My Sweet Hunk o’ Trash
I like it dirty & mean. And here’s a mix to prove it.
1. Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl – Bessie Smith
According to legend, Bix Beiderbecke once threw a week’s wages on the stage in front of Bessie Smith so that she would keep singing. He wanted to be the hot dog between her rolls!
2. This Is Not the Stove to Brown Your Bread – Blind Willie McTell
It seems that Blind Willie was not particularly happy in marriage. Here he’s treated to a scolding byAlfoncy & Bethenea Harris.
3. What’s the Matter with the Mill? – Memphis Minnie & Kansas Joe McCoy
It done broke down.
4. Me and My Chauffeur Blues – Memphis Minnie
In the Nina Simone version, there are no threats of murder. Too bad.
5. Cherry Red – Big Joe Turner
“Now you can take me, pretty mama / and jump me in your Hollywood bed / I want you to boogie my woogie until my face turns cherry red.”
6. My Sweet Hunk O’ Trash – Louis Armstrong & Billie Holiday
Their only recording together. You can feel the love & respect, although Pops got in trouble when the censors thought they heard him say a naughty word.
7. Wild Women Don’t Have the Blues – Ida Cox
Monkey men: Afro-American slang for a West Indian (a man who is easy to deceive) or used for very black Afro Americans or an “outside” lover. (Cox wrote the lyrics for this one, by the way.)
8. You Rascal You – Fletcher Henderson
A classic, but this version by Fletcher Henderson isn’t the best known. The vocals are overshadowed by the band, but listen closely. It’s worth it.
9. Open the Door, Richard – Louis Jordan
“I ain’t common, I know that, cuz I got class I ain’t never used.”
10. That’s When I’ll Come Back to You – Louis Armstrong & Lil’ Hardin
From AMG: “If Lil Hardin Armstrong’s references to domestic violence seem a bit reckless during ‘That’s When I’ll Come Back to You,’ listeners should be advised that Afro-American music has always caused consternation by openly referring to topics usually swept under the rug.”
11. Gimme a Pigfoot (And a Bottle of Beer) – Bessie Smith
And they say that hip hop is too straightforward about its vices: “Gimme a reefer and a gang o’ gin / Slay me ’cause I’m in my sin.”
12. They Call Me Big Mama – Big Mama Thornton
From photographer Charles Sawyer: “I interviewed Big Mama at her Los Angeles home in 1978. She drank a milky liquid from a gin bottle and told me how Johnny Ace shot himself in the head in their dressing room. Johnny was sitting with girlfriend Olivia on his lap, waving his pistol around, pointing it at Willie Mae. ‘Don't snap that on me,’ she told him. Johnny grinned and put the gun to Olivia’s head. ‘Stop that, Johnny, you’ll git someone killed,’ Willie Mae shouted at him. ‘Nothin’ to worry about,’ Johnny replied, coolly, ‘ain’t but one bullet here and I know exactly where it is.” He turned the gun on himself, put it to his temple and pulled the trigger. And that was that. It was Christmas Eve, 1954, in Houston, Texas.” (Click here for Sawyer’s great photograph of an elderly Willie Mae in her best pugilist pose.)
13. Hound Dog – Big Mama Thornton
Willie Mae’s version of “Hound Dog”—the original version, written especially for her by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller—growls, barks, snaps, and bites. It’s not better than Elvis’s version because she was black and he was white. It’s better because it makes me almost choke every time I hear it.
14. Flip Flop and Fly – Big Joe Turner
“Here comes my baby flashing a new gold tooth.”
15. Big Butter and Egg Man – Louis Armstrong & Velma Middleton
Velma performed with Pops for years, and while she never got much credit for her singing, at 250 pounds she could do the splits! And her chemistry with Louis was unmatched. She died in 1961 while on tour in Africa with Armstrong & His All Stars.
16. Life Is So Peculiar – Louis Jordan & Louis Armstrong
Louis Jordan’s Iowa connection: “This was followed by another important engagement at the Fox Head Tavern in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Working in the looser environment of Cedar Rapids, away from the main centres, the band was able to develop the novelty aspect of their repertoire and performance. Jordan later identified his stint at the Fox Head Tavern as the turning point in his career, and it was also while there that he found several songs that became early hits including ‘If It’s Love You Want, Baby,’ ‘Ration Blues,’ and ‘Inflation Blues.’” (Here’s a photo of the great jazz clarinetist Jimmy Noone performing at the Fox Head.)
17. You Rascal You – Louis Jordan & Louis Armstrong
Jordan and Armstrong only cut two sides together. The session was early in the morning, and Pops almost immediately split his lip. He kept going, though, and the results are magnificent. Also check out the Betty Boop / Louis Armstrong animated version from 1932.
More swing, only slightly less dirt.
19. Wild Women Don’t Get the Blues – Francine Reed
Reed performs with Lyle Lovett, and this live version was recorded in San Antonio. (You’ll notice that she avoids singing about monkey men.)
20. Women Be Wise – Sippie Wallace & Bonnie Raitt
Sippie was old by the time the world discovered her again, but it wasn’t too late. Thank God. (Who had a better laugh?)
21. I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl – Nina Simone
Nina wants some sweetness down in her soul. Not Bessie. She wants something else entirely.
22. The Joint Is Jumpin’ – Fats Waller
One night in Harlem. (Check out the annotated Fats courtesy of Terry Teachout.)
23. Saturday Night Fish Fry – Jackie Mabley & Pearl Bailey
Fats meets Louis Jordan (that same night in Harlem?) with a whole lot of goofing around
24. If I Can’t Sell It, I’ll Keep Sittin’ on It – Ruth Brown
“And you can look at me and see that I have not been starvin’, darlin’.” (I really miss Ruth Brown.)
25, Hound Dog – Freddie Bell & The Bellboys
Bob Dylan reminds us that Big Mama and Elvis weren’t the only players in the game.
ADDITIONALLY: Download the complete mix in a zip file.
PREVIOUSLY: International Mix of Action
IMAGE: Café by William H. Johnson (ca. 1939–1940, oil on paperboard)
You have done us all a temendous favor: wonderful set. One that comes to mind immediately is Alberta Hunter's "My Handy Man Ain't Handy No More."
Thanks
mullaghman
Posted by: mullaghman | May 18, 2007 at 09:34 AM