📄 Transcript [show]
Welcome to the Qumran Report.
May the peace and blessings of the life-giving creative spirit be upon you and upon your family.
My name is Melvin Ishmael Johnson, and I'm in the studio with my co-host, Earlene Anthony.
This week we will be talking about the history of the blues with musician and actor Jerome St. Jerome.
Now I'm delighted to have with us in the studio musician and actor Jerome St. Jerome.
Jerome's 25 years on Chicago's jazz, blues, and radio scene as a harmonica player, scat singer, lecturer, and program host chronicles Chicago's rich cultural contribution to music history.
Jerome, welcome to the Qumran Report.
Thank you, Mel.
Glad to be here.
Glad to have you on the show.
Thank you.
Look, let's get into a discussion of the history.
I'm going to start the history of the blues by reading from the Wikipedia about the definition of the blues.
And I would like to read, Blues is the name given to both a musical form that originated in the African-American communities of primarily the deep south of the United States around the end of the 19th century from spiritual work song, field hollers, shouts, and chants, and rhymes, simple narrative ballads.
The blues is based upon other characteristics, such as specific lyrics, bass lines, and instruments.
Blues can be subdivided into several sub-forms ranging from country to urban blues that were more or less popular during different periods of the 20th century.
Best knowns are the Delta, the P-Mount, Jump, and Chicago blues styles.
World War II marked the transition of the blues.
The blues were the first to be introduced into the world.
The blues were the first to be introduced into the world.
And this connection had connection from acoustics to electric blues and the progressive opening of blues music to a wider audience, especially white listeners.
In the 1960s and the 70s, a hybrid form called blues rock evolved.
Now Jerome, how do you define the musical art form known as the blues?
Well, my version is a little less scientific than what you read though.
And sure, that's very accurate.
very accurate.
I'd like to put that in perspective with some of the players of the blues who had much to say about it, obviously.
Let me start with Willie Dixon, who accurately said, blues are the roots of all American music.
When you think about it, that's true.
Blues has roots in jazz, bluegrass, rock and roll, et cetera.
If we could talk about it technically, most often comes into 12 bar form with a repeated lyric at the beginning that is usually resolved at the tag or the turnaround.
For an example, my baby, she left me.
Now I'm thinking of the Count Pacey song.
My baby, she left me.
I can't think of that right now.
I'm drawing a blank and I was singing it all the way here.
Baby, you got a home.
Long as I've got mine.
Anyway, that was a bad example.
But let's talk about Brownie McGee.
Emotionally, the blues, Brownie McGee talked about that when he wanted to hear a sad song or a tragic song, he wanted to hear some beauty in the song, not just teardrops.
There's also the, uh, some people believe that blues came from, from gospel.
Willie Dixon and I discussed that at one point.
And, uh, unofficially, we did not feel that blues came from gospel.
If I could put it to like a folk music musician, might say it when a baby cries, he grows up crying the blues.
He's not singing about gospel before he knows that.
So it's a natural saying thing to sing about your life before God.
But the gospel progression.
Now this one I'll get right.
Um, is, is the same as the very similar to the saints go marching in progression.
And you can hear it in virtually every gospel song or most it's very typical of most gospel progressions.
And you can hear it in the saints go marching in.
You can hear it in the folk song by Woody Guthrie.
This train, this train is bound for glory.
This train, this train is bound for glory.
This train, this train is bound for glory.
This train, this train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is bound for glory.
This train is in oh how I'd like to be in that number oh when the saints go marching in now you don't hear much blues in there but you do hear a little bit of a feeling there so um they're kind of similar but exactly where the 12 bar form with the repeated lyric and the uh the resolve came from I couldn't tell you you probably have to talk to a ethnomusicologist and it's kind of a chicken egg debate possibly and I try to avoid those but for me what really defines it is the feeling a person or person singing about their life and it doesn't have to be specific like I was improvising poorly on that lyric when my baby she left me so blacks would get together and talk about their life and sing about you know what's happened in their life wouldn't have necessarily have to mean that their baby left them but they're talking about the things and the pains of life and living in general and they would you know they would sing about this and and it could just be a generic form uh singing the blues is a generic form about singing out your pain your day-to-day troubles and whatnot so this kind of thing so it's a community thing so um that's basically the feeling so why don't I just try instead uh um babe you got a home long as I've got mine uh my baby left me.
