Dirty blues

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Dirty blues (also known as bawdy blues) is a form of blues music that deals with socially taboo and obscene subjects, often referring to sexual acts and drug use. Because of the sometimes graphic subject matter, such music was often banned from radio and available only on jukeboxes. The style was most popular in the years before World War II, although it experienced a revival in the early 1950s. [1]

Contents

Many songs used innuendo, slang terms, or double entendres, such as Lil Johnson's [1] "Press My Button (Ring My Bell)" ("Come on baby, let's have some fun / Just put your hot dog in my bun"). [2] However, some were very explicit. The most extreme examples were rarely recorded at all, a notable exception being Lucille Bogan's obscene version of "Shave 'Em Dry" (1935), [3] which Elijah Wald has noted as "by far the most explicit blues song preserved at a commercial pre-war recording session". [4]

The noteworthy musicians who used the style included Bo Carter, Bull Moose Jackson, [1] Harlem Hamfats, Wynonie Harris, and Hank Ballard and The Midnighters. [5]

Compilation albums include The Copulatin' Blues (Stash Records: 1976, [6] re-released Mojo Records: 1996), [7] Them Dirty Blues (Jass Records: 1989) [8] and You Got to Give Me Some of It: 55 Risque Blues and R&B Classics 1928–1954 (Jasmine Records: 2015). [9]

Notable songs

YearTitleArtistReferences
1924"See See Rider" Ma Rainey [10] [11]
1927"Bow Wow Blues" The Allen Brothers [12] [13]
1928"It's Tight Like That" Tampa Red and Georgia Tom [14]
"The Duck's Yas-Yas-Yas" James "Stump" Johnson [15]
"Empty Bed Blues" Bessie Smith [16]
1929"I Had to Give Up Gym" The Hokum Boys [13]
"Rock That Thing" Lil Johnson [17]
"You'll Never Miss Your Jelly Until Your Jelly Roller Is Gone" Lil Johnson [18]
"Bumblebee" Memphis Minnie [13]
1930"Please Warm My Weiner" Bo Carter [19] [20]
"Good Grinding" Irene Scruggs [21]
"Must Get Mine in Front" Irene Scruggs [22]
"On the Wall" Louise Johnson [23] [24]
1931"Pin in Your Cushion" Bo Carter [19] [20]
"Banana in Your Fruit Basket" Bo Carter [19] [20]
"My Pencil Won't Write No More" Bo Carter [19] [20]
"My Girl's Pussy" Harry Roy [25]
"Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl" Bessie Smith [26]
"You've Got to Save That Thing" Ora Alexander [8]
1932"I Crave Your Lovin' Every Day" Ora Alexander [8]
1933"Tom Cat and Pussy Blues" Jimmie Davis [27]
1935"Shave 'Em Dry" Lucille Bogan [3]
"Let Me Roll Your Lemon" Bo Carter [19] [20]
"Get 'Em from the Peanut Man (Hot Nuts)" Lil Johnson [18] [28]
"Anybody Want to Buy My Cabbage?" Lil Johnson [18] [28]
"Press My Button (Ring My Bell)" Lil Johnson [1]
1936"Trucking My Blues Away" Blind Boy Fuller [29]
"Sam the Hot Dog Man" Lil Johnson [30]
"My Stove Is In Good Condition" Lil Johnson [21]
1937"They're Red Hot" Robert Johnson [31] [32] [33]
"Meat Balls" Lil Johnson [21]
"If It Don't Fit (Don't Force It)" Lil Johnson [21]
1938"Don't You Feel My Leg?" Blue Lu Barker [21]
1939"I Want Some of Your Pie" Blind Boy Fuller [34]
1941"Crosscut Saw" Tommy McClennan [35]
1942"Let Me Play With Your Poodle" Tampa Red [36]
1944"Salty Papa Blues" Dinah Washington [21]
1946"Gotta Gimme Whatcha Got" Julia Lee [37]
"Shaving Cream"Paul Wynn
1947"(Opportunity Knocks But Once) Snatch and Grab It" Julia Lee [37]
"Mother Fuyer" Dirty Red [38]
1948"Lolly Pop Mama" Wynonie Harris [39]
"King Size Papa" Julia Lee [37]
"I Want A Bowlegged Woman" Bull Moose Jackson [40]
1949"Long John Blues" Dinah Washington [41]
"Mountain Oysters" Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis [42]
1950"Butcher Pete" Roy Brown [42]
"My Man Stands Out" Julia Lee [37] [42]
"I Like My Baby's Pudding" Wynonie Harris [43]
"Sittin On It All The Time" Wynonie Harris [43]
"I'm a Hi-Ballin' Daddy" Tiny Bradshaw [44]
"Silent George" Lucky Millinder [45]
1951"Rocket 69" Todd Rhodes [42]
"Sixty Minute Man" Billy Ward and His Dominoes [43] [46]
"Lemon Squeezing Daddy"The Sultans [42]
"The Walkin' Blues (Walk Right In, Walk Right Out)"Fluffy Hunter [42]
"It Ain't the Meat (It's the Motion)" The Swallows [43]
1952"Keep On Churnin' (Till the Butter Comes)" Wynonie Harris [42]
"Big Ten Inch Record" Bull Moose Jackson [43]
"Nosey Joe" Bull Moose Jackson [47]
"Little Girl Sing Ding-A-Ling" Dave Bartholomew [48]
"Drill Daddy Drill" Dorothy Ellis [43]
1953"Wasn't That Good" Wynonie Harris [42]
"Laundromat Blues" The "5" Royales [42]
1954"Work with Me, Annie" The Midnighters [43]
"Shake, Rattle and Roll" Big Joe Turner [41]
"Big Long Slidin' Thing" Dinah Washington [43]
"Baby Let Me Bang Your Box"The Toppers [42]
"Mr Thrill"Mildred Jones [49]
"Rotten Cocksuckers' Ball" The Clovers [43]
"Toy Bell" The Bees [42]
"Sexy Ways" Hank Ballard [50]
1956"Salty Dog" Blind Willie McTell [5]

