The chap who did most of these field recordings for Okeh, and arranged the session for "Crazy Blues" was Ralph Peer, who later discovered Jimmy Rogers and the Carter Family on his legendary Bristol Sessions for RCA in 1927. He was also the first producer to pay royalties on records. One of the unheralded heroes of popular music.
@@thebrazilianatlantis165 Of course, you're correct - I sort of meant arranged as in in got the deal done to make it happen, not in the specific musical context. Well spotted and rightfully pointed out.
This was incredibly well researched, and the examples are perfect - your excellent narration was icing on the cake! Thank you for putting this together!!
Blues fans kindle the flame of the early artists and in the process have developed the genre into a massively varied, huge phenomenon. It will continue outlive its contributors.
At the time .50 for a single sided 10" record, .75 for double sided, 1.00 for single sided 12" and 1.25 for double sided were the industry standard prices. Yup, 10 minutes of music was worth the modern equivalent of $30.
Sylvester Weaver's recordings are fascinating. When you listen to his "untitled six-string banjo piece" and "I'm Busy and You Can't Come In" back to back, you can hear how the first generation of bluesmen made the transition from banjo (rapidly becoming an antique mode of expression) to guitar.
Ain't nothin like the old delta blues the artists who performed that music lived the songs they played and it shows in the music As the saying goes you know when it's real and this music is as real as it gets I find it interesting how the music shines through the limitations of early 20th century recording technology
1:12 Mamie Smith’s name is prounounced “May-mee” not “mammy” like the name associated with forced labor of the female house slave which became a cultural stereotype in films like Gone with the Wind.
Good video, another important early blues song was Daddy Stovepipe's Sundown Blues from 1924, and all recordings from Papa Charlie Jackson in 1925, the first Lonnie Johnson records also from 1925. 1926 was also the first Big Bill Broonzy recordings and Peg leg Howell's too.
Delta Blues was so recognizable even when back when. That minor 3rd over a major chord, the flat-tire train chugging strum pattern. Just add the 12 bar and you have Delta Blues. Doesn’t even need much melody with good lyrics
Very nice hearing Charley Patton through this video, but you're right not to mention him here, he was nowhere near the first to record. Maybe specifically for the MS Delta. Thanks for the video!
The Memphis Blues is definitely a 12 bar blues in melody and chords. There are blue notes, although they are approached and resolved in a more 'textbook' (i.e. classical music theory) or 'city' manner than the forthright and various 'breaking the rules' manners used by most rural blues musicians. (actually, we now realize that each rural performer had their own 'theory' their own set of often self-created rules governing their playing... it was definitely not random or unprincipled, though it could be very expressive and exciting). The Victor Military Band, however, was a highly polished, classically-trained ensemble with probably little or no experience hearing country blues, and little or no interest in re-creating it. They probably just played the published stock concert band arrangement as correctly (to the score) as they could. Had a smaller and more improvising ensemble gotten ahold of it, like some of the small vaudeville, dance and ragtime orchestras active in the period ("orchestra", then, could mean as little as piano and drums, or piano and violin), then it would be more raggy, more exciting, and (depending upon the performers) more ACTUALLY bluesy. Of course, a rural musician playing "Memphis Blues" would always be the most 'bluesy'. Pete Wendling was one of the first recorded (on piano rolls) white pianists to "get" teens and later black piano styles, like early blues and early jazz, and as well as J. Russel Robinson and Clarence M. Jones, made some of the first known blues and jazz rolls on 1917. He had earlier made some excellent ragtime and fox-trot rolls in the 1914-1916 period. Here's his version of "Memphis Blues" which is very raggy, exciting, and a little bit funky. He gets more of a sense of the 'house party' city blues feel here than some other early versions. At the end, there are two double-time ragtime one-step choruses, which are more ragtime than country blues, but very exciting. Benjamin Intartaglia has done a sheet-music transcription of this roll, available on his website, "Ragtime-France": th-cam.com/video/-5pc4QDzycM/w-d-xo.html
Seems it wasn't long between Easterners covering Blues, and record companies chasing after the original stuff, which is great; the early artists got recorded sooner than if nobody covered their work.
The first recordings of blues slide guitar were made by Louise and Ferera in the 1910s. Wilbur Sweatman e.g. was having big hits with blues material in the late 1910s before Mamie Smith recorded. "more ragtime than" "Memphis Blues" is mostly blues, two strains out of three (the first and third).
It is well known that the first blues song ever recorded was by Anthony Maggio in 1908, and was called I Got The Blues. The truth is the political left in America has basically wiped that history, because they think it will ruin their nonsense that blacks created the blues and whites stole it. The truth is nobody created the blues, and nobody stole it. The blues sees no race, and people of all races contributed to the blues.
This is wonderful, but why not clean up the old recordings so we can hear then the way they sounded when they were new? After all we have the technology to do so
We will never forget Al Wilson or his contribution to the music. (And listen to his extraordinary duet with John Fahey on Sail Away Ladies, where he plays - beautifully- an Indian instrument! RIP Mr Wilson, a deep bow to you Sir).
