Basin Street Blues
Basin Street Blues is a ballad written by Spencer Williams and published in 1928. The prelude ( verses ) used today and part of today's text was supplemented in 1931 by Glenn Miller and Jack Teagarden . The song, which was first recorded on record by Louis Armstrong , developed into the jazz standard .
Williams, who in one of the brothels of New Orleanser red-light district Basin Street was growing up, the road out of memory put a monument. By 1928 the brothels had long since closed and that part of the street was renamed North Saratoga Street .
Identification of the piece
The original verse, which comprised twelve bars , can be musically characterized as blues ; it closes into B flat major holding chorus of 16 bars in the song form AABB ", which due to its chord progression is a classic pop song. In the present-day" version only reminiscent given the melody to a Blues Blue Notes foreplay and the slow lecture. "
Impact history
In 1928 the first record of the song was made by Louis Armstrong , who also scated the song with his sextet . In 1929 the first recording was made by Jack Teagarden. In 1931 he took up the piece again with the Charleston Chasers . On the eve of the recording, Teagarden and Benny Goodman changed the text. The new lines Won't you come along with me / To the Mississippi… make the street appear as an interesting destination; in fact, many of the buildings were already demolished or vacant by then.
With the new lyrics, the song became a hit several times:
- The Charleston Chasers (conductor: Benny Goodman, vocals: Jack Teagarden, 1931, # 14)
- Benny Goodman and His Orchestra (1934, # 14)
- Bing Crosby and Connee Boswell (1937, vocal, # 12)
- Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five (1938, vocal, # 20)
The song soon became the standard and was recorded by Fats Waller , Teddy Wilson and Duke Ellington . Ella Fitzgerald recorded the song with Sy Oliver for Decca on Lullabies of Birdland . In the 1950s, the song found its way into the Dixieland revival and trad jazz scene: bands like Chris Barber's , the Firehouse Five or Papa Bue's Viking Jazzband took up the song. Modern jazz musicians also interpreted the song, such as Teddy Charles , Dave Brubeck , Miles Davis (on "Seven Steps to Heaven" 1963), Jimmy Smith and David Sanborn (2008).
More cover versions
Beyond jazz are versions of Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys with Tommy Duncan , Louis Prima , Sam Cooke or Dr. John ( Goin 'Back to New Orleans , 1992) and by Willie Nelson , but also by Kid Koala . Jo Stafford used the song for a duet with Frankie Laine . Liza Minnelli sang the piece in Liza's at The Palace ...! .
The Basin Street Blues was also used in the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button .
literature
- Carlo Bohländer , Karl Heinz Holler: Reclams Jazzführer (= Reclams Universal Library. No. 10185/10196). Reclam, Stuttgart 1970, ISBN 3-15-010185-9 .
- Hans-Jürgen Schaal (Ed.): Jazz standards. The encyclopedia. 3rd, revised edition. Bärenreiter, Kassel u. a. 2004, ISBN 3-7618-1414-3 .