Six Minutes With Satch: Dear Old Southland / Weather Bird
On December 5, 1928, with three songs already in the can, there was still enough time for Louis Armstrong to record one number. The other three songs featured arrangements but without anything else prepared, Armstrong reached into the past and pulled out "Weather Bird," a song he wrote while on the riverboats with Fate Marable and first recorded with King Oliver in 1923. He taught it to pianist Earl "Fatha" Hines and they were off and running. The recording late went on and less than three minutes later, they were finished.
Decades later, critics and musicians would rhapsodize over the genius on display on "Weather Bird." Louis himself proudly referred to it as "our virtuoso number."
But in 1928? It was shelved.
One thing I hope this series has demonstrated is the care Tommy Rockwell of OKeh put into the Armstrong 78s he issued: how he paired tracks, which ones were aimed for the pop market, which ones were race records, which ones were both, etc. But a trumpet-piano instrumental duet didn't exactly fit with everything else Armstrong was recording so "Weather Bird" stayed in the vaults.
Cut to April 5, 1930. On that date, pianist Buck Washington stopped Armstrong's OKeh session and already made his presence felt, as we heard last week, on "My Sweet," manning the top half the keyboard throughout the performance, while Joe Turner played the bottom half. Buck, one half of the famed duo of Buck and Bubbles, was then invited to stick around to perform a duet with Armstrong on "Dear Old Southland," Turner Layton and Henry Creamer's 1921 mash-up of the melodies of "Deep River" and "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child."
Since both Buck and Bubbles were close with Armstrong, it's possible this was something they had done before but more likely, this was something they whipped up in the studio, judging by such Armstrong comments as "Watch that chord, Satchelmouth," the first time "Satchelmouth" was ever uttered on record. Washington was no Earl Hines as his job was basically hold it down and accompany Armstrong at his most operatic. The end of the record, when Armstrong holds that next-to-last high note before the final resolution, gives me the chills every time.
Rockwell now had a suitable pairing for "Weather Bird" and issued the two duets on the pop series as OKeh 41454. While "Dear Old Southland" does have many fans, it's usually looked down upon when compared to "Weather Bird." I get that, but it is interesting that in researching my next book, multiple contemporary reviews at the time, including a big one by Spike Hughes in Melody Maker, gushed over "Dear Old Southland," not "Weather Bird," with Hughes calling it Armstrong's greatest record. All I can say, is I'm glad we have both--listen below!
LOUIS ARMSTRONG
Louis Armstrong (tp, talk), Buck Washington (p).
OKeh recording session - New York City, NY April 5, 1930
LOUIS ARMSTRONG
Louis Armstrong (tp), Earl Hines (p).
OKeh recording session - Chicago, IL December 5, 1928
YouTube links:
Decades later, critics and musicians would rhapsodize over the genius on display on "Weather Bird." Louis himself proudly referred to it as "our virtuoso number."
But in 1928? It was shelved.
One thing I hope this series has demonstrated is the care Tommy Rockwell of OKeh put into the Armstrong 78s he issued: how he paired tracks, which ones were aimed for the pop market, which ones were race records, which ones were both, etc. But a trumpet-piano instrumental duet didn't exactly fit with everything else Armstrong was recording so "Weather Bird" stayed in the vaults.
Cut to April 5, 1930. On that date, pianist Buck Washington stopped Armstrong's OKeh session and already made his presence felt, as we heard last week, on "My Sweet," manning the top half the keyboard throughout the performance, while Joe Turner played the bottom half. Buck, one half of the famed duo of Buck and Bubbles, was then invited to stick around to perform a duet with Armstrong on "Dear Old Southland," Turner Layton and Henry Creamer's 1921 mash-up of the melodies of "Deep River" and "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child."
Since both Buck and Bubbles were close with Armstrong, it's possible this was something they had done before but more likely, this was something they whipped up in the studio, judging by such Armstrong comments as "Watch that chord, Satchelmouth," the first time "Satchelmouth" was ever uttered on record. Washington was no Earl Hines as his job was basically hold it down and accompany Armstrong at his most operatic. The end of the record, when Armstrong holds that next-to-last high note before the final resolution, gives me the chills every time.
Rockwell now had a suitable pairing for "Weather Bird" and issued the two duets on the pop series as OKeh 41454. While "Dear Old Southland" does have many fans, it's usually looked down upon when compared to "Weather Bird." I get that, but it is interesting that in researching my next book, multiple contemporary reviews at the time, including a big one by Spike Hughes in Melody Maker, gushed over "Dear Old Southland," not "Weather Bird," with Hughes calling it Armstrong's greatest record. All I can say, is I'm glad we have both--listen below!
LOUIS ARMSTRONG
Louis Armstrong (tp, talk), Buck Washington (p).
OKeh recording session - New York City, NY April 5, 1930
LOUIS ARMSTRONG
Louis Armstrong (tp), Earl Hines (p).
OKeh recording session - Chicago, IL December 5, 1928
YouTube links:
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