repertiore

DOJ Repertoire

Besides the conventional dixieland repertoire, DOJ specializes in recreating performances of early New Orleans jazz, particularly those of Joe "King" Oliver's Creole Jazz Band from the early 1920s. Oliver's band and its West Coast reincarnations, Lu Watters' Yerba Buena Jazz Band from the 1940s and the South Frisco Jazz Band from the 1950s to the present, feature(d) a unique two-trumpet front line along with the traditional trombone and clarinet. DOJ’s two-trumpet arrangements were written by Charles Sonnanstine and/or Robin Wetterau (designated by *) for Ted Shafer's Jelly Roll Jazz Band of San Francisco and by Lu Watters (designated by **) for the Yerba Buena Band. For material on musicians and bands, consult the Red Hot Jazz Archive , which also features original recordings via Real Audio. Some of the site's biographical data and other factual information have been culled from outdated sources, however, and should be checked against the latest research for reliability. The same may be said for composer biographies on the Big Band Database.

1919 Rag* (Michel Jouve and Frank Terran) A New Orleans street march which the Yerba Buena Jazz Band's Turk Murphy learned from Bunk Johnson during Bunk's San Francisco stay in 1944. In a 1962 TV interview, Murphy claimed the piece was originally a French march but couldn't account for the title. The arrangement follows the YBJB recording of May/June, 1946.
Ace in the Hole* (George Mitchell and James Dempsey) Composed in 1909.
Aggravatin' Mama (Papa)* (J. Russell Robinson and Roy Turk) Recorded by Ladd's Black Aces on 12 December 1922. Composer Robinson (1892-1963), who became the ODJB's pianist after the death of Henry Ragas in 1919, is best known for “Margie.” Lyricist Turk (1892-1934) is best known for “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home” and Bing Crosby’s theme song, “When the Blue of the Night Meets the Gold of the Day.”
Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Fats Waller, Harry Brooks, and Andy Razaf) Composed in 1929 for the black revue, Hot Chocolates, and recorded that year by the Charleston Chasers.
Alcoholic Blues* (Albert von Tilzer and Edward Laska) A 1919 soldier's lament against the war-time prohibition laws. Albert von Tilzer (1878-1956), best known for “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” (1908) and “Put Your Arms Around Me Honey” (1910) and his more famous older brother Harry (“I Want A Girl” ), were born in Indianapolis under the patronymic, “Gummbinsky,” later shortened to “Gumm.” In search for more “class,” Harry (1872-1946) appropriated his mother’s maiden name, “Tilzer,” gussied up with a “von” as a stage name; Albert later followed suit.
All Night Blues* (Richard Mariney "Myknee" Jones) First recorded on 31 May 1923 by Callie Vassar (vocal) and Jones (piano). The arrangement is modeled loosely on the 1946 recording of “Richard M. Jones Blues” by Lu Watters' Yerba Buena Jazz Band.
Alligator Hop* (Joe Oliver and Alphonse Picou) Recorded by King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band for Gennett in Richmond, Indiana on 5 October 1923. The original title of Oliver's lead sheet deposited at the Library of Congress appears to have been "Alligator Rag." "Rag" is crossed out, however, and "Flop," (which may have been misread as "Hop" by Gennett) added. For more about Picou, who was visiting Chicago from New Orleans at the time of this recording, see "High Society."
Annie Street Rock* (Lu Watters) Composed on the S. S. Antigua, 10 September 1944 on a trip to Hawaii while serving in the Navy during WWII. Arrangement modeled after the 1946 YBJB recording. For the title, see "Minstrels of Annie Street."
Antigua Blues** (Lu Watters) Composed on the SS Antigua on 12 September 1944 while on a trip to Hawaii during WWII service in the Navy. Arrangement based on a 15 January 1950 recording while Watters was playing at Hambone Kelly’s.
At the Jazz Band Ball** (Nick LaRocca and Larry Shields) Recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band (ODJB), New York City, 18 March 1918.
Aunt Hagar's Blues* (W. C. Handy and J. Tim Brymn) Composed in 1920 and first recorded by Ladd’s Black Aces in 1921. Handy said he based the chorus of “Aunt Hagar” on a melody sung by a washerwoman "hanging britches on a line." He wrote the piece in Brownlee's Barber Shop in Chicago after which it was premiered the same night by Tate's Vendome Theater Orchestra, presumably in 1921, its date of copyright. "Aunt Hagar" refers to the Biblical Hagar, whose lost children the black race imagined themselves to be.
Basin Street Blues (Spencer Williams) Williams' 1928 song celebrates the center of New Orleans' nightlife, which took its name from the "basin" formed back of town because of the excavation of building materials by the city's early inhabitants. First recorded by Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra 4 December 1928.
Beale Street Blues* (W. C. Handy) Composed in 1916 in honor of the Beale Avenue entertainment district in Memphis, Tennessee and first recorded by Earl Fuller’s Band in 1917. "Beale Street" became associated with the shimmy by means of Gilda Gray's performances at Reisenweber's Restaurant in NYC and in Shubert's Gaieties of 1919.
Big Butter and Egg Man* (Percy Venable) Recorded by Armstrong's Hot Five, Chicago, 16 November 1926. The title is a nickname for wealthy farmers from the Midwest who came to Chicago in the 1920s to spend lavishly in bars and night clubs on girls, liquor, food, and entertainment.
Big Bear Stomp* (Lu Watters) Composed 13 September 1944 on board the SS Antigua and named after the Big Bear Tavern in the Berkeley Hills area near San Francisco. In the late 1930s the Tavern became an "experimental laboratory of jazz" at which Watters encouraged Bay area musicians to jam on pre-swing tunes of Oliver and Armstrong.
Black Bottom Stomp* (Jelly Roll Morton) Recorded by Morton's Red Hot Peppers, Chicago, 15 September 1926. Although danced all over the South long before the 1920s, the Black Bottom became a craze second only to the Charleston when it was introduced by Ann Pennington in George White's Scandals of 1926.
Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me* (Arthur Swanstone, Charles K. McCarron, and Carey Morgan) A 1919 comic song with solo and duet patter choruses associated with Ted Lewis.
Bourbon Street Parade* (Paul Barbarin) Composed in 1949, Bourbon Street Parade has become the theme song for New Orleans jazz bands.
Buddy Bolden's Blues (Jelly Roll Morton) Although not published or recorded until 1939, “Buddy Bolden's Blues” was the Bolden Band's theme song before the "first jazzman" went mad and stopped performing in 1906. Bolden reportedly never again touched his cornet after his institutionalization in 1907 until his death in 1931.