@@mathieuschuler366 the average wage in 1900 was $10 which makes 75c 7.5% ,the average weekly wage today is $966.30, 7.5% of that is $72.47. Bit pricey.
The chap who did most of these field recordings for Okeh, and arranged the session for "Crazy Blues" was Ralph Peer, who later discovered Jimmy Rogers and the Carter Family on his legendary Bristol Sessions for RCA in 1927. He was also the first producer to pay royalties on records. One of the unheralded heroes of popular music.
Fred Hager arranged the "Crazy Blues" session.
@@thebrazilianatlantis165 Of course, you're correct - I sort of meant arranged as in in got the deal done to make it happen, not in the specific musical context. Well spotted and rightfully pointed out.
@@shanewright2772 I respect the humility in clarifying. Good info 👍
Thank you! It’s a rare pleasure to find someone who’s actually informed on the subject. There’s so much lazy, inaccurate blues ‘history’ circulating
You are a musician and a scholar!
Blues is really awesome! And since everyone tells where they're from, cheers from France! 🇫🇷👍
RedÐeer
And Belgium!
California,America
Serbian, Srbija, Serbia .....Yugoslawia
This was incredibly well researched, and the examples are perfect - your excellent narration was icing on the cake! Thank you for putting this together!!
Thanks for this! Wonderful video.
Thank you for keeping these heard after so many years.
Respect ✨
Soul.. nothing but Soul..
Please keep burning the Flame bright and blue 💙
simply amazing! thank you very much for that
Thanks for this journey in the past of the recording and the blues...sweet sound, real gem 🎵🎵🎵
Blues fans kindle the flame of the early artists and in the process have developed the genre into a massively varied, huge phenomenon. It will continue outlive its contributors.
Phantasmagoric pictures and songs
$.75 in 1914 was the same as $19.50 in today’s money. The Memphis Blues single had 75C on it. I’m guessing that meant 75 cents.
At the time .50 for a single sided 10" record, .75 for double sided, 1.00 for single sided 12" and 1.25 for double sided were the industry standard prices. Yup, 10 minutes of music was worth the modern equivalent of $30.
Sylvester Weaver's recordings are fascinating. When you listen to his "untitled six-string banjo piece" and "I'm Busy and You Can't Come In" back to back, you can hear how the first generation of bluesmen made the transition from banjo (rapidly becoming an antique mode of expression) to guitar.
holy crap this video is awesome. please make more of this stuff!!!
Mr Phillips you do an awesome job with your videos. Keep up with the great work.
I second that. There’s humanity and humility in your manner of presentation. We appreciate that, and your research!
Great video to start my day . Cheers from here 🇬🇧😉👍
What a wonderful treat Thank You
Many thanks!
Singing from the heart and hard times. Good vibes.
Ain't nothin like the old delta blues the artists who performed that music lived the songs they played and it shows in the music
As the saying goes you know when it's real and this music is as real as it gets I find it interesting how the music shines through the limitations of early 20th century recording technology
Bessie Smith...Big Mamma Thornton...Sister Rosetta Tharpe...amazing!
Thanks for sharing this!
Great history lesson, thanks
Excellent Edward. Thanks.
Thank you so much for your videos!!
What a great video and great narration.
1:12 Mamie Smith’s name is prounounced “May-mee” not “mammy” like the name associated with forced labor of the female house slave which became a cultural stereotype in films like Gone with the Wind.
Great point
Wish we could have heard Henry Sloan. The man Charlie Patton “dogged his every step”. And maybe maybe who or how Henry got his style from.
Excellent video and some highly important tunes
thank you for this one
Respect to this channel thanx
Hello from Indy, Home of Scrapper Blackwell. King of Blues !!!
Knew about Charlie Patton's Richmond recordings. But not that Blackwell lived in indy. Hello from Bloomington by the way.
@@gregorywebster6640 haha, small world... I live in Bloomington! 😊
Thank God there's a video that answers to this specific question
thanks edward
Good video, another important early blues song was Daddy Stovepipe's Sundown Blues from 1924, and all recordings from Papa Charlie Jackson in 1925, the first Lonnie Johnson records also from 1925. 1926 was also the first Big Bill Broonzy recordings and Peg leg Howell's too.
cool, thank you for posting this amazing history
Thank You for this Mini Doc.,
I Learned About a Few Early Blues Artists ,that I Wasn't Aware Of!
Shaman
Delta Blues was so recognizable even when back when. That minor 3rd over a major chord, the flat-tire train chugging strum pattern. Just add the 12 bar and you have Delta Blues. Doesn’t even need much melody with good lyrics
Thanks
The Memphis Blues is definitely recognisably a blues & follows the 12 bar patern.
All rag is blues then.
Very nice hearing Charley Patton through this video, but you're right not to mention him here, he was nowhere near the first to record. Maybe specifically for the MS Delta. Thanks for the video!
love your videos
Today I bought a record with 20 blues recording. Fantastic music, fantastic people.
