Six Minutes With Satch: Ain't Misbehavin' / Black and Blue
Welcome back to "Six Minutes With Satch." Last week, we covered three stone-cold classics that OKeh released in 1929, followed by two discs featuring Louis as a sideman. But in many ways, Louis officially crossed over into being a pop star with the release of today's single, the coupling of "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Black and Blue."
"Ain't Misbehavin'" was recorded on July 19, 1929 after Louis had been performing the new Fats Waller-Andy Razaf opus in the Broadway revue Connie's Hot Chocolates for several weeks. We can assume that every note of the record was perfected on stage at the Hudson Theater and that the finished recording was a perfectly preserved example of what Louis was doing every night on Broadway. It remains one of his greatest records, with a vocal from another planet (remember, we only heard him sing on one of the first five singles we covered) and a perfectly executed trumpet solo, complete with a quote from "Rhapsody in Blue."
But it's the flip side that remains the more audacious choice: Waller and Razaf's "(What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue." Sung in Hot Chocolates by Edith Wilson, Armstrong must have sensed a deeper meaning in Razaf's lyrics. By changing a few words, he transformed it into a bona fide protest song. I often refer to it as the first protest song and am met with rolling Internet eyes, with people mentioning earlier numbers like "Pickin' On Your Baby" and "I'm a Little Blackbird." Those songs are phenomenal and were also released by OKeh, but let's be honest, they were "race records" that didn't exactly dominate the market place.
With today's record, Tommy Rockwell once again performed his experiment by releasing this single on both the pop series--OKeh 41276--and the race series--OKeh 8714. Thus, Rockwell flooded the market, knowing "Ain't Misbehavin'" was going to be a hit--which it was, as several other versions were recorded by multiple artists on multiple labels in the coming weeks (we'll encounter it again in a couple of days). But Armstrong's was the only one with "Black and Blue" as the flip side. To me, that is an undeniably powerful statement and quite a risk for OKeh to take in 1929. Thus, maybe it wasn't the "first" protest song but it can be easily assumed that more folks heard "Black and Blue" than any similarly-themed material that came before it.
Anyway, enough for me, take six minutes to listen to the single that really pushed Armstrong to the next level of stardom (also the first record billed to "Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra")--then come back tomorrow for more!
LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Homer Hobson (tp), Fred Robinson (tb), Jimmy Strong (ts), Bert Curry, Crawford Wethington (as), Gene Anderson (p), Mancy Carr (bj), Pete Briggs (tu), Zutty Singleton (d), Unknown (triangle), Carroll Dickerson (cond, vln).
OKeh recording session - New York City, NY July 19, 1929
LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Homer Hobson (tp), Fred Robinson (tb), Jimmy Strong (ts, cl), Bert Curry, Crawford Wethington (as), Gene Anderson (p, celeste), Mancy Carr (bj), Pete Briggs (tu), Zutty Singleton (d), Carroll Dickerson (cond, vln).
OKeh recording session - New York City, NY July 22, 1929
For those who don't use Spotify, here are the YouTube links (the "Ain't Misbehavin'" from the original metal mother is pretty stunning!):
"Ain't Misbehavin'" was recorded on July 19, 1929 after Louis had been performing the new Fats Waller-Andy Razaf opus in the Broadway revue Connie's Hot Chocolates for several weeks. We can assume that every note of the record was perfected on stage at the Hudson Theater and that the finished recording was a perfectly preserved example of what Louis was doing every night on Broadway. It remains one of his greatest records, with a vocal from another planet (remember, we only heard him sing on one of the first five singles we covered) and a perfectly executed trumpet solo, complete with a quote from "Rhapsody in Blue."
But it's the flip side that remains the more audacious choice: Waller and Razaf's "(What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue." Sung in Hot Chocolates by Edith Wilson, Armstrong must have sensed a deeper meaning in Razaf's lyrics. By changing a few words, he transformed it into a bona fide protest song. I often refer to it as the first protest song and am met with rolling Internet eyes, with people mentioning earlier numbers like "Pickin' On Your Baby" and "I'm a Little Blackbird." Those songs are phenomenal and were also released by OKeh, but let's be honest, they were "race records" that didn't exactly dominate the market place.
With today's record, Tommy Rockwell once again performed his experiment by releasing this single on both the pop series--OKeh 41276--and the race series--OKeh 8714. Thus, Rockwell flooded the market, knowing "Ain't Misbehavin'" was going to be a hit--which it was, as several other versions were recorded by multiple artists on multiple labels in the coming weeks (we'll encounter it again in a couple of days). But Armstrong's was the only one with "Black and Blue" as the flip side. To me, that is an undeniably powerful statement and quite a risk for OKeh to take in 1929. Thus, maybe it wasn't the "first" protest song but it can be easily assumed that more folks heard "Black and Blue" than any similarly-themed material that came before it.
Anyway, enough for me, take six minutes to listen to the single that really pushed Armstrong to the next level of stardom (also the first record billed to "Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra")--then come back tomorrow for more!
LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Homer Hobson (tp), Fred Robinson (tb), Jimmy Strong (ts), Bert Curry, Crawford Wethington (as), Gene Anderson (p), Mancy Carr (bj), Pete Briggs (tu), Zutty Singleton (d), Unknown (triangle), Carroll Dickerson (cond, vln).
OKeh recording session - New York City, NY July 19, 1929
LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Homer Hobson (tp), Fred Robinson (tb), Jimmy Strong (ts, cl), Bert Curry, Crawford Wethington (as), Gene Anderson (p, celeste), Mancy Carr (bj), Pete Briggs (tu), Zutty Singleton (d), Carroll Dickerson (cond, vln).
OKeh recording session - New York City, NY July 22, 1929
For those who don't use Spotify, here are the YouTube links (the "Ain't Misbehavin'" from the original metal mother is pretty stunning!):
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