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janolov - Posted - 03/15/2024: 07:35:08
I have picked our White House Blues for this week’s TOTW.
White House Blues is an old song, from about 1901. The song seems to origin from the murder ballad “One Mo’ Rounder Gone” also known as the popular song “Delia”, which can be traced back to 1900 when the murder of Delia Green took place in Savannah, Georgia.
The lyrics (original lyrics) of White House Blues is about the assassination of President McKinley on September 6, 1901. McKinley was shot at an exhibition in Buffalo by the anarchist Leon Czolgosz. McKinley's wounds should not have been serious, but his inept doctor decided to operate immediately rather than wait for a specialist. McKinley died Sept 14, 1901, due more to operative trauma than to his wounds. Theodore Roosevelt became the next President.
As mentioned above, the song has been derived from Delia (for example listen to Blind Willie McTell ). Other songs and tunes that are similar are for example:
Bascom Lamar Lunsford titled it "Czolgosz” after the murderer; he heard Willard Randolph sing it in about 1923, but it was not recorded.
The first recording was 1926 by Charlie Poole and The North Carolina Ramblers , and was followed by several other bands and musicians.
The lyrics have been changed during the years. The New Lost City Rambler sings about President Herbert Hoover and his successor Franklin D. Rosevelt in 1932-33. And later versions have involved other presidents.
Here are some good versions to listen to
Charlie Poole: youtu.be/U8cIKeRoKh4
New Lost City Rambler (with good clawhammer solos): youtu.be/qFgEaVss4e0
New Lost City Rambler (Charlie Poole style): youtu.be/6NCny8K7vjA
Doc Watson and Arnold Watson: youtu.be/maSVG9Yi4X4
Doc Watson and Merle Watson: youtu.be/pvbm3WN2sJE
Bill Monroe: youtu.be/EYWPntu8640
Josh Turknett: youtu.be/ZT8L0p3ReL0
Flatt and Scruggs: youtu.be/gaVo1QUO2Rw
I have made a clawhammer tab based on several different versions and my own interpretation. The tab consists of three different variants. Since it is an easy tune, it is easy to improvise around the melody, just listen to the New Lost City Ramblers version. The tab is the key of A (G tuning capo 2) as New Lost City Ramblers recording. The Charlie Poole recording is in the key of G and I assume he used the old drop C tuning (without capo).
Clawhammer tab: banjohangout.org/tab/browse.as...p;v=27006
Edited by - janolov on 03/15/2024 07:36:57
JanetB - Posted - 03/16/2024: 20:56:59
Nice presentation, Jan. I'm familiar with several of your examples.
Your inclusion of The Cannonball Blues surprised me, as it was a song my husband, Kit, used to enjoy singing and playing on his mandolin. We learned it from a Leslie Riddle (1905 - 1980) compilation. Liner notes state that Mike Seeger heard Maybelle Carter play The Cannon Ball and discovered she had learned it from Leslie, as well as his guitar technique. Then Mike sought to locate and record him. The biographical information on the CD is interesting. As a Black musician he played with others such as Son House and Brownie McGhee. A.P. Carter met Leslie and convinced him to come home with him for the sake of sharing songs and also to collect songs together in the upper South. This was after Leslie had lost part of his leg in a cement plant accident, eventually causing him to seek music as a livelihood.
Quite a lot of history to be learned from your choice, Jan!
