Why aint they no blues thread?

[Boondocksaint27]

Agreed. My tastes lately have tended more towards the old school blues, Muddy, Wolf, Son House, Johnson, etc...the more I listen the more I hear how heavily "borrowed" their influence is in music; from the 60's up to today.

 

[Hopper]

...the more I listen the more I hear how heavily "borrowed" their influence is in music; from the 60's up to today.

Yeah, mebbe I'm just sayin what everybuddy already knows, but the traditional 12 bar blues format was like this:

1. Two bars of vocals, followed by two bars of musical "fill" which might be used for a call and response type of thang, a mirroring of the melody, an interesting riff, or some combination of those thangs.

2. There were 3 sets of lyrics, followed by three sets of fills, so altogether that made up one 12-bar stanza, then it was time for a new stanza.

3. Traditionally, the first two lines, whatever they were, were repeated in bars 5 and 6, then the "punchline" came in bars 9 and 10.

4. "Rock" musicians began to add more variety by doin away with the repetition of the first lines, which made the lyrics less predictable and "moved" the tune along at a faster pace.

I mentioned Larry Williams a post or two back. Several of his tunes have been covered by the Beatles and many other musicians. He was an early "rocker" from the mid-50's. One of his better known songs is "Dizzy Miss Lizzy," which follows. A lot of people think the Beatles wrote this tune, but it's really just one of many early rock/blues tunes which they faithfully covered. This is just a straight-up 12 bars blues pattern without the verse repetition in the middle part of the stanza.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUn2Acm1yZw


For "contrast" (they aint much) here's the Beatles version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j-o1vtBs1Y&feature=related

English groups from the 60's and 70's grew up on american blues and rock, much of which got little play or attention in the USA itself until they "re-imported" it, ya know? Somehow, it was more acceptable if it wuz white boyz playin it, know what I'm sayin?

 

[TroutBum]

Muddy Waters drinks muddy pee. Blues suck major zebra wang.

 

[Hopper]

Even when groups like the Beatles are "innovating" they are still drawing on a lifetime of musical influences. Take a song like "come together" in which the Beatles mention Muddy Waters. They were sued (and had to settle) because of some of the lyrics, and mainly the whole cadence aspect (with a deliberately slowed tempo by the Beatles), were really just the Chuck Berry tune, "Ya cain't catch me," which the Stones covered straight up, among many other Berry tunes. John Lennon also later covered the tune faithfully after leaving the Beatles. A great early blues/rock tune with Johny Johnson on piano. Chuck doesn't go heavy on the guitar licks in this tune, as he usually does, the attraction of the tune is mainly in the lyrics and the phrasing (which was in almost every Berry song). Most people probably haven't heard Chucks original version, so here it is. Introduced by the notorious Allen Freed, who took half of the royalties from Chuck's first big hit (Maybellene) by making Chuck list him as a co-writer, in order to play it on the air.

One of Chuck lines is: "Here come a flattop, he was movin' up with me"

Lennon's line (in Come Together): "Here come ol' flattop, he come groovin' up slowly"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8-NqsY46PY&feature=related

 

[Hopper]

Back in 1963, Jimi Hendrix, then Jimmy James, had yet to hook up with Little Richard for an overseas tour, let alone have his own gig. In fact he was homeless. At least until one day when he ran into Kelly Isley of the Isley brothers at a store. He spent the next year and a half living with them in their home, and played guitar on some of their records.

It was at the Isley house that Jimi watched the Beatles premier in America on the Ed Sullivan show. When it was over, Kelly Isley said: "Well, they (the Beatles) have two guitarists, but we have Jimmy," which pleased Hendrix a lot. One "hit" for the Isley brothers had been "shout," a tune later featured prominently in the movie "Animal House." But, as always, their recording was covered by white artists, like Joey Dee and Lulu, who sold all the records. Same thing happened with all black artists. As soon as Little Richard or Fats Domino released a new R & B cut (such as Tutti Fruiti or Aint that a Shame) Pat Boone (who should be hung for crimes against music) would steal it, take all the color out of it and whitebread it up, then sell all the copies and get all the airplay.