Buddy's Habit* (Arnett Nelson) Recorded by King Oliver's Jazz Band for OKeh in Chicago around 25 October 1923. Nelson, a clarinetist in Jimmy Wade's Moulin Rouge Orchestra, wrote this number in honor of Wade's tuba player, Buddy Gross, whose habit was to consume such large quantities of beer during each set that at its conclusion he had to rush off the bandstand for the lavatory.
Buffalo Blues (Jelly Roll Morton and Johnny Dunn) First recorded by Dunn and his band with Morton at the piano on 13 March 1928. Morton later recorded a solo version as “Mr. Joe,” which may have been the original title. “Buffalo Blues” dates from Morton's New Orleans days, that is, 1907 or earlier, and was reported to have been in Oliver's Creole Jazz Band repertoire.
C. C. Rider (aka See See Rider)* (Ma Rainey and L. Arant) Recorded by Ma Rainey and Her Georgia Jazz Band (with Louis Armstrong) on 16 October 1924.
Cake Walking Babies from Home* (Clarence Williams, Chris Smith, Henry Troy) Recorded by Williams' Red Onion Jazz Babies (with Louis Armstrong) on 22 December 1924 when Armstrong was with Fletcher Henderson in New York. Chris Smith (1879-1949) is best known for his 1913 hit, "Ballin' the Jack."
Camp Meeting Blues* (Joe Oliver) Recorded by King Oliver's Jazz Band, Chicago, 16 October 1923. The tune was copyrighted by Oliver as “Temptation Blues” but renamed at the recording session. Clarinetist Rudy Jackson, a onetime Oliver sideman, claimed the piece as his own and presented it to Duke Ellington, who, after applying his own touches, recorded it as “Creole Love Call.” Oliver filed suit, but because of the title change from the original, the copyright couldn't be traced and the suit failed.
Canal Street Blues* (Joe Oliver and Louis Armstrong) Recorded by King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band on 5 April 1923. Canal Street cuts across the center of New Orleans from the waterfront of the Mississippi to Metarie Road. The arrangement features a transcription of Johnny Dodds's first recorded solo.
Careless Love* (Traditional) An old and widely known traditional lament also called “Kelly's Love.” First published and arranged by W. C. Handy in 1926.
Castle House Rag* (James Reese Europe) Recorded by Europe’s Society Orchestra on 10 February 1914 and named after the school founded in New York City in December of the previous year by ballroom dancing sensations, Vernon and Irene Castle. Europe’s orchestra provided the school’s music.
Chattanooga Stomp* (Joe Oliver and Alphonse Picou) A "shimmy one-step" recorded by King Oliver's Jazz Band in Chicago on 15 October 1923. "Chattanooga" is an arrangement of Picou's "Olympia Rag," renamed, according to the composer, "because ragtime was out." The arrangement follows the Yerba Buena Jazz Band's 1946 recording.
Chicago Breakdown* (Jelly Roll Morton) Recorded by Armstrong's Dixieland Stompers on 9 May 1927.
Chelsea on Down* (Robin Wetterau) First recorded by the Great Pacific Jazz Band in 1960 but never issued. The piece got its name from Wetterau's remark in New England referring to a Boston suburb, "There's not a decent restaurant from Chelsea on down."
Chimes Blues* (Joe Oliver) Recorded by King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band on 5 April 1923. The "chimes" are represented by the cascading piano chords in the third strain. The arrangement includes a transcription of Louis Armstrong's first recorded solo.
Clarinet Marmalade (Larry Shields and Henry Ragas) Recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on 17 July 1918.
Coal Cart Blues* (Louis and Lil Armstrong) Recorded by Clarence Williams' Blue Five on 8 October 1925. Named after Armstrong’s boyhood job of delivering coal for the Karnofsky family in the red-light district of New Orleans.
Come Back Sweet Papa** (Paul Barbarin and Luis Russell) Recorded by Armstrong's Hot Five on 22 February 1926. The arrangement follows the Yerba Buena Jazz Band's 1942 recording.
Copenhagen* (Charles Davis and Walter Melrose) Recorded by Bix Beiderbecke's Wolverines on 6 May 6 1924. The title refers to the brand of snuff used by the tuba player, Ole Olson, in composer Charles Davis's band. The arrangement is based on the Yerba Buena Jazz Band's 1946 recording.
Cornet Chop Suey* (Louis Armstrong) Recorded by Armstrong's Hot Five 26 February 1926. Presumably named after Armstrong’s predilection for Chinese food, "Chop suey" is also 1920s slang for "fooling around."
Creole Belle* (J. Bodewalt Lampe) A spirited cakewalk from 1900 unearthed and recorded by Lu Watters in 1946. The arrangement includes a transcription of Bob Helm’s clarinet solo. Lampe was head of arranging at Remick Publishing after 1912 and composed "The Turkey Trot" under the pseudonym, "Ribe Danmark."
A Cup of Coffee, A Sandwich, and You* (Joseph Meyer, Al Dubin, Bill Rose) Composed in 1925 and placed in the Charlot's Revue of 1926 where it was sung by Getrude Lawrence and Jack Buchanan. Composer Meyer's (1894-1987) biggest hits were "My Honey's Lovin' Arms" (1922) and "California, Here I Come" (1924). Lyricist Dubin (1891-1945) teamed with composer Harry Warren to write the score for the Busby Berkeley film, "Forty-Second Street." Music impresario and lyricist, Billy Rose (1899-1966), is best known for the title and lyrics for "A Found A Million Dollar Baby in a Five and Ten Cent Store."
Dark Is the Night (Agator Bogoslavski) An arrangement of the Russian tune for the Black Swan Classic Jazz Band of Portland, Oregon.
Darktown Strutters' Ball** (Shelton Brooks) Composed in 1917, Brooks's smash hit was introduced in vaudeville but popularized by the Dixieland Jazz Band's recording on 30 January of that year.
Dead Man Blues (Jelly Roll Morton) Recorded by Morton's Red Hot Peppers on 21 September 1926.
Dinah (Harry Akst, Sam M. Lewis, Joe Young) Introduced in 1925 by Ethyl Waters in Plantation Revue at the Plantation Club in New York City. Composer Akst (1894-1963) is also famous for “Baby Face.” The team of Lewis (1885-1959) and Young (1889-1939) also provided the lyrics for Jean Schwartz's "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" (1918) and Walter Donaldson's "How Ya Gonna Keep `Em Down on the Farm" (1919).
