Show 58: Bluebird Records Legacy
Nighttime is where a lot of blues lives: after work, after church, after the town loosens up. In this music, sunset usually means desire, danger, memory, or the freedom to tell the truth.
I'm your host. For today's 58th episode of the Copacetic Communion Blues, we'll be reviving our Alphabet Blues series for a night by covering the Bluebird sublabel of RCA Records. Bluebird came about as the budget option for blues, jazz, and swing records in the 1930s and '40s and was a staple of your local Woolworth's. They were known for their recognizable "Bluebird Sound" that came from the session band that was used on many recordings to cut costs, but this band brought all its own best talents and instruments. Here's Hosea Woods and Gus Cannon and his Jug Stompers with "Walk Right In," followed by "Viola Lee Blues." Here it is.
Nighttime is where a lot of blues lives: after work, after church, after the town loosens up. In this music, sunset usually means desire, danger, memory, or the freedom to tell the truth.
| Order | Track | Artist | Segment | Bridge | Story |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walk Right In | Hosea Woods | 1 | - | |
| 2 | Viola Lee Blues | Cannon's Jug Stompers | 1 | - | |
| 3 | Stealin', Stealin' | Memphis Jug Band | 1 | - | |
| 4 | Mississippi River Blues | Big Bill Broonzy | 1 | - | |
| 5 | Catfish Blues | Robert Petway | 1 | - | |
| 6 | Baby, Please Don't Go | Joe Williams | 1 | - | |
| 7 | Ninety-Nine Year Blues | Julius Daniels | 1 | - | |
| 8 | Just a Good Woman Through With the Blues | Trixie Butler | 1 | - | |
| 9 | Telephoning the Blues | Victoria Spivey | 1 | - | |
| 10 | The First Time I Met the Blues | Little Brother Montgomery | 1 | Yes | - |
| 11 | Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child | Paul Robeson | 2 | Yes | - |
| 12 | When I Woke Up This Morning She Was Gone | Jim Jackson | 2 | - | |
| 13 | Judge Harsh Blues | Furry Lewis | 2 | - | |
| 14 | 'Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do (Part 1) | Frank Stokes | 2 | - | |
| 16 | Sales Tax | Mississippi Sheiks | 2 | - | |
| 17 | Pearl Harbor Blues | Doctor Clayton | 2 | - | |
| 18 | My Buddy Blues | The Five Breezes | 2 | - | |
| 19 | Little Boy Blue | Robert Lockwood, Jr. | 2 | Yes | - |
| 20 | Worried Life Blues | Big Maceo | 3 | Yes | - |
| 21 | Illinois Central | Sunnyland Slim | 3 | - | |
| 22 | Look On Yonder Wall | Bill Jazz" Gillum" | 3 | - | |
| 23 | Anytime Is the Right Time | Roosevelt Sykes | 3 | - | |
| 24 | Sweet Little Angel | Tampa Red | 3 | - | |
| 25 | When Things Go Wrong with You (It Hurts Me Too) | Tampa Red | 3 | - | |
| 26 | Dust My Broom | Arthur Big Boy" Crudup" | 3 | - | |
| 27 | Soap and Water Blues | Washboard Sam | 3 | - | |
| 28 | How Blue Can You Get (Downhearted) | Johnny Moore's Three Blazers | 3 | Yes | - |
| 29 | Blue Yodel #9 | Jimmie Rodgers | 4 | Yes | - |
| 30 | Hallelujah, I'm a Bum | Mac Harry" McClintock" | 4 | - | |
| 31 | Worried Man Blues | Sara Carter | 4 | - | |
| 32 | The East Virginia Blues | The Carter Family | 4 | - | |
| 33 | Will The Circle Be Unbroken | The Monroe Brothers | 4 | - | |
| 35 | Constant Sorrow | The Hall Brothers | 4 | - | |
| 36 | The Longest Train | J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers | 4 | - | |
| 37 | The Matchbox Blues | Roy Shaffer | 4 | Yes | - |
| 38 | Hey, Hey Baby | Big Bill Broonzy | 5 | Yes | - |
| Don't Want No Woman (Have T' Give My Money To) | Memphis Minnie,Kansas Joe | - | |||
| Dusty Old Dust (So Long It's Been Good to Know Yuh) | Woody Guthrie | - | |||
| Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel #8) | Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys | - |