[78-L] Bluebird 34-0721 Roosevelt Sykes

[Joe Scott]

Joe Bihari recalled for Arnold Shaw that how well "I Wonder" on Bronze was selling at one point was what inspired him and his brother to get into the record business. Because Shaw's 1978 book on rock and roll was one of the least horrible books about rock and roll around*, the notion that that tune inspires people to get into the record business, well, you know what I mean, was frequently copied with variations in other books and liner notes. And will continue to be.
"Somebody's Gotta Go" by Cootie Williams, which was on Hit and was a funky blues with a vocal by Eddie Vinson, topped the black charts _before_ "I Wonder" did. And "Red Blues" also by them on Hit had reached #2 the year before.
Joseph Scott
*Although horrible enough that Shaw assumed rock and roll began at the point it began hitting the pop charts, part of an absurd group of hardy myths that mean most people who are interested _still_ don't get it that Roy Brown and Big Joe Turner e.g. were making rock and roll by 1950 (e.g. "Boogie At Midnight" and "Jumpin' At The Jubilee" respectively) -- as did Kay Starr for that matter with her pop hit "Oh Babe" in 1950 that Shaw didn't notice.
----- Original Message -----
From: David Lewis
Sent: 01/31/14 07:20 AM
To: 78-l
Subject: [78-L] Bluebird 34-0721 Roosevelt Sykes

Joseph Scott wrote: Incidentally, a family of "facts" that have been copied down through various books involve "I Wonder" on Gilt-Edge supposedly being important to the history of indie jump blues recording or the like. It's a sentimental ballad and not in blues form. Something like "Milton's Boogie" by Roy Milton is much more relevant to the prehistory of rock and roll that most of those books are more or less trying to discuss. Joseph Scott>>> Agreed; I do not get that. "I Wonder" was a song that did very well for Mr. Gant but I can't sense the slightest trace of R&B in it. I think what the original thought may have been was that its commercial success was something of a milestone for the type of small run label that released it, but as far as a widermusical context goes, that may have cropped up through a misunderstanding of the fact as established. Uncle Dave Lewis uncledavelewis at hotmail.com _______________________________________________ 78-L mailing list 78-L at klickitat.78online.com http://klickitat.78online.com/mailman/listinfo/78-l