Doin' the Hambone* (Lu Watters) Named after Hambone Kelly's, the venue of the Watters' Yerba Buena Jazz Band from 1947-50 after the closing of the Dawn Club.
Don't Forget to Mess Around (When You’re Doing the Charleston)* (Paul Barbarin and Louis Armstrong) Recorded by Armstrong's Hot Five on 16 June 1926.
Dippermouth Blues* (Joe Oliver and Louis Armstrong) The arrangement, based on the Creole Jazz Band's recording on 6 April 1923 rather than the one recorded by Oliver in Chicago two months later, contains transcriptions of Johnny Dodds's and King Oliver's solos. "Dippermouth," along with "gatemouth" and "satchelmouth" ("satchmo"), commemorated Armstrong's capacious orifice. When Armstrong introduced the piece to Fletcher Henderson, whose New York City orchestra he joined in late 1924, Henderson's arranger, Don Redman, added a couple of choruses, rearranged their sequence, and retitled the tune “Sugarfoot Stomp.” Oliver also recorded the number under the new title (but without Redman's changes) with his Dixie Syncopators in 1926. "Sugarfoot" possibly refers to Oliver's habit of washing down sugar sandwiches with prodigious draughts of sugar water.
Doctor Jazz* (Joe Oliver) Recorded by King Oliver's Dixie Syncopators on 22 April 1927. The crackerjack rendition of “Doctor Jazz” recorded by Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers on RCA five months earlier apparently caused Oliver's company, Vocalion, to shelve their version until it was rediscovered and issued some forty years later.
Down Hearted Blues* (Alberta Hunter and Lovie Austin) Composed in 1922 Introduced that same year by Alberta Hunter.
Down Home Rag* (Wilbur Sweatman) Sweatman, who was renowned in vaudeville for playing three clarinets simultaneously, wrote his most famous composition in 1911, which was recorded by James Europe's Society Orchestra on 29 December 1913.
Easy Winners* (Scott Joplin) An arrangement of the piano rag composed in 1902.
Emperor Norton's Hunch* (Lu Watters) Written c. 1944 and named after the Englishman, Joshua Abraham Norton, who came to America to seek his fortune during the California Gold Rush in 1849. Going from rags to riches and back to rags again, Norton lost his reason and proclaimed himself Emperor of the United States, an illusion he maintained for twenty years, becoming San Francisco's most popular tourist attraction in the 1870s while riding around the city dressed his "royal robes." When Norton died at 65 years of age in 1880, thousands marched in his funeral procession and a grateful city buried him with honors in a millionaire's grave.
Everybody Loves My Baby (Spencer Williams and Jack Palmer) Composed in 1924 and first recorded by the Georgia Melodians that same year.
Farewell Blues (Elmer Schoebel, Paul Mares, Leon Roppolo) Recorded by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings (NORK) on 29-30 August 1922.
Farewell to Storyville (Spencer Williams and Clarence Williams) A celebration of the closing of New Orleans' red light district in November, 1917. Arranged for the Black Swan Classic Jazz Band.
Fidgety Feet** (Nick LaRocca and Larry Shields) Recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on 25 June 1918.
Five Foot Two (Sam Louis, Joe Young, Ray Henderson) Composed in 1925.
Flee As A Bird* (Mrs. Mary S. B. Dana) Composed in 1857, “Flee As A Bird” was typically played on the way to the cemetery at New Orleans' funerals.
Froggie Moore* (Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton and Spikes Bros.) Recorded by King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band on 6 April 1923. Morton wrote “Frog-I-More Rag” for solo piano in 1908 and submitted it for copyright in 1918. Morton may have borrowed the first strain's chromatically rising chords from a mannerism of pianist Benson "Frog Eye" Moore, which could explain the title, although a vaudvillian named Moore who performed as a contortionist dressed in a frog suit said Morton wrote the number to accompany his act. Further sources for the title could have been the Frog-I-More plantation in Louisiana across the river from Natchez, Missisippi or the Frog-i-more Range, shown on an old map of New Orleans from the 1880s and located where City Park is now.
Gate Mouth* (Louis Armstrong) Recorded by the New Orleans Wanderers featuring Johnny Dodds on 13 July 1926.
Georgia Grind* (Roy Palmer) Recorded by the State Street Ramblers in Chicago on March 19, 1931 and by the Memphis Night Hawks in New York City on March 29, 1932--both groups featuring New Orleans trombonist, Roy Palmer. The tune is not the "Georgia Grind" recorded by Armstrong's Hot Five.
Goober Dance* (Lil Armstrong) Recorded by Johnny Dodds's Hot Six on 7 February 1929. "Goober," a name for the peanut, is related to the Gullah word "guba," which, in turn, is probably derived from the Angolan languages, Kongo (where the word "nguba" means "kidney") and Kimbundu (where the same word means "peanut").
Grandpa's Spells* (Jelly Roll Morton) Recorded by Morton's Red Hot Peppers on 16 December 1926. Morton was a superstitious person and so it's possible that the title refers to a "conjure" man known as "Grandpa" who sold magic charms and cast spells, although there is no definite information regarding this.
Gut Bucket Blues** (Louis Armstrong) Recorded by Armstrong's Hot Five on 12 November 1925. A gut bucket was used in barrelhouses to catch the "gutterings" or drippings from the leaky spigots of wine and beer barrels.
Here Comes the Hot Tamale Man* (Fred Rose and Charlie Harrison) The arrangement follows the recording by Charles "Doc" Cooke and His Dreamland Orchestra on 10 July 1926 (featuring Freddie Keppard, cornet), rather than the one recorded by Keppard with Cookie's Gingersnaps a few weeks earlier.
Heebie Jeebies* (Boyd Atkins) Recorded by Armstrong's Hot Five on 26 February 1926. Armstrong always insisted (perhaps apocryphally) that his "invention" of scat singing on “Heebie Jeebies” resulted from his dropping the lyrics to the song during the recording. To have the heebie-jeebies means to be in a jittery or nervous state. The expression was coined by the cartoonist, Billy DeBeck. Marshall Stearns, in his book, Jazz Dance reports that Butterbeans (of Butterbeans and Susie) "was famous for his Heebie Jeebies, a dance routine known in the trade as the Itch, in which he scratched in syncopated rhythms."
