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Topic: Steelin' the Blues- JB version in swing time |
Zayit
From:
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Posted 31 Jan 2003 10:30 am |
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I've just heard the swingin'est version of Steelin the Blues I have ever heard!
It features the master of touch & tone himself, with a fiddler, a horn, an archtop, standup bass, drums & a vocalist with a real deep voice (the song is in Db I think).
JB lays on 12 bars of a rocking, single note blues solo- really different from the other stuff that I've heard by him (Lovely Leilani, Hilo March etc).
Can somebody tell me who the vocalist is?
And is there more JB material in this "Hillbilly Blues" style? |
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Jeff Strouse
From:
Jacksonville, Florida, USA
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Posted 31 Jan 2003 10:37 am
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| Wasn't it Red Foley? |
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Billy Easton
From:
Nashville, TN USA
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Posted 31 Jan 2003 10:39 am
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I have heard this by Rex Allen Sr. in the past, but I don't recall horns, etc. In fact I think I have the old 78 rpm Mercury record of this.
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Billy Easton
Casa Grande, AZ
Southwestern Steel Guitar Association
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Posted 31 Jan 2003 10:44 am
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Rex Allen Sr.
I don't think anyone alive knows more about JB and this time period than Ray Montee ..
I'm sure he can provide you with a "must hear" list of JB on Ricky Bakelite ....
I got hold of some of these old records ... down right stunning !!!!!!
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My Steel Shoes Site
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C Dixon
From:
Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 31 Jan 2003 11:28 am
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The first recording JB made of "Steelin the Blues" used Rex Allen for a short vocal in it. As stated; there were no horns used in that recording.
Story has it that the producer (I am not sure who he was-might have been Owen Bradley), felt that a steel guitar instrumental needed a little voice in it. It so happened that Rex Allen* was nearby. So the producer asked him to sing on the recording.
And while Rex was listening to JB play it, the producer wrote the words on the spot. The rest is history on that first recording of the subject tune.
The next time I heard JB do it on a record was on his "HI FI guitar". This time there was no singing and the tinber, flavor and tempo was significantly different. In fact, I like it better. It has a more modern and mellow tone to my ears.
I have several videos of JB doing it also, and in each case, he does it yet a bit differently. This is NOT unusal for a virtuoso of his ilk. He plays what he "feels" at that moment.
But I have never heard of a recording Of STB, where Jerry used horns. I would like to hear that.
May Jesus richly bless Jerry Bryd and all of you,
carl
* It is my understanding that as a result of that session with Rex, that he and Jerry began a long recording relationship, and JB cut a lot of sessions with Rex as a result. If you have not heard them, you are in for a wonderful surprise if and when you do hear them. Rex's deep baritone voice and JB's incredible ability as a back up musician matched like a glove. |
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Mitch Drumm
From:
Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake
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Posted 31 Jan 2003 1:01 pm
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many of rex allen's early 1950s recordings are riddled with jerry byrd. they were on 78 rpm at the time, but have been reissued, notably on vinyl LP by bear family in the 1980s. i am not sure if the LPs are still in print, and i am not sure if the material has yet shown up on CD. allen was astounding as a vocalist--nothing like him anywhere on the scene now. very much like marty robbins in style, but with a deeper voice.
one particular knockout is "steelin' is his business" by rex, which is sort of an answer record to "steelin' the blues". it's really a tribute to jerry, and rex even calls out his name for a typically tasty solo. |
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Zayit
From:
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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Posted 31 Jan 2003 2:56 pm
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Thank you Carl, Mitch & others for enlightening me. I will look for other JB and Rex Allen collaborations.
If anyone can suggest other JB titles in the western swing or hillbilly blues genre I'd appreciate it.  |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 2 Feb 2003 6:30 pm
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When Jerry Byrd hooked up with Rex, did he become an 'Arizona Wrangler' for a while? Any live shows/programs? Or was he hired for the studio dates only? Was it JB on 'Ridin Down The Canyon', or 'Little Girl Dressed In Blue'? If not Jerry, who?
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John Bechtel
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, R.I.P.
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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John Bechtel
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, R.I.P.
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Posted 3 Feb 2003 9:48 pm
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| Rick; Do you play Serenade To Naloni, Come A Little Closer, Stranger On The Shore, Danny Boy, Waltz Tropical and others on JB's C-Diatonic tuning? Come A Little Closer was the 1st. one that I learned on that tuning. C-Dia. is my favorite non-pedal tuning, by far! Carry on! "Big John" http://community.webtv.net/KeoniNui/BigJohnBechtels |
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Posted 3 Feb 2003 9:51 pm
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 .. I lack some of the motor skills needed for his diatonic tunin' ...
But it sure is nice to listen to ... |
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