Complete Blues Discographies

Lead Belly: How many versions of „Easy Rider“ (See See Rider, C.C. Rider) did Lead Belly record?

Answer: Probably about five.

But aha! This is another update to my Complete Discography of Lead Belly recordings. This time, a contradiction was spotted by Bernard Sigaud.

My list used to have a take of „Easy Rider (See See Rider“ for the session of May 1944 (appearing on DOCD-5310 and SFW40045) and another take, „Easy Rider“, for June 1946 (appearing on DOCD-5311 and SFW40201). Bernard noticed that these two takes seem to be the exact same take.

And he’s right!

When I went throught the available documentation, there seems to be an uncertainty or a mistake for the May 1944-session (and its following documentation) that goes something like this:

The take certainly stems from some mid-1940s session Lead Belly made for Moses Asch – this much was always known, but the details of those sessions seemed to be unclear for a long time. The title „Easy Rider (See See Rider)-1“ does show up in the discography by Wolfe/Lornell (1992) for the session in May 1944, but this session does have the Wolfe/Lornell disclaimer „[It is uncertain if these selections were recorded at the same session]“. Wolfe/Lornell give the 1950-Folkways LP 4 (or 2034 or FP34) as the first appearance of this track. They note the title „Easy Rider-2“ for June 1946, with an non-label „Disc 5501“ as first source.

These two takes mentioned separately by Wolfe/Lornell are the same take in question.

The liner notes of the first big CD-reissue of Folkways FP34, which is SFW40045, follow Wolfe/Lornell and also note the „Easy Rider“ take as from May 1944.

Liner notes *Bourgeois Blues – Lead Belly Legacy Vol. 2*, Smithsonian Folkways 40045

The Document Records CD DOCD-5310 also reproduces this and puts the take at May 1944. Now, as Wolfe/Lornell noted, there was always doubt about the tracks of this May 1944-session: „[It is uncertain if these selections were recorded at the same session]“. As it turns out, the discography by Fancourt/McGrath (2006) does list a number of songs from FP34, but „Easy Rider“ is not to be found there. But the title „Easy rider (See see rider)-1“ does show up for June 1946, with „Disc 5501?, Fw FP 34“ as source. The later Folkways Collection SFW40201 notes „Easy Rider“ as from June 1946 with Folkways 2034 (FP34) as the first appearance.

Liner notes *Lead Belly – The Smithsonian Folkways Collection,* Smithsonian Folkways 40201

So in both instances, this would be the take that Wolfe/Lornell had placed for May 1944. The Document Records DOCD-5311 simply works with this information and uses the take as from June 1946.
The mistake seems to be simple: Folkways mistakenly placed the take in 1944 for its first issue in 1950 and there was contradictory information in Wolfe/Lornell with an „Easy Rider“-take for May 1944 and for June 1946. As this turned out to be the same take, it was obviously concluded at some point (I don’t know anything about the specifics) that there was no „Easy Rider“-take for May 1944 after all.
The placement of the take on DOCD-5310 is therefore misplaced and outdated – at least that’s what the documents say now. It would be interesting to have a look at the documentation to find out when the knowledge arose that this mid-1940s Asch-recording of „Easy Rider“ wasn’t from 1944 but from 1946. But I have no idea.

Short take away:

There is (as of now) no „Easy Rider“-take from May 1944.
DOCD-5310 and SFW40045 mistakenly list an „Easy Rider“ -take from May 1944.
DOCD-5311 contains the same take, listed for June 1946.
SFW40201 contains the same take, listed for June 1946.

I deleted the „Easy Rider“-entry in my list for May 1944 and put a note for the version of June 1946.

Thanks, Bernard!

April 2020 Updates: Complete Blues Discographies

These are the April updates for my Complete Blues Bio-Discographies list. A more complete version (as of now) is here.

Please note that this is the order in which I updated the list, not the order of living dates, recording dates or order in which the names appear on the list.

Henry Thomas
Washington Phillips
Gus Cannon / Cannon’s Jug Stompers
Jimmy Reed
Jim Jackson
Sam Collins
Skip James
Otis Rush
Frank Stokes
Ishman Bracey
Big Bill Broonzy
Blind Willie Johnson
Blind Willie McTell
Texas Alexander
Barbecue Bob
The Beale Street Sheiks
Memphis Jug Band
William Harris
St. Louis Bessie
Walter «Buddy Boy» Hawkins
Alice Moore
Mississippi John Hurt

March 2020 Updates: Complete Blues Discographies

These are the March updates for my Complete Blues Bio-Discographies list. A more complete version (as of now) is here.

