Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2005-2006 - (Page 77)

JAZZ NOTES music history by Bruce Raeburn Love is a many rendered thing Jazz is the music of “love gone wrong” Hmmm, some music to celebrate down wrong and ain’t playing the Part of Valentine’s Day. One would expect that a a Wife — get yourself somebody else also musical city such as New Orleans would — And get another woman much better have a wealth of songs about love and than the last one at all times.” No wonder romance associated with its long and illusit took Pops four marriages to achieve trious jazz history. Guess again. Buddy domestic bliss. Bolden’s signature tune was called “Funky The same principle applies to the Butt.” Ain’t THAT romantic! The ideal of Creole songs that became a part of the romantic devotion that we trace back to New Orleans jazz repertoire. One song of Heloise and Abelard or Romeo and Juliet uncertain origin, “Ai Ai Ai (Mo Pas Lemme seems to be almost entirely lacking among Ca),” recorded by Paul Barbarin and New Orleans jazz musicians and comWooden Joe Nicholas, contains a verse — posers, despite their francophone heritage “Femme en dans lit, Homme en bas lit”— and saturation in such European cultural which translates to “woman in the bed, traditions as serenading and opera. You man under the bed,” followed by the want that kind of schlock? Go to Tin Pan refrain, “Ai, ai, ai — mo pas lemme ca,” Alley and ask for Irving meaning “Unh-unh, I Berlin or track down Hoagy don’t like that! ” You Carmichael back home in get the picture. Indiana. Perhaps you’ve been For New Orleans people, there. What comes rhyming “moon” with next won’t be pretty. “June” just doesn’t cut it. Other notable Creole Sure, New Orleans musisongs, such as “Eh La cians will cover romantic Bas,” are devoted material. Louis Armstrong entirely to food and did wonderful versions of drink, but that’s “You Made Me Love You,” another kind of love, “I’m in the Mood for Love,” although not necesand “A Kiss to Build A sarily unrelated to Louis Armstrong’s “That’s My Desire” Valentine’s Day. Dream On,” but his classic is full of innuendo and salacious love song performed with In New Orleans, Velma Middleton and the All humor, typical of many jazz lyrics. we’re more interestStars in the forties and fifties, ed in the sordid reali“That’s My Desire,” was typically rendered ties and pitfalls of love than we are in the with so much innuendo and salacious purity of romantic ideals. We celebrate surhumor that it comes across as being much vival. Love gone right is boring. “Happily more about sex than love. Or take one of ever after” is always the end of the story. his most popular recordings from the Love gone wrong, however, is irresistibly 1920s, “Struttin’ with Some Barbecue,” attractive and susceptible to endless comwhich, despite its title, is not about food. plications and possibilities, such as marry“Barbecue,” in this case, is a pretty, tasty ing the same woman five times. Got to be young woman, although “struttin’” still some stories there. A veritable master of probably refers to walking. Well, maybe the New Orleans style of “love gone not. wrong” songs is someone most people Ironically, the song was written in 1927 have never even heard of named “Lovin’” by Armstrong’s estranged second wife, Lil Sam Theard. Theard was a jazz and blues Hardin, who knew her husband’s habits musician born in New Orleans in 1904 and the code that justified them. Consider, who spent most of his time in Chicago for example, the advice that Black Benny working with the likes of Cow Cow Williams gave to young Louis before he left Davenport, Georgia Tom Dorsey, and Tiny for Chicago in 1922: “Never worry over Parham. Louis Armstrong recorded his No One Woman — no matter how pretty song “I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead, You or sweet she may be. Any time she gets Rascal You” in 1931. It tells the story of an errant houseguest who dispossesses his host of his wife and his liquor. The lyrics are a combination of escalating accusations and threats, reminiscent of “the dozens,” a form of verbal mock combat endemic to the black community. Here are some of the verses: “I trust you in my home, you won’t leave my wife alone; “You asked my wife to wash your clothes, and somethin’ else I suppose; “You know you done me wrong, you done stole my wife and gone; “I’m gonna kill you just for fun, the bugs can have you when I’m done; “I’m gonna hang you on a tree, and ship your body C.O.D.; “I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead, You Rascal You.” And so on. When Louis Armstrong recorded the song he added verses of his own, such as “You bought my wife a Coca Cola, so you could play on her Victrola!; I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead,You Rascal, You” was a useful song for Armstrong. He dedicated it to the Memphis Chief of Police on a radio broadcast after having been jailed there the day before. Some deputies even thanked him for it! In the 1940s Sam Theard also composed “Let the Good Times Roll,” which did very well for Louis Jordan and Shirley and Lee. Among his songs from the 1930s, however, there are many titles that explain his take on love and deserve to be a part of our discussion, such as “Hot Dog Man,” “She Skuffles That Ruff,” “Get It in Front,” “Doodle It Back,” “Get Your Mind On It,” “She’s Givin’ It Away,” “I’m Going Back and Get Some More,” “The Lover and the Beggar,” and “Rubbin’ On That Darned Old Thing.” Sounds like this man stayed plenty busy. One would think that he was obsessed with sex, and yet Theard should not always be taken literally. “Rubbin’ On That Darned Old Thing.” Now what do you suppose that’s about? You guessed it — a washboard! In the end, it’s our dirty minds that do all the work in these songs. But we have an excuse. We’re from New Orleans. —Bruce Raeburn, Ph.D., is director of the Hogan Jazz Archive at Tulane University. Winter 2005-06/LOUISIANA CULTURAL VISTAS 77

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2005-2006

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2005 Contents Letters Editor’s Column Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Louisiana State Museum After Katrina: “It’s time somebody woke us us up.” Missing New Orleans On Perilous Ground The Buildings of Louisiana (Architectural History by Karen Kingsley) Historic New Orleans Collection Louisiana Association of Museums Back to New Orleans Diary of a Displaced Person Jazz Notes (Music History by Bruce Raeburn) Cradle of the Stars The Terrible and the Brave Bookstand (Book Review by Thomas Uskali) Sound Advice (Music Review by Ben Sandmel) Forum (Commentary by James Lee Burke)

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2005-2006

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