“’ homemade mute gives his trumpet a unique sound. Pianist Williams adds to the lazy feeling abetted by the soft swing of (b) and (d).”- Sandra BurlingameAKASaint Louis Blues20Words and MusicWhen it comes to standards written before 1920, none has enjoyed more recordings by jazz artists than W.C. Handy’s classic, “St. Louis Blues.” Considered the most famous blues composition, the song was the most-recorded of all time from the 1930’s until “” took the title over twenty years later.Handy, in his 1941 autobiography, says, “When ‘St. Louis Blues’ was written the tango was in vogue.
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I tricked the dancers by arranging a tango introduction, breaking abruptly into a low-down blues. My eyes swept the floor anxiously, then suddenly I saw the lightning strike. The dancers seemed electrified.”Handy was determined to create a hit that would compensate for his loss on the popular “” (1912). Unscrupulous publishers had tricked him into selling his copyright for fifty dollars, which barely covered his expenses. After a near miss with the instrumental “Jogo Blues,” (with its difficult arrangement) Handy found solitude in a rented a room in the Beale Street district and began to write “St.
Louis Blues.”In Handy says, “A flood of memories filled my mind. First there was the picture I had of myself, broke unshaven, wanting even a decent meal, and standing before the lighted saloon in St. Louis without a shirt under my frayed coat.” He goes on to remember a downcast woman stumbling and muttering, “My man’s got a heart like a rock cast in de sea.” And then he wrote down, “I hate to see de evenin’ sun go down,” commenting, “And if you ever had to sleep on the cobbles down by the river in St.
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Louis, you’ll understand the complaint.”More on at JazzBiographies.comAlthough “St. Louis Blues” electrified dancers, success was not as sudden. Failing to find a music publisher who would accept his song, Handy and sometime collaborator Harry H.
Pace published “St. Louis Blues” under the recently formed Pace and Handy Music Company. Sheet music sales were moderate but it would take years for the song to come into its own. Sophie Tucker sang the song on vaudeville, performed it on stage, and Gilda Gray created a sensation when she used the music to introduce “The Shimmy” at New York’s Winter Garden Theater.As a recording “St.
Louis Blues” broke into the top ten with Prince’s Orchestra in 1916, rising to number four. Subsequent charting renditions include:.
Prince’s Orchestra (1916, #4). Al Bernard (1919, #9). (1920, #1).
Original Dixieland Jazz Band (1921, Al Bernard, #3). W.C.
Handy’s Orchestra (1923, #9). (1925, with on cornet, #3). (1930, #11). and His Connecticut Yankees (1930, #15). and His Orchestra (The Jungle Band) (1930, #16). Mills Brothers (1932, #2).
Boswell Sisters (1935, #15). Quartet (1936, #20). Guy Lombardo (1939, #11). (1943, reissue from 1930, #18).
(1953, with the Metronome All-Stars, #24)And for the variation “Boogie Woogie on St. Louis Blues”:.
and His Orchestra (1940, #11)Chart information used by permission fromThe song’s popularity was not just restricted to the United States. David Ewen comments in his book, “When Prince George of England married Princess Marina of Greece, they danced to its strains at the wedding ceremony. Queen Elizabeth of England, mother of Elizabeth II, once singled it out as one her favorite songs. Ethiopia used it as a war song when it was invaded by Italy in the 1930’s.”Handy’s formalization and popularization of blues music, including “St. Louis Blues,” would have a profound impact on composers for generations. In Handy says, “The primitive Southern Negro as he sang was sure to bear down on the third and seventh tones of the scale, slurring between major and minor.” He goes on to explain that he employed this device in “” and “St.
Louis Blues.”In, William G. Hyland discusses Gershwin’s unusual feeling for the blues. Although Gershwin did not rely on the twelve-bar blues structure, he “absorbed early in his career a feel for what gave the blues their melancholia.the flattened third, or the ‘blue note’ and the flattened seventh added to the tonic chord.” Hyland comments on the effect of blue notes in “St. Louis Blues” on the word “sun” in the phrase, “I hate to see the evenin’ sun go down.” Similarly in Gershwin’s “” (1924) it is found on the word “who” in the phrase “Somebody loves me, I wonder who.”. This section suggests definitive or otherwise significant recordings that will help jazz students get acquainted with“St Louis Blues.” These recordings have been selected from the Jazz History andCD Recommendations sections.participated in several definitive recordings of “St.
Louis Blues,” but the most historically significant of these finds him in a supporting role, interjecting his trumpet in support of blues singer. Smith’s 1925 version ( ) is as close to perfect as this tune gets and has influenced countless subsequent performers in different styles. Almost thirty years later, after offering several more classic versions of the tune, Armstrong would give another definitive performance of “St. Louis Blues” ( ) on an album devoted to W.C. Handy’s music. Meanwhile, in 1933, a young offered a solo piano version ( ) that has also withstood the test of time and emerged as a landmark performance of the tune.
