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Why aint they no blues thread?

I am not placing the Memphis Minnie song.

The Big Bill Broonzy song sounds a lot like "Keys to the Highway". Isn't that his song?

The Sonny Boy song sounds a lot like "Stop Breaking Down".

Just a side question for you, Hopper: Who is that in your avatar?
 
I am not placing the Memphis Minnie song.

Well, Blood, that's a big flag right there, eh? Mo, she knowwed it, and they wasn't no doubt to her. She even give ya a clue, but ya done missed it.


The Big Bill Broonzy song sounds a lot like "Keys to the Highway". Isn't that his song?

Partial credit here. Yeah, Key to the highway is a Big Bill tune, sho nuff. And, it's a eight-bar blues, so they kinda the same in that respect (most old blues is 12-bar). Aint the tune though, sorry. Mo didn't gitz it neither, so...



The Sonny Boy song sounds a lot like "Stop Breaking Down".

Hmmm, ya think? Lemme study on that one. Aint the right answer, though, cause I sez it aint, see? Actually, I will take a little time to explain my "right" answers, and if ya aint convinced, well, then, I spoze we can argue for a good long spell, eh?



Just a side question for you, Hopper: Who is that in your avatar?

If I tole ya that, Blood, then I would have to kill ya. Mo aint knowin neither, but everybuddy and his brother knows the perv, I can garontee ya that.
 
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Answer # 1

Ya knows damn well this aint gunna be no short-*** answer, cause homey don't play dat. Hmmm, where to start?

Memphis Minnie done her chaffeur tune in 1941. But in 1937, Sonny Boy Williamson (the first--even in this video they confuse him with Rice Miller, with a picture of the "second" Sonny Boy in his Derby hat). Don't git me wrong, Rice Miller, who stold Sonny Boy's name because Sonny Boy was big, was himself one of the great harp players of the blues. I done pasted up a couple of his tunes (Don't start me to talkin, and Eyesight to the Blind), so ya knows that if ya reads this here thread. But the first Sonny Boy is the one singin (and stealin his self, while doin it) about Jackson in the quiz. I seen a short bio on him at youtube, and I'll probably post it here sometime.

But, back to the point. Sonny's boy tune from 1937 is a classic and has been recorded by damn near everyone. A "short" list of artists covering the tune would include: Muddy Waters, the second Sonny Boy, the Allman brothers, Chuck Berry, Greatful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Van Morrison, Ten Years After, The Yardbirds (with Clapton, Jimmy Page, and them), Buddy Guy, Rod Stewart, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. I don't think Dylan covered this tune, but like Memphis Minnie, he can certainly be accused of stealing the main elements in his song "Obviously 5 believers" on his Blonde on Blonde album. Thing is, every cover I've heard is purty much just like Sonny Boy's original. That's why I said ya flagged it bigtime, eh, Blood? If ya aint knowin this tune, then ya would think ya aint NEVER heard no blues before.

Sonny Boy was the first Bluesman to turn the harp into a lead instrument, and he done it with a style that set the tone for all who followed (Junior Wells, Little Walter, you name the guy, he learned from Sonny Boy-directly or indirectly). Sonny Terry might be an exception, because he deleveoped his own country "piedmont" style entertainin crowds by gittin up on stage at tobacco auctions between sales rounds in North Carolina and whoopin up a storm.

So, what is there here tune? Well, this here one, of course:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj293l5w2MU&feature=related

Minnie stold the tune, but wasn't nobuddy really complainin. They didn't git no royalties back then, mebbe just a bottle of whiskey for a few tunes.

The picture here is John Lee Williamson, but the first pic in the vid aint. It's Rice Miller. Rice Miller took to wearin a derby hat and carryin a cane when he spent a lot of time in England in his later years because he was so popular there--I think they officially gave him the title of "Sir" Sonny Boy Williamson.
 
