Columbia 14427-D – Bessie Smith – 1929

Posted on April 15, 2016 by R. Connor Montgomery

Bessie Smith, the Empress of the Blues. From Jazzmen, 1938.

Bessie Smith, the Empress of the Blues. From Jazzmen, 1939.

On this day, we celebrate the 122nd anniversary of the birthday of the Empress of the Blues herself, Bessie Smith.

Bessie Smith was born on April 15, 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, though the 1900 census reported that she was born in 1892. Both her parents died while she was still a child, and she and Bessie and some of her siblings turned to busking to make ends meet. Her brother left to join Moses Stoke’s troupe in 1910, and returned later to take Bessie with him. She worked, variously, in stage shows and on the T.O.B.A. vaudeville circuit. In 1923, Smith was in New York, and made her first records for Columbia, with whom she would remain for the rest of her career, save for a few Columbia’s subsidiary Okeh. She became a fixture of the Harlem Renaissance, and the highest paid black performer in the United States. In 1929, she made her only filmed appearance in St. Louis Blues. Hard times came with the Great Depression however, she made her final recordings on Columbia in 1931, and after a hiatus, made four more in 1933 for Okeh, accompanied by Buck Washington and his band, which proved to be her last.

In the wee hours of September 26, 1937, Bessie was riding down Highway 61—”the Blues Highway”—with her lover at the wheel, when his Packard collided with a slow-moving truck ahead. Bessie was mortally wounded. The first to arrive at the scene was one Dr. Smith who dressed Bessie’s wounds while his fishing buddy called for an ambulance. After some time passed with no ambulance in sight, the doctor decided to move Bessie in his own car, when another car came screaming down the road and plowed into Bessie’s Packard, which bounced off Dr. Smith’s car and landed in the ditch off the side of the road. Finally, two ambulances arrived, one from the white hospital, and another from the black hospital. Bessie Smith was taken to the G.T. Thomas Afro-American Hospital in Clarksdale, Mississippi, where her badly injured right arm was amputated, but she never regained consciousness, and died that morning. (Contrary to rumors propagated by John Hammond, she did not die as a result of being brought to an all-white hospital, as she was not taken to an all-white hospital.)

Columbia 14427-D was recorded May 8, 1929 in New York City by Bessie Smith. She is accompanied on piano by Clarence Williams and on guitar by Eddie Lang. The DAHR shows takes “2” and “3” were issued on both sides, these are “3” and “2”, respectively. Both sides are more than a bit on the raunchy side, so if you’re a prude, you may want to turn back here.

On the first side of this disc, Bessie sings “I’m Wild About That Thing”, probably one of her more famous tunes.

I’m Wild About That Thing, recorded May 8, 1929 by Bessie Smith.

On the reverse, Smith sings the equally racy “You’ve Got to Give Me Some”.

You’ve Got to Give Me Some, recorded May 8, 1929 by Bessie Smith.

Regal G 8161 – William Thomas – 1924

Posted on March 17, 2016 by R. Connor Montgomery

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.

I can’t imagine any better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day here at Old Time Blues than with authentic traditional Irish songs, recorded in Britain, and pressed on a Regal by the Columbia Graphophone Company in the United Kingdom. These two classically Irish songs are sung by “William Thomas” which as I understand it was a pseudonym for the classical tenor Thomas Jackson.

Regal G 8161 was recorded in June of 1924 probably in London, by William Thomas, a pseudonym for tenor Thomas Jackson. I can’t find any information on the singer, but he appears to have been quite prolific in Great Britain in the 1910s and 1920s.

First, the classic ballad set by Frederic Weatherby to the tune of Londonderry Air, now an unofficial anthem of the Irish people, “Danny Boy”.

Danny Boy, recorded June 1924 by William Thomas.

Next, another Irish tune, Thomas Moore’s patriotic “The Minstrel Boy”, written in remembrance of some his friends lost in the Irish Rebellion of 1898.

The Minstrel Boy, recorded June 1924 by William Thomas.

Columbia 13001-D – Bessie Smith – 1923

Posted on March 6, 2016 by R. Connor Montgomery

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.

I often notice that there’s no balance between the jazz and the and the blues (and country) that’s posted here, unfortunately the category for blues tunes on this site is terribly barren and bereft. What better way to remedy that than with the aid of the Empress of the Blues herself, Madam Bessie Smith. Here Bessie sings two fine songs on one of Columbia’s first issues in their series dedicated to “race records”, pressed with their beautiful “flags” label design.