High Society (Porter Steele) Recorded as “High Society Rag” by King Oliver's Jazz Band on 22 June 1923. Written as a novelty number by the Yale-educated Steele, “High Society” was originally published in 1901 as a march. An orchestration of the piece was purchased by the John Robichaux Orchestra, the celebrated New Orleans society band, whose clarinetist, Alphonse Picou, claimed credit for adapting the piccolo part into the famous clarinet obbligato.
Honeysuckle Rose (Fats Waller and Andy Razaf) Introduced in 1929 as a dance number in the nightclub revue, Load of Coal , at Connie's Inn in New York City.
Hot House Rag* (Paul Pratt) An arrangement of the piano rag composed in 1914.
Hotter Than That (Lil Armstrong) Recorded by Armstrong’s Hot Five on 13 December 1927.
How Come You Do Me Like You Do?* (Gene Austin and Roy Bergere) Recorded by Trixie Smith in January, 1925. Austin, a popular crooner of 1920s, also wrote "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street."
I Ain't Gonna Play No Second Fiddle* (Perry Bradford) Recorded by Bessie Smith (with Louis Armstrong) on 26-27 May 1925.
I Ain't Gonna Tell Nobody* (Richard "Myknee" Jones) Recorded by King Oliver's Jazz Band on 25 October 1923.
I Had Someone Else Before I Had You* (Art Gillham) Gillham, a popular performer in the 1920s, was billed as the "Whispering Pianist."
I Want A Girl (Harry von Tilzer and Will Dillon) Composed in 1911.
I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate (A. J. Piron) A 1919 hit promoting the shimmy dance craze. Louis Armstrong and Clarence Williams engaged in a long-standing feud over “Sister Kate,” which Piron copyrighted in 1919, Williams published in 1922, and Armstrong later claimed to be his. First recorded in 1922 by the Original Memphis Five.
I'm Goin' Huntin' (Thomas "Fats" Waller and J. C. Johnson) Recorded by Jimmie Blythe's Ragamuffins on 21 April 1927. Arranged for the Black Swan Classic Jazz Band and loosely modeled on Lu Watters' version.
I'm Going to Wear You Off My Mind* (Ike Smith) Recorded by King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band on 5 April 1923.
I'm Gonna Meet My Sweetie Now* (Benny Davis and Jessie Greer) Recorded by Jean Goldkette and His Orchestra on 31 January 1927.
Indiana (James F. Hanley and Ballard MacDonald) The number, dating from 1917, with which Louis Armstrong opened every All-Stars performance.
Irish Black Bottom* (Percy Venable and Louis Armstrong) Recorded by Armstrong's Hot Five on 27 November 1926. The piece, a loose paraphrase of “Wearing of the Green,” was composed for Armstrong's nightly cabaret performances at the Sunset Cafe. The arrangement is based on a Yerba Buena Jazz Band recording of 19 December 1941.
I've Found A New Baby (Spencer Williams and Jack Palmer) Copyrighted in 1926 and recorded that same year by Fletcher Henderson and Clarence Williams' Blue Five.
Jazz Lips* (Lil Armstrong) Recorded by Armstrong's Hot Five on 16 November 1926.
Jazz Me Blues (Tom Delaney) Composed in 1920 and first recorded by Lucille Hegamin in that year. Recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on 3 May 1921.
Jazzin' Babies Blues* (Richard Mariney "Myknee" Jones) Recorded by King Oliver's Jazz Band on 23 June 1923. The arrangement includes a free transcription of Honore Dutrey's trombone solo.
Jelly Bean Blues* (Gertrude “Ma” Rainey) Recorded by Ma Rainey and Her Georgia Jazz Band (with Louis Armstrong) on 16 October 1924.
Jungle Blues* (Jelly Roll Morton) Recorded by Morton’s Red Hot Peppers on 4 June 1927.
Just A Closer Walk With Thee (Traditional) A DOJ original based on the familiar hymn used in New Orleans funerals, which begin with a solomn procession to the graveyard and conclude with a joyous return home.
Just A Little While To Stay Here* (Traditional) Typically played on the way to the cemetery in a New Orleans funeral.
Just Gone* (Joe Oliver and Bill Johnson) Recorded by King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band on 5 April 1923.
Kansas City Man Blues* (Clarence Williams and Clarence Johnson) Recorded by Clarence Williams and His Blue Five (including Sidney Bechet) on 30 July 1923.
Kansas City Stomp* (Jelly Roll Morton) Recorded by Morton's Red Hot Peppers on 11 June 1928 and named after a saloon in Tijuana, Mexico where Morton played piano.
King Chanticleer* (Nathaniel D. Ayer and Seymour Brown) Composed in 1910, “King Chanticleer” helped introduce the “Texas Tommy” dance into the clubs of the notorious Barbary Coast in San Francisco and has become the flag waver for West Coast Revival bands. Originally separate, the tune became synonymous with the dance, and at one point was published in sheet music form as “The Original Texas Tommy Dance.” The dance accompanied by “King Chanticleer” appears in the 1939 film, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle starring Fred Astaire, as well as in Hello, Frisco, Hello (1943, Nob Hill (1945) and By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953). Ayer (music) and Brown (lyrics) are best known for their 1911 hit, “Oh! You Beautiful Doll.”
King of the Zulus (A Chit'lin' Rag)* (Lil Armstrong) Recorded by Armstrong's Hot Five on 23 June 1926. The Zulu Aid and Pleasure Club was a New Orleans social club which became a Mardi Gras organization in 1910. Each year a prominent citizen or native of New Orleans is chosen to be King of the Zulus, dressed in full regalia, and lead the parade through the city in an elaborately decorated float during the day. In the evening he attends the ball, held at the Japanese Tea Gardens on St. Philip and North Liberty, which is the climax of the day's activities. Louis Armstrong was King of the Zulus in the 1949 Mardi Gras parade.
Krooked Blues* (Spikes Bros. and Bill Johnson) Recorded by King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band on 5 October 1923.
Lazy Daddy* (Nick LaRocca, Larry Shields, and Henry Ragas) Recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on 17 July 1918.
Livery Stable Blues (Nick LaRocca) Recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on 26 February 1917 and considered to be the first jazz recording. LaRocca said that “Livery Stable Blues” (copyrighted as “Barnyard Blues”) originated on a Chicago dance floor in 1916 when he played a horse whinny on his cornet to accompany a "jazz-crazed young lady." A rooster crow for the clarinet and a donkey bray for the trombone completed the musical menagerie, to which was added a melody LaRocca claimed to have composed years before in New Orleans.
