Other Mixes By Franklin Onn12
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Single Artist

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Jazz
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Country
The 20th Century's Greatest Hit - or - The Battle Hymn of the Ethiopians
Artist | Song | |
Louis Armstrong | St. Louis Blues | |
Bessie Smith w/ Louis Armstrong | St. Louis Blues | |
Albert Ammons | St. Louis Blues | |
Emmett Miller | St. Louis Blues | |
Django Reinhardt | St. Louis Blues | |
David Grisman, Mike Auldridge, Bob Brozman | St. Louis Blues | |
Doc & Merle Watson | St. Louis Blues | |
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys | St. Louis Blues (Part 2) | |
The Boswell Sisters | St. Louis Blues | |
The Mills Brothers | St. Louis Blues | |
Lonnie Johnson & Elmer Snowden | St. Louis Blues | |
Etta James | St. Louis Blues | |
Sun Ra | St. Louis Blues | |
Count Basie & Ella Fitzgerald | St. Louis Blues | |
Duke Ellington | St. Louis Blues | |
Billie Holiday & Her Orchestra | St. Louis Blues | |
Sol Hoopii | St. Louis Blues | |
Sidney Bechet | St. Louis Blues | |
Benny Goodman & His Orchestra | St. Louis Blues (Take 1) | |
Louis Prima | St. Louis Blues | |
Illinois Jacquet | St. Louis Blues | |
The Hall Johnson Choir | St. Louis Blues | |
Comment:
In 1893, the story goes, W.C. Handy, a young down-and-out musician, was wandering the streets of St. Louis (or maybe New Orleans) when he met a tormented woman whose husband had run out on her. She told Handy, "My man's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea." That became Handy's inspiration for the most popular blues song of the 20th Century and a key line in the song -- the story of a sophisticated woman from St. Louis who has stolen the affection of the singer's lover. Explaining the song's opening line Handy wrote, "If you ever had to sleep on the cobbles down by the river in St. Louis, you'll understand the complaint" of "I hate to see the evenin' sun go down." Composed by Handy in Memphis, he published the song himself in 1914 after being turned down by every publisher he offered it to. The song initially went nowhere, but began to receive some notice when Handy and his partner Harry Pace moved their publishing business to New York two years later. It was first performed publicly by an unknown female impersonator. In the audience at the time was a young Ethel Waters, who acquired the performance rights from Handy and became the first woman to publicly perform the song. The song gained rapidly in popularity as stars of stage and vaudeville began to record it and it became America's first blues hit song. One source I came across said it is the most recorded song in history (although another had it second to "Silent Night"). It has become a blues and jazz standard recorded by a Who's Who of artists. It's inspired dance crazes, movies, and it's said that in the 1930s when Ethiopia was invaded by Italy, the Ethiopians adopted it as their battle hymn.Handy explained that in writing "St. Louis Blues," he took "the humor of the coon song, the syncopation of ragtime and the spirit of Negro folk song and called it a blues." He was also inspired by the tango and habanera rhythms he heard when touring Cuba with his minstrel show in 1900. The song has three parts: a 12-bar blues verse ("I hate to see the evening sun go down") and 12-bar blues chorus ("Got the St. Louis blues, I'm blue as I can be") juxtaposed with a 16-bar habanera or Spanish-tinged bridge ("St. Louis woman with her diamond rings"). The three parts are often combined in various other ways and there are numerous other verses used by various artists. "St. Louis Blues" has proven itself endlessly adaptable as a blues, jazz and pop standard, as the variety in this mix attests.
The basic song:
I hate to see that evenin' sun go down,
I hate to see that evenin' sun go down,
'Cause my baby, he done lef' this town.
Feelin' tomorrow like I feel today,
Feelin' tomorrow like I feel today.
I'll pack my trunk, and make my getaway.
St. Louis woman, with her diamond rings
Pulls that man around by her apron strings.
If it weren't for powder and for store-bought hair,
The man I love wouldn't have gone nowhere.
Got the St. Louis blues just as blue as I can be
That man got a heart like a rock cast in the sea.
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me.
Other verses sometimes added:
I love my man like a schoolboy loves his pie,
Like a Kentucky Colonel loves his mint an' rye.
I'll love my baby 'til the day I die.
A black-headed woman make a freight train jump the track,
Said a black-headed gal make a freight train jump the track;
But a long tall gal makes a preacher ball the jack.
Takes a blonde-headed woman make a good man leave this town
I said blonde-headed woman makes a good man leave this town
But a red-headed woman make a boy slap his papa down.
Oh Mama, Mama look at Sam,
Oh Mama, won't you look at Sam,
He's eaten' all the meat and lickin' at the fryin' pan.
Feedback:
Whoa, this is impressive!
Wow, this is very interesting. Thanks for these great liner notes, I love to read about the history of songs, and music in general. And what a great gathering of artists!
What a great song. Thanks for those notes.
Wow, this is tres cool. I was thinking JUST today of doing the same thing, although not with such great notes. Maybe we could trade St. Louis Blues mixes, as I don't think we'd have much overlap (with the exception, perhaps, of the Ellington). This is a favorite tune of mine, so I'd love to exchange mixes. I won't post my mix, as I don't want to seem a copycat, so just e-mail me if you want to trade. Great job.
tremendous stuff once again.
Excellent mix and kudos on the well-informed (and informative) liner notes.
This mix is being added to the AOTM Exhibition Never Too Much of a Good Thing.
This mix is being added to the AOTM Exhibition Never Too Much of a Good Thing.
Great job!
Excellent Steve.
Absolutely great!
nice one again!!!!!
AWESOME! Great tribute to one of the best songs ever. My fave is the Flamin' Groovies' version, but it probably doesn't fit the vibe here.
Excellent music and brilliant notes.
I agree with everybody else! And the notes should come in "Handy"!
This looks great and thanks for the additional history.
Absolutely fascinating...and educational!
This is wonderful.
Impressive, to say the least!
Madly fantastic Mr Onn!
I love the way you've gone all over the musical universe with just one song, although rally of course you've got 22 different songs here . . .
I'm dying to hear what Django & Sol Hoopii did with it . . .
I'm dying to hear what Django & Sol Hoopii did with it . . .
Praise Jesus! I am another true believer! ;-)
late to pack my trunk and join the bandwagon. really enjoyed reading the notes you hit spot on.