Show Notes: 

Today’s show is the belated third show dealing with blues songs about real life historical figures and places. I’ve always been deeply interested in blues lyrics which often seem simple on the surface but often contain multiple layers of meaning. Many of the meanings and topics may have been apparent to the black audience at the time but have become murkier with the passage of time and often lost to white collectors who began listening to these records decades later. Uncovering these meanings and placing these songs in the context of their time is something that I often talk about on this program.

There were many songs about community events, numerous songs about natural disasters such as floods, drought, storms and fire, songs about cultural figures like Joe Louis, Franklin Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, John Kennedy and lesser-known local figures, songs about politics, war, urban renewal, prostitution and even racism and of course countless songs about the depression, hard times and welfare. Taken together these songs form an oral history of black America at a time when black Americans had few outlets for self-expression. On these two programs we spotlight songs that deal with real life figures, both well-known and obscure, whether they be Presidents like Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon; historical figures like Hitler, Charles Lindberg, Martin Luther King, John Glenn; or local figures like Tom Rushen, Cliff Davis, Johnny Behren, Tom Moore or outlaw heroes like Trigger Slim and Railroad Bill. There were also quite a few tributes to blues artists who passed by their contemporaries and on these programs, we hear moving tributes to Leroy Carr, Blind Boy Fuller, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Ma Rainey, Doctor Clayton and Sonny Boy Williamson. Geographic places are littered throughout the blues and over the course of this show we hear songs about towns & neighborhoods like Indianapolis, Cairo, Bunker Hill, Girt Town, Stuttgart, Shreveport and streets/avenues such as Hastings, Third Street, Texas Avenue, Biddle and Central.

Several years ago I did  a two-part show on Bad Man & Heroes as portrayed in blues songs from the 1920’s through the 1980’s. Today we hear about the exploits of Trigger Slim, Railroad Bill and Ollie Jackson. On October 30, 1939, a twenty-year-old Black pushcart vendor and serial robber, Johnny Goodin–who evidently called himself “Trigger Slim” –shot and killed a White customer during a bungled holdup of a Memphis liquor store. -Memphis police captured “Trigger Slim” on November 19, 1939, while, sitting with a pistol in his lap, he was watching a gangster movie at the Palace Theater on Beale Street. Trigger Slim” was executed in Nashville on September 4, 1940. Blues singer Minnie Wallace, a Memphis resident who had earlier recorded for both Victor Records and Brunswick/Vocalion, soon wrote a song based on the events. -On June 4, 1940, Jimmie Gordon and His Vip Vop Band recorded “Trigger Slim Blues” for Decca in Chicago.  It would be the only recording of the song.  How Wallace’s composition came to Gordon’s attention is unknown.

Morris Slater was an African American, notable for his dramatic escapes from the law. He acquired the name Railroad Bill. Although there was a price on his head for some years, he evaded capture through ingenuity and exceptional athletic abilities. He was eventually shot dead in an ambush at a store he was known to visit. Slater is celebrated in the folk-ballad “Railroad Bill.” There were numerous songs about him recorded by Vera Ward Hall, Will Bennett, Frank Hovington, Bill Williams, Etta Baker among others. You can read more about the song here.

“Ollie Jackson” recounts, with astonishing specificity, the 1901 killing of two brothers over a craps-game dispute in St. Louis. It must have been composed immediately after the shootings by someone impressively familiar with the facts. Four decades later and four hundred miles to the south, Starks sang the correct names of the killer, both victims, two witnesses, and the owner of the saloon, as well as the intersection at which it stood, the day of the week, and the contested amount of money (seventy-five cents).

We hear about several other real life figures today including Cliff Davis, boxer Joe Louis, Hitler, Johnny Behren, Sylvester Harris, Tom Moore, Theodore Bilbo  and several numbers paying tribute to blues artists who have passed. In 1926 Papa Charlie Jackson recorded “The Judge Cliff Davis Blues.” The song has some fun with Memphis Police Commissioner Clifford Davis’s law and order crackdown in that city: “After every case was tried, the prisoners were let inside.”

Joe Louis was still relatively new on the national scene and would not be the world’s heavyweight boxing champion for nearly two more years when Memphis Minnie recorded “He’s In The Ring (Doing The Same Old Thing)” in August 1935. “No other fighter — or world class athlete for that matter — has inspired a number of songs even remotely approximating it,” said William H. Wiggins Jr., an authority on Joe Louis at the University of Indiana. Among those who paid tribute to him were Lil Johnson, Carl Martin, Bill Gaither, Jack Kelly and his South Memphis Jug Band, John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson, Count Basie, Cab Calloway among others.