London Blues* (Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton) The arrangement is based on the recording by King Oliver's Jazz Band on 16 October 1923 rather than one made a month earlier with Morton and the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. Morton also recorded the piece as “Shoeshiner's Drag” with his Red Hot Peppers in 1928. Sometimes called the “London Café Blues” after the cabaret situated across from the notorious Mecca Flats apartment building (the subject of another great blues) at 31st and State in Chicago and known locally as the "funky London.,” the piece was nevertheless “dedicated to the British Capitol,” as Morton noted on his 1923 copyright deposit.
Mabel's Dream* (Ike Smith) The arrangement, based on the recording for OKeh by King Oliver's Jazz Band in Chicago around 26 October 1923 rather than that for Paramount in December of the same year, includes a transcription of the Oliver and Armstrong duet. Mabel or Maybelle (the name on the copyrighted title) may have been a relative of the composer.
Mad Dog* (Lil Armstrong) A rough transcription of the recording by the New Orleans Bootblacks on 14 July 1926.
Mandy Lee Blues* (Marty Bloom and Walter Melrose) Recorded by King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band on 5 April 1923. The arrangement includes a transcription of Johnny Dodds's clarinet solo. Marty Bloom (real name, M. L. Bumenthal) and the Melrose brothers, Walter and Lester, formed Melrose Bros. Music in Chicago in 1918. Bloom is credited with providing “effects” in Morton’s Red Hot Peppers recordings.
Mandy, Make Up Your Mind* (Grant Clarke, Roy Turk, George Meyer) Indroduced in 1924 by Florence Mills in the revue, Dixie to Broadway , and recorded on December 17 of the same year by Clarence Williams' Blue Five. For Turk, see “Aggravatin’ Mama.”
Maple Leaf Rag (Scott Joplin) A piano feature of Joplin's most famous composition, first published in 1899 and first recorded by Wilbur Sweatman’s Band ca. 1903-04.
Mecca Flats Blues* (Jimmie Blythe, Steve Graham, and Alexander Robinson) Composed in 1924. Mecca Flats, located at 31st and State St. in Chicago, was constructed in 1893 as a four-story apartment building with two courtyards ringed by wrought-iron balconies. It was Chicago's largest and finest of the time and the first to have a steam central-heating system. In the 1920s it began to deteriorate into an overcrowded slum with 1,500 occupants and was demolished in 1950.
Melancholy* (Marty Bloom and Walter Melrose) Recorded in 1927 by Johnny Dodds's Black Bottom Stompers on April 22 and by Armstrong's Hot Seven on May 11. For Bloom and Melrose, see “Mandy Lee Blues.”
Merry Maker's Twine* (Dave Nelson) Recorded by Lovie Austin and her Blues Serenaders in August 1926. The tune was named after Mack's Merry Makers, a popular black vaudeville troupe based in New Orleans that toured throughout the United States from the early teens through the early thirties. Clarinetist Johnny Dodds traveled with the show as part of a four-member jazz band in the latter half of 1918. A "twine" is a twisting or whirling dance that the Macks (Billy and Mary McBride) used to end their performances.
Messin' Around* (Jimmy Blythe) Recorded by Jimmy Blythe and His Ragamuffins on 26 July 1926. This piece is not to be confused with the “Messin' Around” written by Charles "Doc" Cooke and Johnny St. Cyr and recorded by Cookie's Gingersnaps. The title refers to an African-American dance of the 1920s.
Messin' Around* (Johnny St. Cyr and C. L. Cooke) Recorded by Cookie's Gingersnaps on 22 June 1926.
Midnight in Moscow The Dukes of Dixieland's version of “Moscow Nights” transcribed from their Dixieland's Greatest Hits album.
Milenburg Joys (Leon Roppolo, Paul Mares, and Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton) Recorded by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings on 18 July 1923 featuring Morton at the piano. The piece is named after the Milneburg Resort (now defunct) located on Lake Pontchartrain five miles north of downtown New Orleans.
Minstrels of Annie Street* (Melvin "Turk" Murphy) Recorded by the Yerba Buena Jazz Band on 6 May 1946. The title, coined by a San Francisco newswriter, refers to the location of the Dawn Club where the Yerba Buena Jazz Band was in residency from late 1940 to early 1942.
Misery Blues (unknown) First recorded by Ida Cox in Chicago for Paramount in late January 1925 and also by Gertrude "Ma" Rainey in August 1927.
Mojo Strut* (Hartzell Strathdene "Tiny" Parham) Recorded by Pickett-Parham Apollo Syncopators in December 1926. "Mojo" is another name for "voodoo."
Muskrat Ramble (Edward "Kid" Ory) Recorded by Louis Armstrong's Hot Five on 26 February 1926. In a 1971 interview Ory confirmed that “Muskat Ramble,” the title on the original recording, was a misspelling of "Muskrat" and added that Hot Five pianist, Lil Armstrong, provided the name. But Armstrong, in an interview in the 1960s, said that he wrote the tune: "Ory named it; he gets the royalties; I don't talk about it." Sidney Bechet, however, identified the melody as one old New Orleans bands played called “The Old Cow Died” -- possibly the same as “The Old Cow Died and Brock Cried ,” cited as a staple of the Buddy Bolden Band repertory.
New Orleans Joys* (Jelly Roll Morton) Morton's first composition, originally titled “New Orleans Blues.” Written as a piano solo in 1902 or 1905 (Morton gave both dates), Morton first recorded the piece on 17 July 1923. The arrangement follows the 1950 recording by Lu Watters' Yerba Buena Jazz Band.
New Orleans Stomp* (Lil Hardin and Louis Armstrong) A "shimmy one-step" recorded by King Oliver's Jazz Band in Chicago on 16 October 1923. "New Orleans Stomp" is an arrangement of Picou's "Onzaga Blues," whose title, according to the composer, was the name of an Indian chant.
Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out* (Jimmie Cox) Cox (1882-1925), known as vaudeville’s “Black Charlie Chaplin,” introduced the song as part of his act in 1923, but it was made famous by Bessie Smith’s 1929 recording.
Oh, By Jingo!* (Albert von Tilzer and Lew Brown) A comic romance introduced by Charlotte Greenwood in Linger Longer Letty in 1919.
Oh Daddy* (William Russell and Ed Herbert) First recorded by Ethel Watters with Fletcher Henderson in 1921.
Once In A While* (Lil Hardin and Louis Armstrong) Recorded by Armstrong's Hot Five on 10 December 1927.