I can't do it again.
I forgot it.
It's this Count Basie, Jimmy Rushing thing that I couldn't get in my thing.
I'll sing you the blues all day.
Sorry about that.
Let's move on to our next session talking about Bessie Smith.
First, let me read a little about Bessie Smith.
Bessie Smith, she was born April the 15th, 1894, and she died September the 26th, 1937.
She was an American blues singer nicknamed the Empress of the Blues.
Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 30s.
She is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era, and along with Louis Armstrong, a major influence on jazz vocalists.
So, can you tell us a little about Bessie Smith?
She had definitely one of the most powerful voices in blues, and she was pretty much an influencer.
She was a singer, and she was a singer, and she was a singer, and she was influential past Billie, before Billie Holiday and past Billie Holiday.
But what I can say here about Bessie and what they refer to as the classic blues singers in the era of the 20s, if we could give it a start, we'll go from 1920, the first blues recording that really took off in popularity.
It was the Crazy Blues by Mamie Smith, No Relation.
And that's, that's the first blues record that sold wildly.
And many, there were like over 250 singers recording, and many of them did over 250 sides a piece in that area, so era.
So, the blues was wildly popular in the 1920s.
And of course, Bessie Smith was one of the most popular performers.
And did you say she started recording in 1923?
Yes, something around there.
Something.
Let's go to a song by Bessie Smith with Lori Armstrong recorded in 1925.
And then we'll continue our discussion of the history of the blues.
I hate to see the evening sun go down.
I hate to see the evening sun go down.
I hate to see the evening sun go down.
It makes me think of On my last go-round Feeling tomorrow Like I feel today Feeling tomorrow Like I feel today I'll pack my grits And make my getaway St. Louis woman Where's the diamond ring?
There's a man around Where the hype was free There's a man around I've got the butter and this soap on hand.
The man I love wouldn't go nowhere.
Oh, I've got this thing in the way.
Just as good as I can be.
He's got a heart like a cat in the sea.
And if he would know, so far from me.
All right, now, that's Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong.
The great Louis Armstrong.
Now, we're back with my in-studio guest, Jerome Smith.
St. Jerome and my co-host, Earlene Anthony.
Let's talk a little about Muddy Waters.
Let me read from the Wikipedia about Muddy Waters.
They say McKinley Morganfield was his given name.
He was born April the 4th, 1913.
And he died April the 30th, 1983.
Known as Muddy Waters.
He was an American blues musician generally considered the father of modern Chicago blues.
He was a major inspiration for the British blues explosion in the 1960s.
And was ranked number 17 in Rolling Stone magazine.
List of the 100 greatest artists of all time.
Although in his later years, Muddy Waters usually said that he was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi.
In 1915, he was actually born at Jug's Corners in neighboring Iskina County, Mississippi.
In 1913.
The shack where Muddy Waters lived in his youth on Stovall Plantation is now located at the Delta Blues Museum in Clocksdale, Mississippi.
He started out on harmonica.
But by age 17, he was playing the guitar at parties, emulating two blues artists who were extremely popular in the South, Thun House and Robert Johnson.
Okay.
So, can you, Jerome, let's talk a little.
Can you discuss the Mississippi Delta and the blues in Chicago?
Sure.
Chicago and the blues.
Sure.
Many of the great blues singers came from Mississippi, including Muddy, B.B.
King, and so many more.
You can just look them up probably on Wikipedia and see where they were born.
I've met many people from Mississippi who told me that.
Things were pretty bad in Mississippi.
And, you know, you've discussed that on this program many times.
But many made it out of there.
And there were many who told me that I knew in Chicago who told me that growing up, if they had met me, it would be Mr. Jerome.
That's how they would be referring to me.
So, there was a lot of suffering that was going on.
But when I hear...
When I hear...
Heard Muddy Waters' voice at 12 years old.