The Isley brother had many admirers overseas, though, including the Beatles. John Lennon said that for a while the Beatles copied the Isley Brothers way of inserting an "OOOOH" into their songs on just about every tune they did. In fact, one of the Beatles biggest early hits was a straight-up cover of another Isley Brothers tune, one which never made it past number 17 on the charts for the Isleys themselves, Hendrix or no Hendrix. Them boys was, well, black, see? Guys like Chuck Berry, and later Hendrix, loved Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, and all the bluesmen, but came to realize that, as great as that music was, it was always gunna git shoved straight back into the hood unless a white boy like Elvis covered it. They had to change it a bit.

Here's the tune, as originally done by the Isleys. If you know the Beatles music, you've heard it. If you're like most Beatles fans I've met, they're convinced the Beatles wrote it and recorded it first. You can see an early Hendrix in some of the stills which accompany this vid (playin left-handed guitar, if ya can't otherwise recognize him).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhN-GhH5oxU

For good measure, here's an animated live performance of the Isleys doin their classic "Shout" in 1959 (also covered by the Beatles, and many others, from Little Richard to Janis Joplin):



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL9xOLpwI0I&feature=related

 

[C l u t c H 385]

+1,000 for a triumphant return. Welcome back Hoppy.

 

[moevillini]

Agreed. My tastes lately have tended more towards the old school blues, Muddy, Wolf, Son House, Johnson, etc...the more I listen the more I hear how heavily "borrowed" their influence is in music; from the 60's up to today.

go back even further, Elvis in the 50's is a good example

(actually sounds much like Dizzy Miss Lizzy, and also quite a bit like one of the two songs in aint's quiz above)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpGm9ouJx6E

 

[moevillini]

another classic, and a great cross-over hit for any number of artists:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mypHZmXdU3o&feature=related

written in the early 50's by a couple of white, Jewish boys Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber
(they were the original "Lennon & McCartney" if you ask me)

 

[C l u t c H 385]

Jew's Blues?

 

[Hopper]

another classic, and a great cross-over hit for any number of artists:...written in the early 50's by a couple of white, Jewish boys Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber (they were the original "Lennon & McCartney" if you ask me)

True dat, Mo. Them jewboys, they ROCK, eh!? They writ many a classic tune, such as Hound Dog, first for Big Mama Thorton, later covered by Elvis. They did some fun stuff for the immortal Coasters (perhaps best known for "Charlie Brown) includin "Youngblood" (also covered by the Beatles) and "Yakety Yak" both included below just because they so great, even if they are off some scratchy old-*** 45, and all, ya know?:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgX3a6ApQbs

"Takes out dem paypas an dat trash....er yo *** don't git no spendin cash"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cHB3Rbz1OI

 

[Hopper]

+1,000 for a triumphant return. Welcome back Hoppy.

Thanks, eh, Clutch? Good ta see yo perv *** agin, ya know? I aint zakly back, er nuthin. I don't plan on postin no mo round this here joint, except in this here blues thread, cause I likes blues and all. They probably aint more than 4-5 peoples who pay no attention to this here thread. If the admins start comin round, I won't post here no mo neither (that probably assures that they will, but, whatcha gunna do, eh?).

 

[Hopper]

(actually sounds much like Dizzy Miss Lizzy, and also quite a bit like one of the two songs in aint's quiz above)

Actually, it wuz 3 tunes, eh, Mo, and I aint seen your answers yet. Yo gunna flunk that there quiz if ya don't haul off and spills it soon--I will just post the answers, and won't nobuddy care neither way.

Howze bout the resta yawl (all 3 of yuns)? Blood, ya gunna flunk by default, that it?