Six Minutes With Satch: Dallas Blues / Bessie Couldn't Help It
With today's single, we finish off the spectacular year of 1929 and commence sharing recordings from the, well, spectacular year of 1930. Once again, Armstrong found himself recording older material, but this time I don't have any concrete evidence that he was performing them live before the session. It's entirely possible, of course, especially the way he nails the blistering ending to "Dallas Blues" on both the vocal and non-vocal takes, knocking it out identically each time.
"Dallas Blues" was first song recorded during Louis and Luis Russell's December 1929 series of sessions and was already ancient material by this point, having been written and published in 1912. The rhythm section of Russell, piano, Will Johnson, guitar, Pops Foster, bass and Paul Barbarin, drums, really shines here, captured beautifully by the OKeh engineers. Louis plays beautifully (though does anyone think Henry "Red" Allen takes one or more of the early breaks?) and for the first time in this series, we hear him sing the blues, singing with plenty of feeling.
For the flip side, a slightly bizarre choice: "Bessie Couldn't Help It," a pop song originally recorded for OKeh by Warner's Seven Aces back in 1924 but it never seemed to catch on. Somehow it ended up in Louis's hands--again, possibly it was one of his live features--and like everything else in this period, Louis made it "cool" again. By April 1930, Rube Bloom cut a version for Columbia and in September, Hoagy Carmichael recorded his famed version with Bix Beiderbecke.
The trumpet playing is up to par but the slightly risque vocal is really the main event. From what I can tell, Louis even made some changes to the text, which originally read, "A boy kissed Bessie in the parlor one night / Why, oh, why did she yell with delight?" But according to Louis, "A boy kissed Bessie in a Buick one night / My, oh, my how she squirmed with delight!" Pops.....
After yesterday's pop release, Rockwell aimed this coupling back at the "race" community, releasing it as OKeh 8774 in early 1930. But the pop side will come roaring back with tomorrow's entry--til then!
LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Otis Johnson, Henry “Red” Allen (tp), J.C. Higginbotham (tb), Albert Nicholas, Charlie Holmes (as, cl), Teddy Hill (ts, cl), Luis Russell (p), Will Johnson (g), Pops Foster (b), Paul Barbarin (d).
OKeh recording session - New York City, NY December 10, 1929
LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Otis Johnson, Henry “Red” Allen (tp), J.C. Higginbotham (tb), William Thornton Blue, Charlie Holmes (as, cl), Teddy Hill (ts), Luis Russell (p), Will Johnson (g),
Pops Foster (b), Paul Barbarin (d).
OKeh recording session - New York City, NY February 1, 1930
YouTube links:
"Dallas Blues" was first song recorded during Louis and Luis Russell's December 1929 series of sessions and was already ancient material by this point, having been written and published in 1912. The rhythm section of Russell, piano, Will Johnson, guitar, Pops Foster, bass and Paul Barbarin, drums, really shines here, captured beautifully by the OKeh engineers. Louis plays beautifully (though does anyone think Henry "Red" Allen takes one or more of the early breaks?) and for the first time in this series, we hear him sing the blues, singing with plenty of feeling.
For the flip side, a slightly bizarre choice: "Bessie Couldn't Help It," a pop song originally recorded for OKeh by Warner's Seven Aces back in 1924 but it never seemed to catch on. Somehow it ended up in Louis's hands--again, possibly it was one of his live features--and like everything else in this period, Louis made it "cool" again. By April 1930, Rube Bloom cut a version for Columbia and in September, Hoagy Carmichael recorded his famed version with Bix Beiderbecke.
The trumpet playing is up to par but the slightly risque vocal is really the main event. From what I can tell, Louis even made some changes to the text, which originally read, "A boy kissed Bessie in the parlor one night / Why, oh, why did she yell with delight?" But according to Louis, "A boy kissed Bessie in a Buick one night / My, oh, my how she squirmed with delight!" Pops.....
After yesterday's pop release, Rockwell aimed this coupling back at the "race" community, releasing it as OKeh 8774 in early 1930. But the pop side will come roaring back with tomorrow's entry--til then!
LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Otis Johnson, Henry “Red” Allen (tp), J.C. Higginbotham (tb), Albert Nicholas, Charlie Holmes (as, cl), Teddy Hill (ts, cl), Luis Russell (p), Will Johnson (g), Pops Foster (b), Paul Barbarin (d).
OKeh recording session - New York City, NY December 10, 1929
LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND HIS ORCHESTRA
Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Otis Johnson, Henry “Red” Allen (tp), J.C. Higginbotham (tb), William Thornton Blue, Charlie Holmes (as, cl), Teddy Hill (ts), Luis Russell (p), Will Johnson (g),
Pops Foster (b), Paul Barbarin (d).
OKeh recording session - New York City, NY February 1, 1930
YouTube links:
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