It really spoke to me.
You know, you could hear the pain and oppression that, you know, Muddy and his people had suffered.
But you also heard a reassurance like, okay, I've been through this, but I'm all right.
We can even be friendly and even be friends.
And I've survived this.
And besides just the great, full, rich, deep tone that I love.
That is special.
That is special about Muddy.
But the Mississippi Delta, there's just many great acoustic musicians, like you were mentioning, Son House and so many more who came out of there.
And that had an influence.
That's a harder...
Bit of a harder style of blues that Muddy and his contemporaries brought to Chicago.
And that really...
You know, I could only probably demonstrate it to you by musical example.
Had an influence on the Chicago sound, which was just a little bit harder.
And they eventually brought the full band format to it with eventually came the bass and two guitars and the drums and even the harmonica.
Even though much of it was not emulated, many of them, these musicians, became masters, you know, of the blues.
And Chicago and Muddy Waters and the sounds that, you know, they were producing.
I mean, Muddy Waters had the first rock band in the early 50s.
Before there was Elvis Presley, before there was even Chuck Berry, there was Muddy and his two guitars and, you know, sometimes no bass and the drummer.
And they're laying down a beat and singing over it, you know.
So that's like the first rock band.
And then we had Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley who came along in 1955.
So Muddy and his contemporaries, I believe, were the spark for the billion-dollar industry they call rock and roll.
But besides that, Muddy really deserves the credit for developing that Chicago blues sound, that format, you know, with the harmonica and the two guitars.
Okay.
Well, look, let's go to a song in Tyler Rolling Stone by Muddy Waters.
Muddy Waters.
Well, I wish I was a cat.
Wow.
Swimming in the deep blue sea.
I would have all you good-looking women fishing, fishing after me.
Shown up after me.
Shown up after me.
Oh, love.
Oh, love.
Shown up.
Oh, love.
Oh, love.
Oh, love.
Oh, love.
Oh, well Well, my mother told my father Just before I was born I got a boy child coming Gonna be, he gonna be a rolling stone Sure enough, he's a rolling stone Sure enough, he's a rolling stone Oh, well, he's a Oh, well, he's a Oh, well, he's a Oh, well, he's a Oh, well, he's a Oh, I didn't know that From that song Wow That's interesting Now, look Let's talk a little about Robert Johnson For a while Can you tell our listening audience About the influence of Robert Johnson Who was also from the Mississippi Delta Yes Blues par excellence He was just a phenomenal player and singer Who influenced Muddy And virtually everybody who came after him And just the Those recordings we heard That are, you know, available The scant few When it seems about influenced everybody And nobody really could You could almost say Nobody could really hold a candle to him Just with his expert fingering techniques And his curious, infectious voice He just, he just Technically was phenomenal And had great feeling And created standards That, you know, he was a great player And, you know, are still standards in blues today They're just unbelievably entertaining to listen to So he was a phenomenal performer What about these rumors That we hear all the time About that he got his skills From the deals that he made with the devil Or something at the crossroads Yeah Complete and total mythology I mean, when I interviewed Honey Boy Edwards Who was a great singer Who had played with him way back when We talked about that And we just talked I realized that all along He was just a guy You know, there's no thing that, you know He was doing satanic rituals I think part of that is based on that And two popular, popular themes For blacks And maybe in the 30s and the 50s Was blues and superstition So he might have been just playing off that But I think because He was such a legendary performer And, you know, the way he died Being poisoned by poison whiskey And just the short time he was around People like to start these, you know Quote-unquote rumors And it was just mythology No, I think he was just a guy like anybody else And Honey Boy Edwards told me He had known him back then He was just a guy who was a great performer And performed a lot And was somewhat popular So I don't really It's maybe fun to talk about But I don't really buy any of it Now, is he the one Is he Do you consider him the father of the blues?