Not surprisingly, Hitler appears in several blues songs such as The Florida Kid’s “Hitler Blues” and Buster “Buzz” Ezell”s “Roosevelt and Hitler Part 1” which we featured on the first couple of shows.  This time out we hear from Grey Ghost and Doctor Clayton. Roosevelt Thomas Williams, better known as ‘Grey Ghost’ was born on 7th December, 1903 in Bastrop, Texas. By the early 1920s he was an accomplished pianist, working round the Waco area. In 1940 folklorist William A. Owen discovered him playing at a skating rink in Navasota, Texas. Owens recorded him along with singers ‘Popeye’ Johnson and Pet Wilson. Impressed by Ghost, Owens recorded him again a year later in 1941 in Smithville, Texas, including another version of “Hitler Blues”, which gained some notoriety as Owens related: “My story of Grey Ghost and ‘De Hitler Blues’ was picked up by the University of Texas News Office, local newspapers, a newspaper syndicate, and Time Magazine. The height of hope came with a telegram from Alistair Cooke. He wanted a dubbing of the record for a program he was doing for the British Broadcasting Corporation on the impact of the war on American music.” Indeed, from press clippings, it does appear this story was picked up by the wire services. There was a short piece titled Wuss Ole Hitlerism In De Land about the song with the lyrics in Time Magazine in 1940. It’s unclear if this song actually aired on the BBC.

Doctor Clayton was an first class songwriter and singer who covered topical topics in songs like “Pear Harbor Blues” and our feature track “’41 Blues” where he sings”

War is raging in Europe, up on the water, land and in the air
If Uncle Sam don’t be careful, we’ll all soon be right back over there
This whole war would soon be over if Uncle Sam would use my plan
Let me sneak in Hitler’s bedroom with my razor in my hand

In the first installments we played several songs about the notorious Tom Moore. Today we hear one more sung by Joseph “Chinaman” Johnson titled “Three Moore Brothers.” One of the more famous protest songs about farming are those sung about Texas farmer Tom Moore. The Moore brothers operated a twenty thousand acre farm in East Texas along the Brazos river and ruled it with an iron hand. The Tom Moore songs came about originally courtesy of Yank Thornton, a man who worked as a field hand on the Moore farm and first sang about his experiences in the early 1930’s. Mance Lipscomb record “Tom Moore’s Farm” in 1960, and before that Lightnin’ Hopkins recorded “Tim Moore’s Farm” for Gold Star in 1948. A prisoner named Joseph “Chinaman” Johnson, sang a song called “Three Moore Brothers”, which began with the words “Well, who is that I see come ridin’, boy, down on the low turn row?/ Nobody but Tom Devil, That’s the man they call Tom Moore.” Asked about the song, Moore replied: “They’re happy people – they don ‘t always mean what they sing. He laughed deprecatingly, ‘Only I best never catch one of them singing that song.’”

Memphis Minnie‘s “Sylvester And His Mule Blues” tells the story of how a poor Mississippi farmer Sylvester Harris called the White House in 1934 to save his mortgaged farm. President Roosevelt himself picked up the phone and helped him. The news went nation-wide and Memphis Minnie made a song out of it the following year. According to The New York Age Sylvester Harris’ telephone call to the White House took place on February 19, 1934.

In Andrew Tibbs’ “Bilbo Is Dead” he sings of Theodore Bilbo. Bilbo won two non-consecutive terms as Governor of Mississippi and two terms as a United States Senator. Bilbo built his name on not just the all-out support of segregation, but also a fervent belief that all blacks should actually be shipped back to Africa. “Bilbo Is Dead” was written by Tibbs and Tom Archia, the sax player at the Macomba who’d also been recording for Aristocrat, as they were on the way to the studio in early September for Tibbs first session, just a few short weeks after Bilbo’s death from cancer.