Please note that this is the order in which I updated the list, not the order of living dates, recording dates or order in which the names appear on the list.

Martha Copeland
Maggie Jones
Bessie Smith
Clara Smith
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Junior Parker
Edna Hicks
J.B. Lenoir
Big Maceo Merriweather
Furry Lewis
Mississippi Fred McDowell
Sylvester Weaver
Margaret Johnson
Hazel Meyers
Memphis Minnie
Laura Smith
Robert Nighthawk
Sippie Wallace
Papa Charlie Jackson
Butterbeans and Susie
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Lonnie Johnson
Peg Leg Howell
Robert Lockwood Jr.
Blind Blake
Bo Weavil Jackson

Complete Blues Bio-Discographies Update

I’ll change how I post update to my Complete Blues Discographies because the single mentions of the updated artists do clutter up the timeline. I’ll post a monthly or bi-weekly update with just all the names. I also deleted the entries so far.

The links below all lead to the same general page, they are just jump-links to the specific artist.

These are the update for February 2020:

Mamie Smith, lived 1883–1946, recorded 1920–1942

Lucille Hegamin, lived 1894–1970, recorded 1920–1932, 1961–62.

Clarence Williams, lived 1893 or 1898–1965, recorded 1921–1947

Mary Stafford, lived ca. 1895–ca. 1938, recorded 1921–1926

Alberta Hunter, lived 1895–1984, recorded 1921–1946, 1961, 1977–1983.

Edith Wilson, lived 1896–1980, recorded 1921–1976(?)

Johnny Dunn, lived 1897–1937, recorded 1921–1928

Daisy Martin, unknown birth date – ca. 1925, recorded 1921–1923

Sara Martin, lived 1884–1955, recorded 1922–1929

Eva Taylor, lived 1895–1977, recorded 1922–1941, 196X–1976

Lena Wilson, lived ca. 1898–1939, recorded 1922–1924, 1930

Trixie Smith, lived 1895–1943, recorded 1922–1925, 1938–1939

Ma Rainey, lived 1886–1939, recorded 1923–1928

Virginia Liston, lived ca. 1890–1932, recorded 1923–1926

Charley Patton, unknown birth date – 1934, recorded 1929–1934

Peetie Wheatstraw, lived 1902–1941, recorded 1930–1941

Earl Hooker, lived 1929–1970, recorded 1952–1970

Magic Sam, lived 1937–1969, recorded 1957–1969

Mance Lipscomb, lived 1895–1976, recorded 1960–1973

Complete Blues Bio-Discographies Update: Lucille Hegamin

The Complete Blues Discographies were updated with Lucille Hegamin as a second entry.

Lucille Hegamin

Lived 1894–1970, recorded 1920–1932, 1961–62.

Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order: Vol. 1 (1920-1922) (Document DOCD-5419)
Complete Recorded Works, Vol.2 (1922-1923) (Document DOCD-5420)
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 3 (1923-1932) (Document DOCD-5421)
Lucille Hegamin Volume 4: Alternative Takes & Remaining Titles (1920-1926) (Document DOCD-1011)

For her rare 1960s appearances, check the respective albums, one under ALBERTA HUNTER and one under VICTORIA SPIVEY

Lucille Hegamin’s complete recordings

Complete Blues Bio-Discographies: Mamie Smith

Started to transfer my „Complete Blues Discographies“-project from RateYourMusic to this site. We start with Mamie Smith. I’ll update the site slowly and will post updated entries on the blog.

Mamie Smith

Lived 1883–1946, recorded 1920–1942.

„The earliest surviving commercial recordings of black roots music were made by Okeh Records supervisor Fred Hagar (sometimes spelled Hager) and Ralph Peer, his assistant at the time, who recorded Mamie Smith in 1920. Smith was neither a blues specialist nor a southerner. She was a stage singer from Ohio, and the impetus to record her came from black songwriter Perry Bradford, who believed a female vocalist could sell records – and Bradford tunes – to both northern blacks and southern whites.“
(Epperson, Bruce: More Important Than the Music. A History of Jazz Discography. Chicago, London: University of Chicago Press 2013, 91)

Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1: 1920-1921 (Document DOCD-5357)
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2: 1921-1922 (Document DOCD-5358)
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 3: 1922-1923 (Document DOCD-5359)
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 4: 1923-1942 (Document DOCD-5360)

Mamie Smith’s complete recordings