Actually, as great as he is I really consider Muddy more the father of the blues Muddy than Robbins Yeah, because Muddy just had an influence Over, you know, so much of, you know Rock and roll and folk music I mean, when you listen to heavy metal And its harshness You can listen to these old Muddy Waters recordings Okay, maybe the heavy metal guys Weren't listening and influenced specifically By the Yeah Some Muddy Waters recordings But just in the guitar sounds The thrashing The deep, funky rhythms The harshness of the music And sometimes when you would hear Little Walter and Muddy singing Playing their way Tearing and thrashing their way to a tune I almost thought that they're trying to bring terror Yet entertaining terror Into the hearts of their listeners So I really consider Muddy to be the father of the blues Okay Yeah, you know My brother's named Robert Johnson I'm glad to see him Because they named him after the musician Robert Johnson He lived in Detroit Now, look, let's go to a song entitled Hellhound on My Trail by Robert Johnson I got to keep moving I got to keep moving I got to keep moving I got to keep moving I got to keep moving I got to keep moving Blue's falling down the hill Blue's falling down the hill Blue's falling down the hill And the day keeps on warning me It's a hell out on my trail Hell out on my trail Hell out on my trail It's a day, it's Christmas Eve It's a day, it's Christmas Eve And tomorrow's Christmas Eve It's a day, it's Christmas Eve And tomorrow's Christmas Eve Oh, when we have a time, baby Oh, I would need my little sweet ride I just To pass the day To pass the time away To pass the time away You spank a hot foot bottom All around my door All around my door You spank a hot foot bottom All around your daddy's door Mm-hmm Mm-hmm Mm-hmm Mm-hmm Mm-hmm Mm-hmm Mm-hmm Mm- Oh don t t Hell Hound on my Trail by the great Robert Johnson.
Now, Jerome, let's talk about you as a harmonica player and some blues harmonica players.
Can you comment on that and talk about that for a while?
Sure.
Let me run down the big seven for me.
Sonny Terry, a great folk player, most often paired with Brownie McGee.
They made classic recordings.
They start on Broadway and Cat in a Hot Tin Roof in 1939 and have a long and storied recording career.
He was just a phenomenal player who did a lot of fox chases, whoops and hollers, a lot of effects he would do with his harmonica.
Big Walter Horton, probably my biggest influence, who recorded early on in the late 30s.
He just had a phenomenal tone.
Real professional.
Real professional tone.
And he eventually recorded with the, made his way to Chicago and recorded for Chess and other labels.
He was a monster player who just had a great, great big sound and influenced virtually, you know, everybody after him, you know, including Little Walter, Junior Wells, etc. Masterful player.
From Horn Lake, Mississippi, appropriately.
Let's see.
Big Walter Horton.
Let's see.
Junior Wells and James Cotton, who both had chairs with the Muddy Waters Band.
Junior, one of the greatest players to ever pick up a harmonica, singers to ever pick up a harmonica.
Started his own group with Earl Hooker, great guitar player in the late 50s, and then eventually paired with Buddy Guy.
And he made landmark recordings for the United Record label in Chicago.
Oh, wow.
And also recorded with Muddy Waters for Chess.
And, you know, all these players I'm mentioning, it's worth it to go, if you're into the blues, to go seek out their recordings.
James Cotton started with Muddy Waters in about 1954 and started his own band in 1966.
And he was just a lot of fun and did classic sides with Muddy Waters.
And he started off as an apprentice to Sonny Bove.
Sonny Bove.
Williamson No.
2.
He's still going strong today.
Let's see.
And Sonny Bove Williamson No.
2.
A great songwriter.
His song, Eyesight to the Blind, if you visit Wikipedia, so many people have recorded that song that he wrote.
He was a great, funny songwriter and sang the blues very well.
And most often played acoustic harmonica without the microphone.
And started recording for the trumpet label in 1951.
Came to Chicago.
And recorded very many sides.
A lot of sides for Chess Records with a lot of the players that were recording, sidemen that were recording with Chess at that time.
Robert Jr. Lockwood, Fred Below, many more.
Great singer.
Then went to Europe in the early 60s and wanted to stay.
They took tours of Europe.
The blues players did in the early 60s.
And Sonny Boy stayed on because he enjoyed his popularity.
And came back to the States in 65, we think, pretty much to die.
That's when he died in 1965.
