Rockin' Chair (1929 song)

Last updated
"Rockin' Chair"
Song by Hoagy Carmichael
RecordedFebruary 19th, 1929
Genre Jazz
Length3:36.
Songwriter(s) Hoagy Carmichael

"Rockin' Chair is a 1929 popular song with lyrics and music composed by Hoagy Carmichael. Musically it is unconventional, as after the B section when most popular songs return to A, this song has an A-B-C-A1 structure. Carmichael recorded the song in 1929, 1930, and 1956. Mildred Bailey made it famous by using it as her theme song. [1] Like other 1920s standards, "Rockin' Chair" relied on the stereotypes of minstrelsy, citing "Aunt Harriet" from the anti-Uncle Tom song "Aunt Harriet Becha Stowe" (1853). [2]

Contents

The song was first recorded on February 19, 1929 by Hoagy Carmichael as a test for Victor Records, but not released at the time. This recording was later released on the Historical label as HLA-37. This version is sung by only one vocalist. Hoagy Carmichael and his Orchestra recorded a new version on May 21, 1930 featuring Bix Beiderbecke on cornet. This second version is with two vocalists (Carmichael and Irving Brodsky) and was released on Victor Records as V-38139B. [3] Louis Armstrong recorded it with Hoagy Carmichael on vocals on December 13, 1929 at Okeh studios after the stock market crashed, giving a badly needed boost to Carmichael's finances. The recording was released as Okeh 8756 in 1930 and became popular in 1932. The song utilises "call and response" to create a dialog between an aged father and his son. Armstrong performed and recorded "Rockin' Chair" numerous times in his career with his trombonist Jack Teagarden. [4] Armstrong's recording history with the song includes a recording from as late as 1971. [5]

Mildred Bailey first recorded the song on August 18, 1932 for Bluebird Records (catalog No. 6945), [6] and later for Vocalion Records (catalog No. 3553). The latter recording was a hit in 1937. [7] She became known as "The Rockin' Chair Lady". Other popular versions in 1932 were by The Mills Brothers, and by Louis Armstrong with Hoagy Carmichael. [8]

Other versions

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Wilder, Alec (1999). American Popular Song: The Great Innovators 190>1950. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp.  374–375. ISBN   0-19-501445-6.
  2. ↑ Brothers, Thomas (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. p. 363. ISBN   978-0-393-06582-4.
  3. ↑ Evans, Philip R. (1998). The Leon Bix Beiderbecke Story. Bakersfield, California: Prelike Press. p.  503. ISBN   0-9665448-0-3.
  4. ↑ 80 Years of Rockin' Chair: http://dippermouth.blogspot.com/2009/12/80-years-of-rockin-chair.html Archived 2016-05-19 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ Brothers, Thomas (2014). Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company. pp. 362–63. ISBN   978-0-393-06582-4.
  6. ↑ "The Online Discographical Project". 78discography.com. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  7. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p.  41. ISBN   0-89820-083-0.
  8. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p.  572. ISBN   0-89820-083-0.
  9. ↑ "Paul Robeson Discography". cpsr.cs.uchicago.edu/robeson. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Jo Stafford Discography" (PDF). collections.music.arizona.edu. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  11. ↑ "The Online Discographical Project". 78discography.com. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  15. ↑ Ed Townsend, New in Town Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Original versions of Rocking Chair by Eric Clapton | SecondHandSongs".


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