Columbia 13001-D was recorded September 26 and October 10, 1923 in New York City and was the second issue in Columbia’s first Race series which ran only from 13000-D to 13007-D in 1923 and was soon abandoned in favor of their more successful 14000-D series. These sides are two of Bessie’s earlier sides, her twenty-fifth and thirtieth to be precise, and her first in Columbia’s specifically designated “race” series.

First, Bessie moans her way through Sid Laney’s “Cemetery Blues”, backed by Jimmy Jones on piano, and recorded on the September 26 date. This song was later adapted to the western swing style in 1928 by the Paradise Joy Boys of Dallas, Texas. Sid Laney was apparently a pseudonym used by prolific piano roll player J. Lawrence Cook. Does that mean this piece was written by Cook, or was there a real Laney?

Cemetery Blues, recorded September 26, 1923 by Bessie Smith.

On the flip, Bessie sings Lovie Austin’s “Any Woman’s Blues”, accompanied on piano by the great Fletcher Henderson, recorded on the October 10 date.

Any Woman’s Blues, recorded October 10, 1923 by Bessie Smith.

Columbia 1761-D – Harry Reser’s Syncopators – 1929

Posted on January 17, 2016 by R. Connor Montgomery

Today, January 17, we celebrate the 120th birthday of that great banjo luminary, Harry Reser. He was born on that day in 1896. Reser is known for his great multitude of recordings under an enormous number of names in the 1920s and 1930s, perhaps the most memorable of which were the Clicquot Club Eskimos, who took their name from the brand of ginger ale that sponsored a radio show featuring Reser’s band. Reser also recorded under many other band names, including the Clevelanders, the Six Jumping Jacks, and, as in this case, his Syncopators. Many of his groups featured vocals by Tom Stacks. Last time we heard from them was on Christmas Day.

Harry Reser was born in Piqua, Ohio, and was a first cousin of the Wright brothers. He was a child prodigy on string instruments and had perfect pitch. By the early 1920s, Reser was playing banjo professionally, and by the second half of that decade, he was headlining Clicquot Club’s radio program with his “Eskimos”, a position which he and his band held for over a decade, from 1923 until 1936. In 1936, he recorded a short film with the Eskimos for Vitaphone. Though Reser faded from the spotlight after the 1930s, he remained an active musician until his death in 1965 in the orchestra pit at the Imperial Theatre in Manhattan.

Columbia 1761-D was recorded March 7, 1929 in New York by Harry Reser’s Syncopators, with a vocal on both sides by Tom Stacks. Both sides also feature a riveting bass saxophone and all-around superb musicianship, making for an excellent pair of recordings. As far as I can tell from the nearly incomprehensible Dance Band Discography (this one really ought to have been in Jazz and Ragtime Records if you ask me), this personnel of Reser’s Syncopators includes Tommy Gott on trumpet, Sam Lewis on trombone, Larry Abbott on clarinet, alto sax, and baritone sax, Jimmy Johnston on bass sax, Bill Wirges on piano, Harry Reser on banjo and Tom Stacks on drums.

First, they play a great version of “Kansas City Kitty”, not to be confused with “Kitty from Kansas City”, as was featured by Rudy Vallée.

Kansas City Kitty, recorded March, 7, 1929 by Harry Reser’s Syncopators.

The reverse’s title is quite a mouthful, “I’m Wild About Horns on Automobiles that Go ‘Ta-Ta-Ta-Ta'”, but this side remains one of my favorites.

I’m Wild About Horns on Automobiles that Go Ta-Ta-Ta-Ta, recorded March 7, 1929 by Harry Reser’s Syncopators.

Updated on September 4, 2016.

Columbia 636-D – Celestin’s Original Tuxedo Jazz Orchestra – 1926

Posted on January 1, 2016 by R. Connor Montgomery

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.

Happy New Year 2016 from Old Time Blues! January 1st also marks the 132nd anniversary of New Orleans cornet great Oscar “Papa” Celestin, so here’s some fine jazz by his Original Tuxedo Jazz Orchestra, I believe from his first electric recording session, though he did make some acoustic recordings prior to this one.

Columbia 636-D was recorded April 13, 1926 on location in New Orleans, Louisiana. The band includes Oscar “Papa” Celestin on cornet, August Rousseau on trombone, Paul “Polo” Barnes on clarinet and alto sax, Earl Pierson on tenor sax, Jeanette Salvant on piano, John Marrero on banjo, and Abby Foster on drums. Charles Gills sings the vocal on “My Josephine”.

Charles Gills sings the vocal refrain on “My Josephine”, a composition by reedman Paul Barnes.