See also

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References

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  2. ↑ "Press my button (ring my bell) - Lil Johnson lyrics". LyricsOfSong.com. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  3. 1 2 Thom Jurek. "Shave 'Em Dry: The Best of Lucille Bogan - Lucille Bogan | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 2016-05-07.
  4. ↑ Elijah Wald, The Dozens: A History of Rap's Mama, Oxford University Press, 2012, p. 60. ISBN   0-19-989540-6
  5. 1 2 "Risque Blues, Vol. 1 - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. 1998-09-16. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  6. ↑ "The Copulatin' Blues [Stash CD] - Various Artists - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "Copulatin' Blues [Mojo] - Various Artists - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 "Them Dirty Blues - Various Artists - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  9. ↑ "You Got to Give Me Some of It: 55 Risque Blues and R&B Classics 1928–1954 – Songs, Reviews, Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "easy, a. and adv.", Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, 1989, archived from the original on 2006-06-25, retrieved 2016-06-18, c. easy rider(U.S. slang): (a) a sexually satisfying lover (see also quot. 1926); (b) a guitar.
    1912–13 W. C. HANDY Memphis Blues, Mr. Crump don't 'low no easy riders here. 1926 in R. de Toledano Frontiers Jazz (1947) iii. 37 'Rider', 'easy rider', which term means both lover and (not either, or) procurer... Fidelity to his woman is expected of the easy rider. 1927 Jrnl. Abnormal & Social Psychol. XXII. 16 'Easy rider'. This apt expression is used to describe a man whose movements in coitus are easy and satisfying. It is frequently met both in Negro folk songs and in formal songs. 'I wonder where my easy rider's gone', is a sort of by-word with Southern negroes. 1949 R. BLESH Shining Trumpets vi. 128 In rural Negro parlance...easy rider meant the guitar...carried suspended by its cord. In the double meaning of Negro imagery, the femininely formed guitar...typifies also a woman companion. In Negro 'city talk', the term easy rider has come to mean either a sexually satisfying woman or a male lover who lives off a woman's earnings. 1958 P. OLIVER in P. Gammond Decca Bk. Jazz i. 24 For the blues singer, the most valuable instrument was the guitar,...and, as his 'easy rider', could be slung across his back when he wished to travel.
  11. ↑ Lighter, J.E. (1994), Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang A-G, vol. I, Random House, p.  375, ISBN   0-394-54427-7, n Black E.1. a parasitical man usu. without a steady job who lives by gambling or sponging, (speicif.) a man who is supported by a woman, esp. a prostitute. [...] 2.a. a sexually satisfying lover. [...] b. a young woman who is sexually promiscious or easily seduced. Also easy ride. [...] c.a guitar [...] 4. a person who is not easily ruffled or provoked
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  25. ↑ Chris Han (2013-08-16). "8 Sexually Explicit Songs From the 1930s - CollegeHumor Post". Collegehumor.com. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
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  41. 1 2 "Dirty R&B — The Magazine". The-magazine.org. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
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  43. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "10 Often-Censored Songs From the Early '50s". Rebeatmag.com. 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
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