Then came along Paul Butterfield, Southside native.
Son of an attorney on the Southside who started going to the Southside Blues Clubs in 1960.
He could just do a few little Sonny Terry licks.
But eventually he developed a real, very infectious style of swing that really took the city by storm in 1965.
And then he came back to the States in 1964, 1965.
So much so that Paul Rothschild from Elektra Records, who were recording The Doors, among many others, got wind of it in New York and came to town and recorded this classic Paul Butterfield blues band album.
Which featured Sam Lay, who played with Howlin' Wolf and Muddy.
And Jerome Arnold, brother to harmonica player Billy Boy Arnold, is part of the rhythm section.
Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop were part of that band.
If you've heard of them.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
They're both the rock and roll country singer.
Elvin Bishop fooled around and fell in love.
So he was a great player and singer.
And he enjoyed some popularity.
And then Sugar Blue from Harlem, who took Paul Butterfield's style and took it to another level.
He could swing.
He still swings on the harmonica from the top to the bottom.
He had a great style of swing.
And he recorded Miss You, the song Miss You with the Rolling Stones.
And he has a very storied recording and performing career.
I think he's in Memphis now, but he's another phenomenal player.
So all these guys were some of the greatest of all time and influences on me all.
All right.
Now let's go to a song entitled Help Me by Sonny Boy Williamson.
Sonny Boy Williamson.
Sonny Boy Williamson.
Sonny Boy Williamson.
Sonny Boy Williamson.
Sonny Boy Williamson.
Sonny Boy Williamson.
Sonny Boy Williamson.
Sonny Boy Williamson.
Sonny Boy Williamson.
Sonny Boy Williamson.
Sonny Boy Williamson.
Sonny Boy Williamson.
Sonny Boy Williamson.
You got to help me.
I can't do it all by myself.
You got to help me baby.
I can't do it all by myself.
You got to help me baby.
I can't do it all by myself.
You know, if you don't help me, darling, I'll have to find myself somebody.
I may have to wash it.
I may have to soak.
I may have to cook.
I might mop the floor, but you help me, baby.
You know, if you don't help me, darling, I'll find myself somebody.
When I walk, you walk with me.
When I talk, you talk to me.
Oh, baby.
I can't do it all by myself.
You know, if you don't help me, darling, I'll have to find myself somebody.
Help me, help me, darling.
Help me, help me, darling.
Bring my night check.
Put on your morning gown.
Oh, bring my night check.
Put on your morning gown.
Darling, I know we're sleeping.
But I just feel like lying down.
Oh, yeah.
Help me.
Help me.
Oh, yeah.
Location is the Vortex 2341 East Olympic Boulevard.
This is near the corner of Santa Fe and Olympic Boulevard.
The Metro Bus No.
60 and 66 stops right at the corner.
For more information on the Veterans Community Theater Workshop, you can call 323-850-4436.
Thursday, September 13th at 12 noon, the Compassionate Response to Homelessness and Poverty Group will be having a meeting at the United University Church called the Peace Center.
And this is located on the campus of USC.
The church is right at the corner of Jefferson and Hoover.
All are invited to attend and discuss ways.
And means to help the homeless population.
If you need more information on the meeting, call 323-850-4436.
We're asking to save this date.
Sunday, September 30th at 3 p.m.
The Veterans Community Theater Workshop will be performing a stage play called Surviving the Nickel.
The play is written and directed by Melvin.
Ishmael Johnson.
And once again, this is Sunday, September 30th at 3 p.m.
The location of the performance is the Vortex 2341 East Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles, California.
Zip code 921.
This is a free event.
And all are welcome to attend.
If you need more information on this event, you can call 323-850-4436.
This is a free event.
And all are welcome to attend.
If you need more information on this event, you can call 323-850-4436.
Just a reminder, if you have a community event that you would like announced on our show, send the information to DramaStage1 at Yahoo.com.
Attention, Earlene Anthony.
And once again, our call-in number for the show is 800-893-9562.
Now, back to our host.
Hey, thank you, Earlene Anthony.