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Answer #2 Big Bill stealin from the Sheiks

Back on page three of this here thread, I posted a vid of Howlin Wolf doin "Sittin on top of the world." There I said"

Hopper said:
Here's a classic tune done by Wolf, one he learned as a child listenin to the good ole Mississippi Sheiks

Later I put up some Bo Carter/Mississippi sheiks tunes from the 1920's (Pig Meat Papa, and Corrina, Corrina). Wolf's version was done in the 50's, with some heavy harp and at a slower pace than the tune is often played. And it has been played a lot; from Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Doris Day to Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Brownie and Sonny, Ray Charles and John Lee Hooker, to Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Bill Monroe, to Bob Dylan, Greatful Dead, Cream, and Van Morrison. Each artist may do it a little differently, but to me the chord changes and melody is purty unmistakeable, and Big Bill stold it for his "worryin" tune, aint no question. Here's the Sheiks original version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqeW7-tmVU4

If ya listen to that, then go back to Big Bill's tune, I think yawl will agree.
 
Hey, Mo...When I look at my posts, I see a whole crapload of warnings and infractions displayed. I don't see that in your or Blood's posts. Is that because only I can see my own, and only you can see yours?
 
Answer #3, Trouble in Mind

Back on page 5 of this thread, the same page as the quiz was on (on my browser, at least) except near the top instead of the bottom, I done said this here:

Here's a classic blues tune from the '20's that has since been covered by everybuddy and his brutha, from Big Bill Broonzy, Brownie and Sonny, Sam Cooke, and Lightnin Hopkins to Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Janis Joplin, and Eric Clapton. Whoever does it, the tune just flat-out ROCKS. They even made a movie with this title. So many great versions to choose from, but Imma go with Da Killa, eh?

The tune in question? Well, none other than "Trouble in Mind," of course, the same tune Sonny Boy stold for his "Jackson" tune. Just for variety, here's Janis's version. Tell me they aint the same tune, eh, although it may be more obvious in Jerry Lee's (and most other) version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cos9l_ME2M&p=5237E0D2ACAFD2E1&playnext=1&index=38

So, then, I got to thinkin...mebbe I should autta slap up the version Sonny Boy was stealin from, instead of later versions with various embellishments and alterations. So, then, here ya goes. Chiippie Hill from 1926, when Sonny Boy was only about 12 years old. Of course others did it after that, too, but this is the first recorded version. Louie "Satchmo" Armstrong is playin trumpet on it, and the song's writer, Richard Jones, is on piano.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nOGTQND_ec&feature=related


The main point of all this is just to show how far back some tunes that are still bein played and enjoyed today really go. The Chatmon brothers (includin Bo (Chatmon) Carter, who changed his stage name for solo recordings) who made up the Shieks (name taken from the 1921 Rudy Valentino silent film) were born in the 1800's and their Pappy was an ex-slave and plantation fiddler.
 
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Sam Chatmon, of the Shieks, lived to be 89 years old, and was playin blues until the day he died. This interview is probably from the early 80's and Sam retells some of the stories his Pappy told him about the civil war ("and I don't forget em").

He sings portions of the old Leroy Carr/Scrapper Blackwell (one of the blues duos which rival Brownie and Sonny--Carr on piano and Blackwell on guitar) tune, "How long blues," often covered, and it's still bein sung today by Clapton and others.

He sings songs his Pappy used to play as a slave (saddle the old grey mule). He also sings a song, called "Pallet on your floor," which has the same melody as Mississippi John Hurt's "Aint no tellin," which I think I posted before in this thread--If I didn't, I shoulda.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96NwV6g-3PE&feature=related


I found it quite interesting, you might too. There are several other clips of Sam in his 80's on youtube, also quite interesting, if ya wanna look.
 
Hey, Mo...When I look at my posts, I see a whole crapload of warnings and infractions displayed. I don't see that in your or Blood's posts. Is that because only I can see my own, and only you can see yours?

Right. Unlike the format of the old board, where you could see how many "warnings" other folks had, with the new format you can only see your own. You don't see any indication of warnings and/or infractions for other posters.
 
Hey, Mo...When I look at my posts, I see a whole crapload of warnings and infractions displayed. I don't see that in your or Blood's posts. Is that because only I can see my own, and only you can see yours?

I've been on my best behavior so far on this board, but I've received warnings (now infractions) while on my best behavior. It's just a matter of time.
 
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