Oriental Strut* (Johnny St. Cyr) Recorded by Armstrong's Hot Five on 26 February 1926. The arrangement follows the Yerba Buena Jazz Band's 1946 recording.
Original Dixieland One-Step (The Original Dixieland Jazz Band) Recorded as the “Original Dixieland Jass Band One-Step” by the ODJB, New York, February 26, 1917 and issued on the flip side of “Livery Stable Blues.”
Original Jelly Roll Blues* (Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton) Recorded by Morton's Red Hot Peppers on 16 December 1926. Morton said he composed “Jelly Roll Blues” in 1905. Its publication as a piano solo in 1915 probably qualifies the work as the first published jazz composition. It became popular enough to be mentioned in Sheldon Brook's 1918 hit, “Darktown Strutter's Ball.”
Original Rags* (Scott Joplin and Charlie N. Daniels) An arrangement of one of Joplin's first rags dating from 1899.
Ory's Creole Trombone* (Edward "Kid" Ory) Recorded by Ory's Sunshine Orchestra in Los Angeles in June 1922 (possibly 1921) and likely the first “jazz” recording by a black band. Ory later recorded the number with Armstrong's Hot Five in 1927.
Ostrich Walk* (Nick LaRocca and Larry Shields) Recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on 18 March 1918. The arrangement is based on the Yerba Buena Jazz Band's 1946 recording.
Panama** (William Tyers) An instrumental tango with ragtime overtones published in 1911, recorded by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings on 30 August 1922 and possibly written for the famous vaudeville act, Aida Overton Walker and her Panama Girls. Tyres (1876-1924) was the black house arranger for Stern Publishing, the first New York publisher of ragtime, and later treasurer of James Reese Europe’s Clef Club as well as assistant conductor of its orchestra.
Peoria* Peoria, initially settled in 1680, is one of the oldest communities in Illinois. The name “Peoria” comes from the natives who inhabited the region when the French first explored it. In 1673 Marquette and Joliet were the first Europeans to record a visit to the region. Subsequently two French military establishments and three other French settlements were founded near to or on Peoria Lake, called “Pimiteoui” by the Native Americans.
Perdido Street Blues* (Lil Armstrong) Recorded by the New Orleans Wanderers (including Johnny Dodds) on 13 July 1926.
Perfect Rag* (Jelly Roll Morton) Composed in 1924 and retitled “Sporting House Rag” in 1939.
Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone (Sidney Clare, Sam Stept, Bee Palmer) Composed in 1930.
Potato Head Blues* (Louis Armstrong) Recorded by Armstrong's Hot Seven on 10 May 1927.
Ragtime Dance* (Scott Joplin) An instrumental arrangement of the piano solo published in 1906. The piano solo is a condensed version of the original “Ragtime Dance,” a tableau for singing narrator and dances published in 1902 but first performed in 1899. Joplin’s “Ragtime Dance” is not to be confused with the 1909 cakewalk with the same title by Kerry Mills rediscovered and popularized in the 1940s and ‘50s by Turk Murphy.
Riverboat Shuffle* (Dick Voynow, Hogey Carmichael, Irving Mills, and M. Parish) Recorded by Bix Beiderbecke and His Wolverines on 6 May 1924.
Riverside Blues* (Thomas A. Dorsey and Richard Mariney "Myknee" Jones) The arrangement is based on the recording for OKeh by King Oliver's Jazz Band in Chicago on 26 October 1923 rather than that for Paramount in December of the same year.
Room Rent Blues* (Irving Newton) Recorded by King Oliver's Jazz Band in Chicago on 25 October 1923. Arrangement close to original and contains a transcription of Dodds's clarinet solo.
Royal Garden Blues (Clarence Williams and Spencer Williams) Composed in 1919 and recorded by Morrison’s Jazz Orchestra in 1920 and by Mamie Smith’s Jazz Hounds and the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1921. The Royal Garden was the legendary South Side Chicago dance hall where Bix Beiderbecke came with his Whiteman Band buddies to listen in awe to Oliver's Creole Jazz Band.
St. James Infirmary (Joe Primrose [pseudonym for Irving Mills]) St. James' hospital was founded about the time of the Norman Conquest for "maidens that were leprous." King Henry VIII took possession of the hospital and it was rebuilt as St. James palace in 1533, becoming the London residence of British sovereigns from 1697-1837. The song, whose origins probably stem from “The Unfortunate Rake,” an English folk song from the late 18th century, is a later adaptation of “Gambler's Dream” from the 1890s. According to New Orleans historian, Jack Stewart, St. James Infirmary was a temporary facility during the Civil War, but according to Al Rose, author of Storyville, New Orleans, despite a reputed association with St. James Methodist Church, which may have offered first-aid services and modest hospital facilities, the song has no connection with New Orleans whatever.
St. Louis Blues* (W. C. Handy) Composed in 1914, first recorded in 1915 by Prince’s Band and later recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on 25 May 1921. Handy reused the trio from his "Jogo Blues" for that of "St. Louis Blues."
Sage Hen Strut* (Lu Watters) Composed 11 September 1944 on board the S. S. Antigua during a trip to Hawaii while serving in the Navy during WWII. The title reflects Lu’s fascination with the mating dance of the sage hen and was the YBJB's title song.
San Francisco Bay Blues (Jesse “Lone Cat” Fuller) Trademark song composed in 1954 by Jesse Fuller, a country blues singer born 12 March 1896 in Jonesboro, Georgia.
Sensation Rag* (E. B. Edwards) Recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on 25 June 1918.
Shanghai Blues A DOJ adaptation of the performance by the Russian rock group, Mashina Vremeni (“Time Machine”).
Shake That Thing* ("Papa" Charlie Jackson) Recorded by Clarence Williams' Blue Five on 15 December 1925.
She's Crying for Me* (Santo Pecora) Recorded by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, with Pecora on trombone on 26 January 1925. Jelly Roll Morton's “Georgia Swing,” recorded by his Red Hot Peppers in 1928, is a recomposed version of “She's Crying for Me.”
Showboat Shuffle* (Barney Bigard and Joe Oliver) Recorded by King Oliver's Dixie Syncopators on 22 April 1927.
Sic `Em Tige* (Roy Palmer) Recorded by the State Street Ramblers on 19 March 1931.
Sidewalk Blues* (Jelly Roll Morton) Recorded by Morton's Red Hot Peppers on 21 September 1926.
Shim Me Sha Wabble** (Spencer Williams) Composed in 1916 for African-American dancer, Snow Fisher, a performer at the Elite Cafe in Chicago and popularized the shimmy dance craze. Recorded by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings on 12-13 March 1923.
