano, and Chink Johnson on tuba. Brian Rust explicitly notes “not Mort Perry” on xylophone, yet Perry Bradford himself states in his autobiography, “on this date, we used Mort Perry on the xylophone.” Alternatively, perhaps it could be the famous Green Brothers, Joe and George Hamilton, as suggested in the comments by Uncle Dave Lewis.

The first side is a composition by trumpeter Johnny Dunn, who also plays in the recording along with Buster Bailey on clarinet. Perhaps one could consider this the theme song of this site.

Old Time Blues, recorded February 21, 1921 by Mamie Smith’s Jazz Hounds.

The flip-side of that record is an instrumental version of Mamie Smith’s first recording, “That Thing Called Love”, composed by Perry Bradford, which heavily features the unidentified xylophonist.

That Thing Called Love, recorded February 1, 1921 by Mamie Smith's Jazz Hounds.

That Thing Called Love, recorded February 21, 1921 by Mamie Smith’s Jazz Hounds.

Updated on June 24 and November 24, 2016, with with improved audio on June 26, 2018.

Tag Archives: Blues

Vocalion 1245 – “Pine Top” Smith – 1928

Okeh 4296 – Mamie Smith’s Jazz Hounds – 1921