Songster Tradition

Songster Tradition | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 10, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Document
• ASIN: B000000J3D
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #726,641 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Gang of Brown Skin Women

2. Hey! Lawdy Mama (The France Blues)

3. Two Little Tommie Blues

4. Don't You Leave Me Here

5. Mama You Don't Know How

6. Original Stack O'Lee Blues

7. Quill Blues

8. Goin' to Leave You Blues

9. I Believe I'll Go Back Home

10. When That Great Ship Went Down

11. Everybody Help the Boys Come Home

12. Sinner You'll Need King Jesus

13. Church Bells Blues [Take 1][#]

14. Church Bell Blues [Take 2]

15. Pick Poor Robin Clean [Take 1][#]

16. Pick Poor Robin Clean [Take 2][#]

17. Cocaine Blues

18. Traveling Coon

19. My Gal's Done Quit Me

20. Won't You Be Kind?

See all 25 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Luke Jordan!, November 3, 2000

By 

B. D. Tutt (London, UK.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Songster Tradition (Audio CD)

This is an excellent addition to Document's comprehensive catalogue of pre - war blues recordings.

The African - American musicians now categorised as "songsters" generally came from a pre - blues tradition, and while including blues within their repertoire, also played spirituals, ballads, comic songs, dance tunes and traditional white folk songs. The best known today are probably Mississippi John Hurt, Mance Lipscomb, Willie McTell and Pink Anderson.

Many others never recorded, or were captured in just one or two sesions. These some of these musicians are presented here. The first six tracks emanate from two 1927 sessions by Papa Harvey Hull & Long "Cleve" Red, and demonstrate some of the repertoire of the songsters. Other tracks are by Big Boy Cleveland (1927), william and Versey Smith (1927), Eli Framer (1929) and Louie Lasky (1935).

The standout tracks, however, are by the great Virginia songster Luke Jordan. He recorded only twice, in 1927 and 1929, and almost all his known recordings are contained here. (Two tracks discovered after this CD was released are also available on Document). Jordan had a fine Piedmont guitar style, a cleanly articulated vocal approach, and a sly humour in his lyrics. His performance of "Travellin' Man" is a classic, as is the humourously cynical "Church Bells Blues".

Any lover of East Coast style blues should buy this album for the Luke Jordan tracks alone. Many others will find this a fascinating album illustrating the range of pre - blues approaches surviving in the 1920s.