Aige Old Radio: Day Eleven: "The Dirty Blues"

*This episode of Aige Old Radio was pre-recorded and uploaded to Spreaker on November 17, 2013*

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"The Dirty Blues is a bit of a cliché in some areas, and to many modern ears, it seems more a joke than a legitimate form. But the dirty blues has a long tradition in the blues, and it often resurfaces in modern blues and rock. During the early days of recorded blues, raunchy songs were recorded nearly as often as love songs and laments. These songs were distinguished by their often humorous double entendres and metaphors; in performance, the songs could actually flirt with the vulgar, but on wax, the meanings were suggested. The dirty blues primarily were about sex, but there were many songs about drugs and reefer that were essentially dirty blues -- namely, simple country blues with taboo lyrics. The dirty blues thrived in the days before World War II. After the war, many record labels concentrated on records that were commercially viable, and the dirty blues faded away, only to be resurrected during the blues revival of the '60s, when many white collegiates discovered the form." [All Music]

Aige Old Radio: Day Eleven - "The Dirty Blues" (Spreaker) by Aigedoubleu9214 on Mixcloud

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1. Blanche Calloway and Her Joy Boys recorded "I Got What It Takes" on the Victor label on November 18, 1931 [Source].

2. According to Red Hot Jazz, Bessie Smith recorded "I'm Wild About That Thing" on Columbia on May 8, 1929.

3. Also according to Red Hot Jazz, Lonnie Johnson (bio in Red Hot Jazz link) recorded "Wipe It Off" with Clarence Williams on Okeh Records on January 8, 1930.

Julia Lee (From Wikipedia)

4. "King Size Papa" by Julia Lee and Her Boy Friends was released in 1948. It was 1948's second number-one R&B single and stayed at number one for 9 weeks [Source].

5. Victoria Spivey recorded "Dope Head Blues" with Lonnie Johnson on October 28, 1927 [Source].

Victoria Spivey (Red Hot Jazz)

6. Accompanied on piano by James P. Johnson, Ethel Waters recorded "My Handy Man" on Columbia on August 21, 1928 [Source].

7. According to Heptune Cab Calloway and His Orchestra recorded "Reefer Man" on June 9, 1932.

Bo Carter (Viola Fair)

8. Bo Carter--in my opinion, the most risqué of all of these artists--recorded and/or released "My Pencil Won't Write No More" in 1931 [Source].


9. Dinah Washington recorded "Long John Blues" on Mercury records on July 1, 1948 [Source].

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The music used in this episode of Aige Old Radio was used for entertainment (and one could say, educational) purposes only.


If the rightful owner(s) of any of the images above wishes to have them remove, please contact me, and I will do so immediately.

--Adrienne (aka "Aige")