There’s a small, but interesting body of blues songs where blues singers either mention their contemporizes in song or pay tribute to those that have passed. We hear tributes today in honor of  Blind Lemon Jefferson, Bessie Smith, Blind Boy Fuller, Slim Harpo, and Sonny Boy Williamson II. In 1930, shortly after Lemon’s death, Paramount issued a double-sided tribute to Lemon: “Wasn’t It Sad About Lemon” by the duo Walter and Byrd was on one side while the second side was the sermon “The Death Of Blind Lemon” by Rev. Emmett Dickenson. Leadbelly recorded a number of songs about Lemon after his passing. King Solomon Hill cut “My Buddy, Blind Papa Lemon.” Other who garnered tribute songs were Leroy Carr, Sonny Boy I & II, Slim Harpo, Blind Boy Fuller, Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith.

Johnny Behren’s Blues” was dedicated to the legendary Texas Blues singer Johnny Behren. According to Paul Oliver someone told Mack McCormick that Behren had just one song of his own and that Texas Alexander made a recording of it.

We hear about several towns and neighborhoods that were important in black culture from the well know like Beale Street and Central to lesser now spots like St. Louis’ Third Street, Biddle Street and Cake Alley as well as Indianapolis AKA Naptown, Hollywood, Bunker Hill, Cairo, Stuttgart and Shreveport. Third Street ran through the heart of the tough “Valley” district of east Saint Louis, home to countless prostitutes, thugs, gamblers and their associates. Wheat straw himself lived at 468A N. Third St.

We used to have luck in the valley, but the girls had to move way out of town
Some moved in the alley, ooo-well-well, because Third Street is going down
Had a girl on St. Louis Avenue, but Third Street she hung around
But the law got so hot, hooo-well-well, until Third Street is going down

Cake Alley is a song that commemorated a tough, block-long alley in Saint Louis running between Blair Ave. (Fourteenth Street ) and Fifteenth Street – were a bakery was once located.

There’s a place in Saint Louis, they call cake alley, you know
It is a very tough place, ohh, well, well where all the bums do love to go

Biddle Street, on the near Northside of St. Louis, was in days of yore well known as the heart of Irish immigrants and other ethnic communities. Also, it was part of the earliest infrastructure development of the City: the Biddle Street Sewer, which started in 1850. By the late 1920s, Biddle Street in St. Louis was a central hub for the city’s vibrant blues scene. Henry Townsend, Walter Davis and St. Louis Jimmy reference the street in song.

During the first half of the century Beale Street was the center of blues activity in Memphis. Writing at the end of the 1960’s, researcher Begnt Olsson wrote: “Some years ago Beale Street was a rough, tough, gambling, whoring, cutting, musical, living street. Money was spent on cards, woman and whiskey. The liqueur and the music flowed in the many dives along Beale; ambulances howled; men and women were killed. Expensive cars were parked outside the gambling houses.” In the early 1900’s, Beale Street was filled with many clubs, restaurants and shops, many of them owned by African-Americans. By the 1960’s, Beale had fallen on hard times and many businesses closed, even though the section of the street from Main to 4th was declared a National Historic Landmark on May 23, 1966.On December 15, 1977, Beale Street was officially declared the “Home of the Blues” by an act of Congress.

Indianapolis, Indiana had a vibrant blues scene both in the pre-war and postwar era, although the city’s blues artists have been captured spottily on record. The most important blues artist to emerge from the city was Leroy Carr, one of the most popular blues artists of the 30’s. In the blues era many good piano players  got on record including Montana Taylor, Jesse Crump and strong evidence that Herve Duerson and Turner Parrish where also based in the city. Guitarist Bill Gaither and his piano partner George “Honey” Hill were also based in Indianapolis. Pianist Champion Jack Dupree settled in the city in 1940, cutting four sessions between 1940 and 1941 in the company of fellow Indianapolis musicians. In the post-war era Scrapper Blackwell was rediscovered and had a short but productive comeback. Several other fine blues artists were in Scrapper’s orbit; there was Shirley Griffith who moved to the city in 1928 and became friendly with Scrapper and Carr, Pete Franklin’ whose mother was good friend with Leroy Carr (he roomed at their house shortly before he passed in 1935), Jesse Ellery who appeared on Jack Dupree’s first sessions and singer Brooks Berry who met Scrapper shortly after she moved to Indianapolis and recorded one album together. Other artists included Yank Rachell who moved to the city in 1958 and did some touring with Shirley Griffith and J.T. Adams who came up from Kentucky and became a faithful partner to Griffith. Naptown is the nickname for Indianapolis and appears in a number of blues songs. The name Naptown was given to Indianapolis in the early 1900’s with Indianapolis often referred to as a ghost-town with nothing to do.