Skid-Dat-De-Dat** (Lil Hardin) Recorded by Armstrong's Hot Five 16 November 1926.
Smokey Mokes* (Abe Holzmann) First recorded by the Metropolitan Orchestra on 18 January 1900 and recorded by the Yerba Buena Jazz Band in 1941.
Snag It* (Joe Oliver) Recorded by King Oliver’s Jazz Band on 11 March 1926 for Vocalion and by Oliver’s Dixie Syncopators on 17 September 1926 for Brunswick. The arrangement follows the Vocalion recording, but it’s interesting to note that on the Brunswick recording, Stump Evans (soprano sax) lifts Johnny Dodds’s “Lonesome Blues” clarinet solo recorded with Hot Five on 23 June 1926.
Snake Rag* (Joe Oliver and Armand Piron) The arrangement combines elements of two recordings of the tune by King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band for Gennett on 6 April 1923, and by King Oliver's Jazz Band for OKeh on 22 June of the same year. Substantially the same, the two versions differ in the number of repeated strains and the music of the breaks.
Sobbin' Blues* (Art Kassell and Vic Berton) Recorded by King Oliver's Jazz Band on 22 June 1923. The arrangement includes a transcription of Johnny Dodds's clarinet solo.
Some of These Days* (Sheldon Brooks) Composed in 1910 and recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on3 January 1923. Brooks (1886-1975) reportedly stuck for lyrics to a melody running through his head, heard a couple quarreling. The young woman warned, "Better not walk out on me, man, for some of these days you're gonna miss me honey," which were the words Brooks was seeking. The tune was a favorite of Sophie Tucker, who used it as her theme song. The tune is very closely modeled on a 1905 song of the same name by Frank Brooks.
Someday Sweetheart* (John and Benjamin "Reb" Spikes) Composed in 1919 and first recorded by Alberta Hunter in 1921. Recorded by King Oliver's Dixie Syncopators for Vocalion on 17 September 1926. Jelly Roll Morton claimed to have gotten the basic tune of “Someday Sweetheart” from Kid North, a pianist friend. The song, he said, "was practically wrote at the time Reb and I were working in a cabaret in Oakland [California], but they left my name off it."
South Rampart Street Parade* (Ray Bauduc and Bob Haggart) Recorded by Bob Crosby's Band in 1937. Bauduc, Crosby's drummer and a native of the Crescent City, originally enitled the piece “Bulls on Parade” after one of the more flamboyant black social clubs from New Orleans, but the head of Decca Records thought the title too esoteric for those outside the Crescent City.
Southern Stomps* (Richard Mariney "Myknee" Jones) Recorded by King Oliver's Jazz Band on 24 December 1923. The arrangement is based on the second take of the versions available.
Squeeze Me (Thomas "Fats" Waller, Andy Razaf, and Clarence Williams) Recorded by Bessie Smith on 3 May 1926 and by Armstrong's Hot Five on 29 June 1928. Arranged for the Black Swan Classic Jazz Band.
Steamboat Stomp* (Boyd Senter) Recorded by Morton's Red Hot Peppers on 21 September 1926.
Storyville Blues (Maceo Pinkard) Originally titled “Those Draftin' Blues” in 1918 but recorded as “Storyville Blues” by Bunk Johnson's band on 11 June 1942. The tune was later recorded as “Bienville Blues” by Lu Watters, whose trombonist, Turk Murphy, added a "crescendo chorus" near the end. Pinkard is best known as the composer of “Sweet Georgia Brown.”
Struttin' With Some Barbecue (Lil Armstrong) Recorded by Armstrong's Hot Five on 9 December 1927. The title is slang for dancing with an attractive African-American girl.
Sunset Cafe Stomp* (Percy Venable and Louis Armstrong) First recorded by Armstrong's Hot Five on 16 November 1926 and named after Armstrong's then nightly venue on State and 35th in Chicago. The arrangement follows the Yerba Buena Jazz Band's recording of May-June 1946.
Sweet Baby Doll* (George W. Thomas) Recorded by King Oliver's Jazz Band on 26 October 1923. Jazz historian, Doc Souchon, claimed to have heard the tune in New Orleans "some twenty years" before Oliver recorded it.
Sweet Georgia Brown (Maceo Pinkard, Ben Bernie, Ken Casey) A dixieland standard from 1925 and best known as the theme song of the Harlem Globetrotters. First recorded by Ben Bernie & His Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra on 19 March 1925.
Sweet Lotus Blossom* (Sam Coslow and Arthur Johnston) Written for the 1935 film, Murder of the Vanities.
Sweet Lovin' Man* (Lil Hardin and Walter Melrose) Recorded by King Oliver's Jazz Band on 22 June 1923. The arrangement includes a transcription of Johnny Dodds's clarinet solo.
Sweet Substitute (Jelly Roll Morton) Published in 1928 and recorded by Morton and his band on 4 January 1940.
Tack Annie* (Paul Barbarin and Joe Oliver) Recorded by King Oliver's Dixie Syncopators on 23 July 1926. Tack Annie was a was tough, poker-playing, hard-drinking lady whose specialty was removing gentlemen's jeweled tie tacks without being noticed. She frequented Holland's Saloon on State Street near 32nd street in Chicago, which became known locally as Tack Annie's Place.
Tears* (Louis Armstrong and Lil Hardin) Recorded by King Oliver's Jazz Band on 25 October 1923.
Terrible Blues (Clarence Williams) First recorded by Eva Taylor (voice) accompanied by Williams, her husband, at the piano on 17 October 1924 . A Williams-led group, the Red Onion Jazz Babies (featuring Louis Armstrong), made the best-known recording of the number a month later on November 26. The arrangement follows the Yerba Buena Jazz Band recording of 29 March 1942, which was made in B rather than B-flat, according to Turk Murphy, "to keep the band on its toes."
The Chant* (Mel Stitzel) Recorded by Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers 15 September 1926.
The Entertainer* (Scott Joplin) A piano rag composed in 1902 and re-popularized in the 1967 film, The Sting .
The Pearls* (Jelly Roll Morton) Recorded by Morton's Red Hot Peppers on 10 June 1927.
That's A-Plenty* (Gilbert and Pollack) A hit from 1914.
Tiger Rag** (Nick LaRocca) Known as “Praline” in New Orleans before appropriated by LaRocca, “Tiger Rag” was recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band on 25 March 1918.