Now, we're back in the studio with our guest, Jerome St. Jerome, and my co-host, Earlene Anthony.
Jerome, let's talk a little about some modern-day giants of the blues, starting with the king of the blues, B.B.
King.
And let me just read something real short from the Wikipedia.
They say Riley B.
King, his original name, born September 16, 1925, known by the stage name B.B.
King.
B.B.
King is an American songwriter, vocalist, and famed blues guitarist.
Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him as number six on its list of the 100 greatest guitars of all time and number 17 in Gibson's top 50s guitars of all time.
According to Edward M.
Cormara, King introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based upon fluid screen blending.
He was known for his!
He was known for his!!
He was just the greatest.
I saw him many times from the 80s into the 90s, and he was just a class act.
Okay.
Great shows.
Great shows.
Just one of the greatest ever.
Let's hear something from him.
Let's go to a song entitled Every Day I Have the Blues by B.B.
King.
Gentlemen, how about a nice warm round of applause to welcome the world's greatest blues singer, the king of the blues, B.B.
King.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Every Day I Have the Blues by B.B.
King.
Now, look, let's move along.
Let's talk a little about Bobby Blue Bland, and let me just read real quickly.
His original name was Robert Cavan Bland.
He was born in January of 27, 1930, better known as Bobby Blue Bland.
He's an American singer of the blues and soul.
He is an original member of the Beals Creeders and is sometimes referred to as the Lounge of the Blues.
Along with such artists as Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Junior Parker, Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and the rhythm and blues.
Bobby Bland was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1981, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990.
In 1997.
Can you just say, look, something quick about Bobby Bland?
Yeah, the warmest tone in show business, I call him, because he had the warmest vocal sound that was very appealing.
And I was lucky enough to see him more than a few times, or just probably just a couple times in Chicago.
And that also were, those also were great shows.
And he made many landmark recordings, including the landmark recording of the Stormy Monday Blues.
That T-Bone Walker had written, which he recorded in 1960 or 1962.
But, wonderful singer.
All right.
Let's go to something by Bobby Blue Bland, I Pity the Fool by Bobby Blue Bland.
I Pity the Fool.
I say, I pity the fool.
Well, I pity the fool, yeah.
I said, I pity the fool.
And I fall in love with you, and I expect you to be true.
Oh, I pity the fool.
Look at the people.
I know you're wondering what they're doing.
They're just standing there, watching you make a fool of me.
Look at the people.
I know you're wondering what they're doing.
They're just standing there, watching you make a fool of me.
Oh, I pity the fool.
I pity the fool that falls in love with you.
Oh, I pity the fool.
I pity the fool that falls in love with you.
You'll break your heart one day.
And then she'll laugh and walk away.
Oh, I pity the fool.
Look at the people I know you're wondering what they're doing They're just standing there Watching you make a fool of me Look at the people I know you're wondering what they're doing You're just standing there Watching you make a fool of me Oh, I pity the fool I say I pity the fool Mmm, I pity the fool I say I pity the fool, baby I Pity the Fool by Bobby Blue Bland Now, you know, one of my favorite musicians is Howard.
Howlin' Wolf.
Let me just mention something.
His original name was Chester Arthur Burnett.
He was born June the 10th, 1910, and he died January the 10th, 1976.
He's known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist, and harmonica player.
He was born in West Point, Mississippi, in an area now known as White Station.
Can you quickly say a few words about how you met him?
Well, why don't I just talk about the recording we're about to hear.
Willie Dixon spent some time with the musicians in somebody's basement.
Sam Lay on drums, Willie on bass, Hubert Sumlin on guitar.
I don't know who the sax section was, but Wolf on the vocals.
And this is 300 Pounds of Joy, but if you listen to this song, I consider it along with the Help Me song we heard earlier, two of the greatest ever recorded in blues, two of the greatest ever recorded, masterpiece arrangements.
And if you listen, each player, each, the horn section, the guitar player, the drummers and bass, all are doing different things, but they're all coming together on this number, which I just think is funkier than anything.
And I just think it's a masterpiece.
All right, let's go to 300 Pounds of Joy by Howlin' Wolf.