The heartbreaking lyrics of “St.Louis Blues” tell a woman’s storyof how she lost her man to a vampwith diamonds, powder, and store-boughthair. Handy wrote in dialect despiteknowing that other African Americansmight find them offensive. He said,“I felt then, as I feel now, thatcertain words of Negro dialect aremore musical and more expressivethan pure English.” Later, his brotherwould supply an additional reason.From an interview in The NathanielC. Standifer Video Archive of OralHistory: Black American Musicians,Charles Handy says of “St. Takes creditfor making the first jazz recording of “St. LouisBlues,” and the tune’s popularity hasn’t waned throughthe years. Part of its endearing quality to jazzmusicians is that it can be played at almost anytempo.’s 1925 recording is a haunting performance,taken at a slow tempo and perhaps the first timeon record in this manner.
She is accompanied bya youngon cornet and Fred Longshawon reed (pump) organ (an instrument rarely heardon a jazz record). In 1929, Smith made her onlyfilm appearance in a short feature entitled St.Louis Blues, turning in an electrifying performanceof the tune, accompanied by members of the Orchestra and composer W.C. Handy’s Choir. Additional information for 'St Louis Blues' may be found in:Philip Furia Oxford University Press; Reprint editionPaperback: 336 pages (1 page including the following types of information: lyric analysis.)David Ewen Prentice-Hall; Rev. Ed editionUnknown Binding: 404 pages (4 paragraphs including the following types of information: anecdotal and history.)David Ewen H. WilsonHardcover: 489 pages (4 paragraphs including the following types of information: film productions, history and performers.)Max Morath Perigee BooksPaperback: 235 pages (1 paragraph including the following types of information: history and performers.)Thomas S.
Hischak Greenwood PressHardcover: 552 pages (1 paragraph including the following types of information: Broadway productions, film productions, history, performers and style discussion.)Alan Lewens Watson-Guptill PublicationsPaperback: 192 pages (1 page including the following types of information: history, performers, style discussion and song writer discussion.)Will Friedwald Pantheon; 1st editionHardcover: 416 pages (36 pages including the following types of information: history, lyric analysis, music analysis, performers, recordings and song writer discussion.)W. Handy, Arna Bontemps Da Capo Press; Reprint editionPaperback: 317 pages (2 pages including the following types of information: lyric analysis. (Pages 122-23).)W. Handy, Arna Bontemps Da Capo Press; Reprint editionPaperback: 317 pages (2 pages including the following types of information: lyric analysis. (Pages 142-43).)Robert Gottlieb, Robert Kimball PantheonHardcover: 736 pages (Includes the following types of information: song lyrics.)David Ewen Prentice Hall TradeHardcover: 850 pages (4 paragraphs including the following types of information: history.).
“St Louis Blues” was included in these films:. Is Everybody Happy?(1929, Ted Lewis and His Orchestra). Banjo on My Knee(1936). Ford galaxy drivers door wiring harness. Is Everybody Happy?(1943, Ted Lewis and His Orchestra). Baby Face (1933).
St. Louis Blues(1938,and also). The Birth of the Blues(1941, Ruby Elzy). Jam Session (1944, vocal). TheStory (1954,instrumental arrangement called“St. Louis Blues March”).
The St. Louis Blues(1958). The Client (1994,The Preservation Hall Jazz Band). The Thirteenth Floor(Johnny Crawford and His DanceOrchestra).
Recommendations for This TuneClick on any CD for more details at Amazon.comEarl HinesChiaroscuro RecordsOriginal Recording 1973Hines’ “Boogie Woogie on the St. Louis Blues” is both playful and jaw-dropping in its virtuosity, proving that by the 1970s he had lost none of his vitality.Art TatumSony 64690Original recording, 1933A young Tatum uses “St. Louis Blues” here as a vehicle to display his confident stride, sophisticated harmony and stunning runs.Max Roach1999 Collectables 6256Original recording 1965Roach continues his tradition of looking forward with this modernized performance.
This incarnation of his group features on trumpet, on alto saxophone and, on this track, Roland Alexander on soprano saxophone.Jaki Byard2001 Original Jazz Classics 1946Original recording 1967Byard’s tightrope walk between the traditional and the modern is at its pinnacle on this track, which features Byard in a trio with David Izenzon on bass and on drums and tympani.- Noah BaermanJessica Williams1997, Jazz Focus 18’ homemade mute gives his trumpet a unique sound, recalling the late night jams that probably took place in this city on the Mississippi. Pianist Williams adds to the lazy feeling abetted by the soft swing of (b) and (d).- Sandra BurlingameLouis Armstrong1997, Sony 64925Original recording,1954Armstrong recorded “St. Louis Blues”’ umpteen times but this version stands out as not only one of his best but possibly the best recording of the song, period. Armstrong’s playing is bold and inventive. He takes it to heights which impressed even Handy.Jimmy Smith1999, Blue NoteOriginal recording, 1958This almost forgotten recording took 40 years to be released and one has to wonder why. Louis Blues”’ is played in a Latin shuffle beat while organist Smith and guitarist trade smoldering solos.Mildred BaileyClassics 1160Vocalist Bailey delivers a wonderfully brassy reading of the song in front of an orchestra of who’s who.
Even ’s use of the xylophone as a traditional blues instrument is persuasive.Dave Brubeck Quartet2001 Legacy Recordings 61455Original recording 1963Pianist Brubeck and company use “St. Louis Blues”’ to serve notice to a Carnegie Hall audience that this will be a concert to remember.
Their performance is high on energy, creativity and wit.- Ben Maycock.