Tin Roof Blues (Walter Melrose) Recorded by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings on 12-13 March 1923. The Tin Roof Cafe at Washington and Claiborne in New Orleans was converted into a vinegar factory around 1910. “Tin Roof Blues” began life, according to George Brunies, as a routine the NORK often did at the Friars' Inn. Their name for it was “The Rusty Rail Blues” until Walter Melrose came along looking for publishable properties. "He liked the tune," Brunies said, "gave us a $500 advance on it," and said `You don't mind if I do anything with it do you?'" But he needed a better title, something evocative of New Orleans, so they named it after the Tin Roof Cafe on Baronne Street, later known as the Suburban Gardens. NORK put all their names on it, "because we didn't figure it was going to do anything." A generation later, with a new title and lyric and an eight-bar release added, it hit the 1953 pop charts as “Make Love to Me,” much to the surprise of the surviving musicians--though the presence of eight names on the composer credits (including that of Melrose) guaranteed that no one person would get rich on royalties. Because the melody of “Tin Roof” bears some resemblance to one strain of Richard M. Jones's “Jazzin' Babies Blues” as recorded by King Oliver, it has been suggested that NORK stole the number. NORK, however, recorded their tune first and Jones did not copyright “Jazzin' Babies” until early 1924. In any case, “Tin Roof” and “Jazzin' Babies” are melodically quite dissimilar.
Tishomingo Blues (Spencer Williams) An arrangement for the Black Swan Classic Jazz Band of Portland, Oregon. Named after a northeast Mississippi town, the song, which also serves as Garrison Keillor's theme song for "Prairie Home Companion," was a hit of 1917.
Trombone Rag (Melvin "Turk" Murphy) A transcription/arrangement for the Black Swan Classic Jazz Band of Murphy's 1942 composition. Murphy was the trombonist in the Lu Watters' Yerba Buena Jazz Band of San Francisco.
Trouble in Mind* (Richard M. Jones) Recorded by Thelma La Vizzo (vocal) and Jones (piano) in May 1924.
Tuxedo Rag* (Oscar "Papa" Celestin) Recorded by Papa Celestin's Original Tuxedo Jazz Orchestra on 23 January 1925.
Washboard Wiggles* (Hartzell Strathdene "Tiny" Parham) Recorded by Tiny Parham and His Musicians on 22 July 1929.
Way Down in Iowa* (George W. Meyer, Sam M. Lewis, and Joe Young) Composed in 1916.
Weary Way Blues* (Coleman M. Minor and Jimmy Blythe) Modeled on the recording by Jimmy Blythe's Owls on 10 May 1927 (featuring Johnny Dodds). Dodds also recorded different versions of the same tune with the Dixieland Thumpers and the State Street Ramblers.
Weatherbird Rag* (Louis Armstrong) Recorded by King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band on 6 April 1923. The celebrated Oliver-Armstrong cornet breaks are the first of their kind on record.
Weeping Willow Blues* (Paul Carter) Recorded by Bessie Smith on 26 September 1924.
Where Did You Stay Last Night?* (Louis Armstrong and Lil Hardin) Recorded by King Oliver's Jazz Band on 23 June 1923.
Wild Man Blues (Jelly Roll Morton) Originally titled "Ted Lewis Blues," it recorded under its current title by Johnny Dodds's Black Bottom Stompers (featuring Louis Armstrong) for Brunswick on 22 April 1927. The best-known recording, however, was made the two weeks later for OKeh by Armstrong's Hot Seven, and the following month Morton recorded the number with his Red Hot Peppers for Bluebird.
Willie the Weeper* (Marty Bloom, Walter Melrose, and G. D. Rymal) Recorded by Armstrong's Hot Seven on 7 May 1927. For Bloom and Melrose, see “Mandy Lee Blues.”
Wining Boy Blues (Jelly Roll Morton) Recorded by Morton as a solo in 1938. "Winin' Boy" (i. e., "Winding Boy") was Morton’s nickname in honor of his purported sexual prowess. Arranged for the Black Swan Classic Jazz Band.
Wolverine Blues (Jelly Roll Morton) Recorded by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings on 12-13 March 1923 with the composer at the piano. Written in Detroit in the "early days," the tune's correct title, Morton always insisted, should have been “The Wolverines,” the name of a barber shop in Lansing, Michigan owned by one of his friends.
Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey (Hughie Cannon) Bailey, in one story of the song's origin, was a music teacher in Jackson, Michigan who frequented the Whistler Bar where Cannon played piano. One night Bailey confided to Cannon that his wife often gave him a hard time when he came home late, which inspired Cannon to compose his song in 1902. After seventeen years of marriage, Bailey's wife, Sarah, divorced him in 1910 and married a farmer named Calvin Williams in 1912. Williams died in 1951 and Bailey in 1954, but Sarah Bailey Williams, who complained that the song helped break up her marriage, lived to be over one-hundred. According to another story, the Bill Bailey of the title was a black vaudeville performer and member of the team of Bailey and Cowan. One night he was locked out of his house by a wife who had reached her limit of tolerance for his late night revelry with friends, of which Cannon was one. Cannon paid for a room at a local hotel and assured Bailey that a night away from home would surely cause his wife to plead for his return. The song was so popular it inspired a number of spin-off tunes including “I Wonder Why Bill Bailey Won't Come Home” and “Since Bill Bailey Came Back Home.” Cannon (1877-1912) was a pianist for many vaudeville performers.
Working Man Blues* (Joe Oliver) The arrangement, based on the recording by King Oliver's Jazz Band for OKeh on 26 October 1923 rather than the one made for Gennett with the Creole Jazz Band earlier in the month, includes a transcription of Johnny Dodds's clarinet breaks.
Yellow Dog Blues (W. C. Handy) A transcription of the Dukes of Dixieland's performance on their Carnegie Hall Concert album. The "Yellow Dog" is the Yazoo Delta Railroad. Handy's 1914 blues tells the story of Susan Johnson's lover who, forced to leave town precipitously, fled to where the "Southern cross the Yellow Dog" in Morehead, Mississippi. Originally called "Yellow Dog Rag," the title was changed to "Yellow Dog Blues" in 1919 for a recording by Joseph C. Smith's orchestra.
Yerba Buena Blues* (Sanford Neubauer) First recorded by the Bay City Jazz Band (with Neubauer as trombonist) on 12-15 March 1956.
Yerba Buena Strut (Lu Watters) Arranged for the Black Swan Classic Jazz Band and modeled after the Watters recording.

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