Blind Roosevelt Graves is also very early. Well him and his brother?
I recommend checking out the recordings of Reese Du Pree that predate Weavers!
Yes.
thank you for an excellent, albeit brief video. - C
Blind lemon Jefferson
The Memphis Blues is definitely a 12 bar blues in melody and chords. There are blue notes, although they are approached and resolved in a more 'textbook' (i.e. classical music theory) or 'city' manner than the forthright and various 'breaking the rules' manners used by most rural blues musicians. (actually, we now realize that each rural performer had their own 'theory' their own set of often self-created rules governing their playing... it was definitely not random or unprincipled, though it could be very expressive and exciting). The Victor Military Band, however, was a highly polished, classically-trained ensemble with probably little or no experience hearing country blues, and little or no interest in re-creating it. They probably just played the published stock concert band arrangement as correctly (to the score) as they could. Had a smaller and more improvising ensemble gotten ahold of it, like some of the small vaudeville, dance and ragtime orchestras active in the period ("orchestra", then, could mean as little as piano and drums, or piano and violin), then it would be more raggy, more exciting, and (depending upon the performers) more ACTUALLY bluesy. Of course, a rural musician playing "Memphis Blues" would always be the most 'bluesy'. Pete Wendling was one of the first recorded (on piano rolls) white pianists to "get" teens and later black piano styles, like early blues and early jazz, and as well as J. Russel Robinson and Clarence M. Jones, made some of the first known blues and jazz rolls on 1917. He had earlier made some excellent ragtime and fox-trot rolls in the 1914-1916 period. Here's his version of "Memphis Blues" which is very raggy, exciting, and a little bit funky. He gets more of a sense of the 'house party' city blues feel here than some other early versions. At the end, there are two double-time ragtime one-step choruses, which are more ragtime than country blues, but very exciting. Benjamin Intartaglia has done a sheet-music transcription of this roll, available on his website, "Ragtime-France": th-cam.com/video/-5pc4QDzycM/w-d-xo.html
The only person in this video that's still alive is the narrator.
This is great! Thanks for putting this together!
I just found your channel 👍sub'd
Is that Charley Patton in the background?
Seems it wasn't long between Easterners covering Blues, and record companies chasing after the original stuff, which is great; the early artists got recorded sooner than if nobody covered their work.
Cool!
What song is in the background? Charley Patton?
The painting at the beginning of the video?
Curious now as to if there were any documented blues musicians from the early 1900s that never made it to the recording era.
The first recordings of blues slide guitar were made by Louise and Ferera in the 1910s.
Wilbur Sweatman e.g. was having big hits with blues material in the late 1910s before Mamie Smith recorded.
"more ragtime than" "Memphis Blues" is mostly blues, two strains out of three (the first and third).
Other than Joe Turner Blues, what are the other archaic blues songs?
It is well known that the first blues song ever recorded was by Anthony Maggio in 1908, and was called I Got The Blues. The truth is the political left in America has basically wiped that history, because they think it will ruin their nonsense that blacks created the blues and whites stole it. The truth is nobody created the blues, and nobody stole it. The blues sees no race, and people of all races contributed to the blues.
4:32 not very fun fact: this dog is actually Listening to it’s dead owners voice
Don't forget W C Handy, self - styled Father of the Blues.
The recordings are so low fi that black metal bands are jealous ha ha
This is wonderful, but why not clean up the old recordings so we can hear then the way they sounded when they were new? After all we have the technology to do so
Your regional accent sounds like Patrick Sky’s. Did you grow up in Georgia?
Now there’s a name.
Last I heard of Patrick he was making pipesin Ireland. A scabrous soul, in his pomp.
Wanna thank canned heat for bringing me to the delta side of the blue
th-cam.com/video/sYy716zmXcM/w-d-xo.html
We will never forget Al Wilson or his contribution to the music. (And listen to his extraordinary duet with John Fahey on Sail Away Ladies, where he plays - beautifully- an Indian instrument! RIP Mr Wilson, a deep bow to you Sir).
👍😉
My opinion Charlie Patton's first recording is the definitive just my opinion though what do I know
Blues is not art, just folklore.
75c would have ben pricey I'm guessing.
ZIGSVIDS i checked and its about 9-12 dollars in todays money depending on the year
@@mathieuschuler366 the average wage in 1900 was $10 which makes 75c 7.5% ,the average weekly wage today is $966.30, 7.5% of that is $72.47.
Bit pricey.
You forgot Jimmie Rodgers the father for Country music and a blues singer.
He started later... about 1928 or 29... And he was too "country"AND too white :) and too late and too yodelin .....But very good and very popular
@@davidfox5942 he was great though! Lol
I can actually hear the blues in memphis blues
Don’t Forget Them Blues Jesus Sang 2000 Years Ago..... Real Walking Across The Hot Desert 🐫Blues .
pronounced "o-key"
red dead redemption 2 has blues
This is great! Thanks for putting this together!
I just found your channel 👍sub'd