[78-L] Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out - who was thecomposer?

[kil]

From: "Tim Huskisson"
> After reading of the death of Pinetop Perkins, my attention turned to his
> inspiration, Pine-Top Smith. I had not realised that P.T. Smith had 
> recorded
> 'Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out' for Vocalion some four months
> before Bessie Smith.
>
> But after searching the On-Line Discographical Project, I discovered 
> another
> version by a vocal group - 'Aunt Jemima Novelty Four'.
> If the sources are reliable, it would seem Bessie Smith's recording was 
> made
> on May 15, 1929 and the other two versions, BOTH on Jan 1, 1929.
> But who wrote the song? My British Parlophone issue gives the composer as
> 'Jimmy Cox' (who I can find no information about), and (for Bessie's
> version, the On-Line Discographical Project indicates IDA COX-B.FELDMAN 
> were
> the composers. Were Jimmy and Ida related?
>
> But the 'Aunt Jemima Novelty Four' version was evidently composed by 
> Fugitte
> - Burns. (Who were they?). Rust's 'Jazz Records' shows some 1929-1930
> sessions for Brunswick and Gennett by vocal duettists 'PETE & REPEAT' (?
> ___Fugitte and ? ___Bruns).
>
> To confuse the issue further, REDHOTJAZZ.COM indicates that Pine-Top 
> Smith,
> himself, was the composer!
>
> Can anyone here shed any more light on the history of this song?
> Many thanks,
>
Nat Shapiro in "Popular Music" says Jimmie Cox wrote the words and music 
around 1922 or 1923.  He adds that Jimmie introduced it in vaudeville.  The 
first recording was by Bobby Baker on Pathé in 1927.  Googling indicates 
that Jimmie Cox was a vaudeville comedian who never made any recordings. His 
name seems to be spelled both Jimmy and Jimmie.
RayK