Gert Town is a neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. Two historical parks are located in Gert Town: Lincoln Park and Johnson Park. Famous jazz musicians who performed at Lincoln and Johnson Park include Buddy Bolden, Bunk Johnson, and Freddie Keppard. Many other featured performances were done by the orchestra of John Robichaux. Willie “Bunk” Johnson was a jazz trumpeter from Gert Town, whose contributions left a significant impact on jazz. In 1949 Dave Bartholomew cut “Girt Town Blues.” The neighborhood contained Al’s Starlight Room where Bartholomew’s band was regularly featured.

Bunker Hill was a neighborhood in South Memphis where Stokes live. Side Wheel Duffy recorded “Bunker Hill” IN 1927.

Down in Bunker Hill, Lord, is place that I love to stay
Where I can have a good time, stay always, every day

For a small-town, Cairo played an important role in blues history. Cairo was situated midway between the Delta and Chicago and was considered to be where the North began for rural southern blacks. As Kansas City Red noted: “Cairo was a good-time place, that was one of the best. Helena, Arkansas, used to be a good swingin’ place, and Cairo was just about like that. Well, then practically every corner was a club, and everythin’ was lively.” Henry Spaulding recorded “Cairo Blues” in 1929, covered by Henry Townsend and Lil’ Son Jackson recorded a song with the same title in 1949 which was covered later by Son Thomas, Cannon’s Jug Stompers cut “Cairo Rag” in 1928 and William Davis Floyd was recorded in the field in 1971 performing “Why Did I Have To Leave Cairo?.”

From approximately 1920 to 1955, Central Avenue was the heart of the African American community in Los Angeles. Like New York City’s 125th Street or Memphis’s Beale Street or Chicago’s South Side, Central Avenue was one of the world capitals of nightlife, of jazz, rhythm & blues, of black culture and society. Los Angeles in the 1940’s became a huge center for rhythm and blues recording. There was a host of labels recording blues and R&B in Los Angeles in the 1940s including Specialty, Imperial, Aladdin, and the umbrella of labels run by the Bihari brothers RPM/Modern/Kent/Flair/Crown were the most notable. Bob Geddins was a key player who operated numerous small labels like Down Town, Big Town, Irma, and others.

We hear about several clubs today such as Henry’s Swing Club, The Club Blue Flame and the Dew Drop Inn. As Eddie Burns recalled, “when I first come to town, people, I was walkin’ down Hastings Street.’ Everybody was talkin’ about Hastings Street, and everybody was talking about Henry’s Swing Club. That was a famous place. A famous street. Best street in all the world. Too bad they tore it down.” John Lee Hooker immortalized “Henry’s Swing Club” in a 1949 record for Sensation and was name checked in his smash hit “Boogie Chillun.”

When I first came to town people
I was walkin’ down Hastings Street
Everybody was talkin’ about the Henry Swing Club
I decided I drop in there that night
When I got there, I say, “Yes, people”
They was really havin’ a ball!

It was once thought that Jimmie Gordon was born in St. Louis, but that was based solely on his performance on the B-side of a single by the St. Louis–born Peetie Wheatstraw. By 934 Gordon was signed to a recording contract. Apart from one Bluebird side at the beginning of his recording career, all of Gordon’s pre-war work was released by Decca.  The bulk of his over sixty sides were cut between 1934 and 1939 wih a final four jump blues titles released on the King and Queen labels in 1946. Eddie Washington owned the Club Blue Flame in Chicago at 5127 Wentworth Ave. Jimmy’s band was often advertised playing there in the Chicago Defender.

Ivory Joe Hunter’s “Jumpin’ at the Dew Drop” paints a picture of the Dew Drop Inn, at 2836 LaSalle Street operated between 1939 and 1970. Nicknamed “the Groove Room”, the Dew Drop Inn was reported in October 1945 by the Louisiana Weekly to be “New Orleans’ swankiest nightclub”, and began featuring visiting musicians such as Joe Turner, the Sweethearts of Rhythm, Amos Milburn, Lollypop Jones, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Ivory Joe Hunter, Chubby Newsom, The Ravens, Big Maybelle, and Cecil Gant. The resident bandleaders were local musicians Dave Bartholomew and Edgar Blanchard, discovered and helped establish local stars including Larry Darnell, Tommy Ridgley, Earl King, Huey “Piano” Smith, and Allen Toussaint.