Kelly

Song 6: St James Infirmary Blues

SONG: St James’ Infirmary ARTIST: Armstrong and his Hot Five YEAR: 1929 Listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzcpUdBw7gs THE SONG: St James Infirmary was made famous by Louis Armstrong, but no one knows for sure the origins of this song or the author. A man named Joe Primrose is often credited with the song, holding theContinue reading “Song 6: St James Infirmary Blues”

Song 5: Pokarekare

SONG: Pokarekare ARTIST: Ana Hato YEAR: 1929 Listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNuioMCTMAI THE SONG: Pokarekare is a Maori love song that was probably composed communally around 1914. An east coast Maori composer, Paraire Tomoana claims to have written the song, and was the one to polish it up and publish the words in 1917. ThisContinue reading “Song 5: Pokarekare”

Song 4: Lagrimas Negras

SONG: Lagrimas Negras ARTIST: Trio Matamoros YEAR: 1928 Listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeEqPWeWTAU THE SONG: Lagrimas negras (Black Tears) was written in 1930 by Miguel Matamoros and is categorized as Bolero-son. Miguel and his group Trio Matamoros recorded the song the following year in 1931, when Miguel was on his way home from Santo DomingoContinue reading “Song 4: Lagrimas Negras”

Song 2: St. Louis Blues

SONG: St. Louis Blues ARTIST: Bessie Smith YEAR: 1925 Listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rd9IaA_uJI THE SONG: St. Louis Blues was written in 1913 by W.C. Handy and was a massive hit, despite there being no music charts (they charted the song’s success by sheet music sales!). Many blues songs at the time were traditional orContinue reading “Song 2: St. Louis Blues”