The History of a Young Lady

Jan & Arnie - Jennie Lee (Photo from lord marmalade’s...

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:34:05 -0500

Jan & Arnie - Jennie Lee

(Photo from lord marmalade’s collection.)

Bessie Smith - After You’ve Gone Here’s Bessie...

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:48:00 -0500

Bessie Smith - After You’ve Gone

Here’s Bessie Smith’s 1929 recording of After You’ve Gone. I love this version so much, and it’s fascinating to listen to it next to Marion Harris’s. Even though the words are mostly the same in both recordings, the attitude is completely different: whereas the takeaway from Harris’s version is basically “please don’t leave me!” with Smith’s it’s more like “fuck you, I’m awesome and I know it.”

(Photo from Neato Coolville’s collection.)

Marion Harris - After You’ve Gone I really like this...

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:00:00 -0500

Marion Harris - After You’ve Gone

I really like this song, and I think Marion Harris was the first person to record it. This version is from 1918, and I enjoy it in spite (and really, partly because of) its overwrought Victorian drama and general milquetoastitude. Tomorrow I’ll post the version Bessie Smith did 10 years later…get ready to have your socks knocked off.

(Photo of Mary Pickford from Nnhoneymonster’s collection)

Tarheel Slim - Number 9 Train (Photo from violent visions of...

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:11:08 -0500

Tarheel Slim - Number 9 Train

(Photo from violent visions of setting sail’s collection.)

Duke Ellington - Swampy River (Photo from Wisconsin Historical...

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:05:52 -0500

Duke Ellington - Swampy River

(Photo from Wisconsin Historical Images’ collection.)

The Marx Brothers aren’t really my cup of tea (well,...

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:34:00 -0500

The Marx Brothers aren’t really my cup of tea (well, I’ve actually never seen a whole movie, so I guess I shouldn’t judge) but this video of Chico playing “All I Do Is Dream Of You” on the piano is just so sweet and lovely.

The Prisonaires - Just Walkin’ In The Rain (Photo from...

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 08:19:02 -0500

The Prisonaires - Just Walkin’ In The Rain

(Photo from Texas Fight!’s collection.)

Hasil Adkins - Lee-Anne (I Wanna See You Boogie-Woogie) This...

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:28:00 -0500

Hasil Adkins - Lee-Anne (I Wanna See You Boogie-Woogie)

This song is taken from a tape that Adkins sent to Jim “The Hound” Marshall at WFMU sometime in the 90s. You can download the whole thing here, and you really should. Also, you should read Marshall’s blog, because it’s fantastic.

(Photo from the Library of Congress’s collection.)

“Crying” Sam Collins - Graveyard Digger’s...

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:13:00 -0500

“Crying” Sam Collins - Graveyard Digger’s Blues

It seems that this song is only available in extremely rough shape, but somehow listening to Collins’s ghostly voice struggle through the static only adds to the beauty of the thing.

(Photo of a woman, a soldier, and two insubstantial children in Richmond, Virginia ca. 1865 from Brendan Hamilton’s collection)

Kansas Joe McCoy - Pile Drivin’ Blues (Photo from...

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:55:58 -0500

Kansas Joe McCoy - Pile Drivin’ Blues

(Photo from everaloft’s collection.)

Kol Matija - Karajfil Te Zgjodha This song, along with a number...

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:37:05 -0500

Kol Matija - Karajfil Te Zgjodha

This song, along with a number of others I’ve posted recently and not so recently (like this one, this one, and this one) are all from a compilation of some of the 78s in Robert Crumb’s collection called Gay Life in Dikanka. Man, that is one great album.

(Photo from lord marmalade’s amazing collection)

Sloan - Seems So Heavy (Photo of Alfred Leblanc from the...

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:03:00 -0500

Sloan - Seems So Heavy

(Photo of Alfred Leblanc from the Library of Congress’s collection.)

Bob Dylan - Tell Me That It Isn’t True (Photo from...

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:27:16 -0500

Bob Dylan - Tell Me That It Isn’t True

(Photo from misstweedledee’s collection.)

Budrik’s Radio Orchestra - Cigonai I just love the mood...

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:33:23 -0500

Budrik’s Radio Orchestra - Cigonai

I just love the mood of this song — so laid back and happy. Somehow it reminds me of a really perfect summer day. Doesn’t it sound like these guys would have been fun to hang out with?

The photo, from stolen w-heels’ collection, is an ad from a 1929 Italian magazine starring Russian dancers Ilona and Gina Karolewa. They look like they would be pretty fun to hang out with too.

Bradley Kincaid - Liza up at the Simmon Tree (Photo from...

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:47:40 -0500

Bradley Kincaid - Liza up at the Simmon Tree

(Photo from newmexico51’s collection.)

Duke Ellington - The Mooche (Reverse printed negative of a...

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:12:47 -0500

Duke Ellington - The Mooche

(Reverse printed negative of a circus aerialist from signs and wonders’ collection)

Roy Orbison - I’m Hurtin’ (Photo from...

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:35:00 -0500

Roy Orbison - I’m Hurtin’

(Photo from celestetumulte’s collection)

Irma Thomas - I Done Got Over It (Photo from signs and...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:03:32 -0500

Irma Thomas - I Done Got Over It

(Photo from signs and wonders’ collection)

Sam Ku West - Someday Sweetheart I was pretty bummed out last...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:10:00 -0500

Sam Ku West - Someday Sweetheart

I was pretty bummed out last night, but then I watched The General and it made me so happy. Buster Keaton was a genius and I’m madly in love with him.

(Photo from MILK_’s collection).

Amazing excerpt from Good News (1930) via All Talking! All...

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:31:40 -0500

Amazing excerpt from Good News (1930) via All Talking! All Singing! All Dancing!