Well, all you good faggity days are done You don't have to worry, you can have your fun Take me, baby, for your little boy To get 300 pounds of a heavenly joy This is it, this is it This is it, this is it This is it, this is it This is it, this is it This is it, this is it This is it, this is it This is it, this is it This is it, this is it This is it, this is it This is it, this is it This is it, this is it This is it, this is it This is it, this is it This is it, this is it This is it, this is it This is it, this is it This is it, this is it This is it, this is it This is it, this is it Throw that cat baby out of your mind Follow me, babe, and have a real good time This is it This is it Look what you get This is it This is it This is it This is it Look what you get This is it 300 Pounds of Joy by Howlin' Wolf Now, Jerome, I'm going to move into talking about some of the female...
female blues great.
I wanted to play a song by Billie Holiday, but I don't think we're going to have time.
I just want to talk a little about Billie Holiday, some Ma Rainey, a few of the others.
Can you comment on that?
Billie Holiday really had an influence on everybody, even Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, so many jazz singers who you see in the clubs every night.
Erykah Badu.
She just had this...
I've used this word too many times, infectious quality, the way she sang.
And that captured the hearts of America, really.
Billie.
Ma Rainey helped a lot with...
They called her the mother of the blues.
She allegedly helped Bessie Smith with her stage presence, but was not such an influence on her vocally.
But anyway, anybody else?
Well, let me...
I'm going to get some comments from Miss Earlene Anthony.
I just want you to...
I want to mention a couple of the blues singers.
Just a couple of notes.
We still got a little time on that.
Jerome briefly touched on Ma Rainey.
August Wilson did a stage play called Ma Rainey Blues about Ma Rainey.
That was...
I thought was interesting.
Coco Taylor, she was an American Chicago blues musician.
It's hard to say.
Known as Queen of the Blues.
And she had a primary...
She was known for her rough, powerful vocal and traditional blues style.
And those are just a couple.
And Florence Mills, Queen of Happiness.
She was an American cabaret singer, dancer, and also a comedian.
Known for her effervescent stage presence.
Delicate voice and with some wide-eyed beauty.
I pulled her up on the Wikipedia.
She's really a beauty.
When was she born?
She was born January...
January 25th, 1896.
And died November the 1st, 1927.
Okay.
Those are just a few.
All right.
Jerome, can you take about a minute and give us some closing comments before I wind down?
Well, we talked about the history of the blues and we talked about some of the influences.
But actually, to tell you the truth, I feel like record company executives, radio station executives, movie executives...
We've talked about some of the material that we've heard and some of the musicians.
Okay.
Now, we've talked about how the black blues musicians were ripped off and even sued to get royalties.
We talked about that.
But it's not like I'm saying that instead of Led Zeppelin becoming popular, they should have made Muddy Waters the star.
That may not have been possible because Muddy Waters may not appeal to everyone.
But at least...
Yeah.
At least you could have recognized the talents of, say, like a big Walter Horton and his...
That exquisite tone he had on his harmonica and little Walter and his hip instrumentals.
And you could have used him more, maybe in a car commercial or as a movie soundtrack.
You know, things like that.
Okay.
Okay.
Thank you, Jerome.
Now, look, I would like to extend a special thanks to Jerome St. Jerome and my co-host Earlene Anthony.
Nicholas.
Jeremy.
And the Skid Row Studios.
Please check out our past shows of the Coombran Reports on iTunes, Facebook, Twitter.
Skidrow.la and Dramastage.coombran.
Thank you for tuning in to the Coombran Report.
And from your host, Melvin Ishmael Johnson, may the peace and blessings of the life-giving creative spirit be upon you and upon your family.
And I would just like to...
Extra condolence to Tyrone Robinson.
Who lost his father a couple days ago.
He was one of our co-hosts that helped start this show, the Coombran Report.
Now, I leave you with the harmonica sounds of Jerome St. Jerome.
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All right.
Great show.
Thanks.
All right.
There ain't nothing I can do Or nothing I can say There ain't nothing I can do That folks don't criticize me But I'm going to do Just as I want to And
