Rockin 'chair
Rockin 'Chair is a ballad written by Hoagy Carmichael in 1929 .
The song
The Rockin 'Chair melody consists of 32 bars and is in the form of AA 1 -BA. Carmichael laid out the song as a dialogue between father and son; it begins with the lines:
- " Old rockin 'chair's got me, my cane by my side
- Fetch me that gin, son, 'fore I tan your hide
- Can't get from this cabin, goin 'nowhere
- Just set me here grabbin 'at the flies round this rockin' chair . "
In the third stanza the son answers the father:
- " Old rockin 'chair's got me, son, (Rocking chair got you, father)
- My cane by my side, (Yes, your cane by your side)
- Now fetch me a little gin, son (Ain't got no gin, father)
- What? 'fore I tan your hide, now, (You're gonna tan my hide) "
First recordings and chart successes
The first recording of Rockin 'Chair came from Louis Armstrong , who recorded it on December 13, 1929 for Okeh (8756) with Carmichael as second vocalist. Rockin 'Chair was created during a session by Armstrong with the Luis Russell Orchestra between December 10 and 13, 1929, where the band - starting with I Ain't Got Nobody and Dallas Blues - also played the St. Louis Blues and finally the Carmichael- Recorded the composition. Armstrong invited Carmichael to sing the role of the father, while Armstrong responded as the son. The Rockin 'Chair session was one of the early recordings in which a white man and an African American sing a duet together.
On May 21, 1930 Carmichael himself recorded him for Victor Records (Victor 25494) with his orchestra, in which Bix Beiderbecke , Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey , Bud Freeman , Benny Goodman , Gene Krupa and His Orchestra , Jack Teagarden and Joe Venuti played.
The Armstrong version of the song came in at position 14 on the American charts on August 6, 1932, when the Okeh recording was re-released by Columbia Records together with Sweetheats on Parade - probably stimulated by the success of the Mills Brothers , whose cover version was released on August 14. Had reached # 4 on the US charts by May 1932. After the great success Armstrong Rockin 'Chair took on several times in the course of his career; he also integrated it into the concerts he gave in Europe in 1933. His trombonist Henry Tyree wore a hat and played the role of the father.
His call and response duets became famous between 1947 and 1951 with his trombonist Jack Teagarden . They incorporated jokes into their Rockin 'Chair performances , such as a 1951 version when Armstrong sang “ But I ain't got no gin, father ” and got Teagarden to respond, “ Well, I guess I'll take a seven-up then ".
Mildred Bailey took it for the first time on August 18, 1932 with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and Bunny Berigan , Red Norvo and Matty Malneck as soloists on Bailey made the song their signature tune and was called "The Rockin 'Chair Lady". On March 23, 1937, Bailey played him again with her orchestra; on June 12, the song came in this version ( Vocalion 3553) to number 13 in the US charts. After that, the song did not return to the US charts.
More shots
Other versions of the song in the swing era are by Frank Sinatra , Sidney Bechet , Count Basie , Duke Ellington , Roy Eldridge , Glen Gray , Red Nichols , Artie Shaw , Fats Waller , Nelson Williams and Garland Wilson . In modern jazz , artists such as Ray Bryant , Conte Candoli , Orrin Evans , Joe Pass and Oscar Peterson recorded interpretations of the classic.
The recordings that Fats Domino (1951) and Gwen McCrae (1975) released under the title Rockin 'Chair are not cover versions of the Carmichael song.
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ In Armstrong's band Red Allen , Otis Johnson (trumpet), JC Higginbotham (trombone), Albert Nicholas (clarinet), Charlie Holmes (alto saxophone), Teddy Hill (tenor saxophone), Luis Russell (piano), Will Johnson (guitar), Pops Foster (bass), Paul Barbarin (drums) and Hoagy Carmichael, vocals. The song later appeared on the CD Hot Fives and Hot Sevens (JSP)
- ↑ In their orchestra played u. a. Red Norvo, Eddie Sauter , Dave Barbour and Hank D'Amico
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Carlo Bohländer , Jazzführer, Edition Peters, Leipzig, part p. 273.
- ↑ a b Information on the song and lyrics at lyricsplayground.com
- ↑ a b Information at Dippermouth
- ↑ Abbi Hübner , Louis Armstrong, Oreos, Waakirchen 2000, p. 200
- ↑ Discographic information at 78discography.com
- ↑ a b c d Gerhard Klußmeier: Jazz in the Charts. Another view on jazz history. Liner notes and booklet for the 100 CD edition. Membrane International GmbH. ISBN 978-3-86735-062-4
- ↑ cf. Bielefeld Catalog 1985.
- ^ Information on Mildred Bailey on National Public Radio