ST. LOUIS BLUES

Music and lyrics: W.C. Handy

Year: 1914

st louise blues-clasicos del jazz-standards jazz

Origin of the song

In 1912, William Christopher Handy wanted a hit that would make up for his disappointment with ‘Memphis Blues’. Unscrupulous publishers had deceived him by buying his copyrights for only fifty dollars, which barely covered the expenses. Two years later, he found peace and quiet in a small rented room in the Beale Street neighbourhood and began writing ‘St. Louis Blues’.

Although the song initially dazzled the dancers, it didn't immediately catch on. Since he did not find a publisher that would accept it, he and his occasional collaborator Harry H. Pace published 'St. Louis Blues' at the newly formed Pace & Handy Music Company. The sales of scores were scarce and it took several years for the song to begin to give some benefit.

Other compositions by Handy that reached a certain popularity were 'Yellow Dog Blues' (1914), 'Old Miss' (1916), 'Beale Street Blues' (1917), 'Long Gone (From Bowling Green)' (1920), 'Loveless Love' (1921), 'Aunt Hagar's Blues' (1921), 'Atlanta Blues' (1924) and 'Chantez-Les-Bas (Sing' Em Low)' (1931).


Versions in the top charts

PERFORMERS

DATE OF RECORDING

DAY OF ENTRANCE

PERMANENCE WEEKS

HIGH POSITION REACHED

 

Prince´s Orchestra

1916.01.03

1916.05.13

4

4

Instrumental

Al Bernard

1919.??.??

1919.06.14

1

9

Al Bernard (voc)

Marion Harris

1920.04.16

1920.08.26

9

1

(three weeks)

Marion Harris (voc), Prince´s Orchestra

Original Dixieland Jazz Band

1921.05.25

1921.08.27

6

3

Al Bernard (voc)

W.C. Handy Orchestra

1923.06.04

1923.11.24

1

9

Instrumental

Bessie Smith

1925.01.14

1925.06.13

6

3

Bessie Smith (voc)

Louis Armstrong Orchestra

1929.12.13

1930.02.08

3

11

Louis Armstrong (tp, voc)

Rudy Vallée & His Connecticut Yankees

1930.02.19

1930.05.10

4

15

Rudy Vallée (voc)

Jungle Band

1930.07.24

1930.12.06

2

16

Cab Calloway (voc)

The Mills Brothers

1932.04.14

1932.07.02

8

2

(two weeks)

Harry Mills (voc, p), Herbert & Donald Mills (voc), John Mills (voc, g)

The Boswell Sisters

1935.05.28

1935.07.27

3

15

Connee, Martha & Helvetia Boswell (voc), Victor Young Orchestra

Benny Goodman Orchestra

1936.08.21

1936.10.24

1

20

Instrumental

Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians

1939.03.07

1939.06.17

1

11

Carmen Lombardo (voc)

Earl Hines Orchestra

1940.02.13

1940.05.18

4

11

Instrumental, titled 'Boogie Woogie On St. Louis Blues'

Tex Beneke Orchestra

1947.12.??

1948.04.10

17

5

Instrumental, titled 'St. Louis Blues March'

Billy Eckstine

1953.??.??

1953.09.19

1

24

Billy Eckstine (voc), Metronome All Stars

 

Jazz. Outstanding performances

  Instrumental

PERFORMERS

DATE OF RECORDING

MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING

 

Fats Waller & Bennie Paine

1930.03.21

Fats Waller, Bennie Paine (p)

Art Tatum

1933.03.21

Art Tatum (p)

Benny Goodman Orchestra

1936.08.21

Benny Goodman (cl, dir), Pee Wee Erwin, Sterling Bose, Gordon Griffin (tp), Red Ballard, Murray McEachern (tb), Hymie Schertzer, Bill DePew (as), Vido Musso, Dick Clark, Arthur Rollini (ts), Jess Stacy (p), Allan Reuss (g), Harry Goodman (b), Gene Krupa (d)

Earl Hines Orchestra

1940.02.13

Earl Hines (p, dir), Walter Fuller, Milton Fletcher, Edward Sims (tp), George Dixon (tp, as), Edward Burke, John Ewing, Joe McLewis (tb), Omer Simeon (cl, bars), Leroy Harris (as), Jimmy Mundy, Robert Crowder (ts), Claude Roberts (g), Quinn Wilson (b),

Alvin Burroughs (d)

Art Tatum

1940.07.26

Art Tatum (p)

John Kirby Sextet

1942.02.11

John Kirby (b), Charlie Shavers (tp), Buster Bailey (cl), Russell Procope (as), Billy Kyle (p), Gordon 'Specs' Powell (d)

Little Jazz Trumpet Ensemble

1944.01.24

Roy Eldridge, Joe Thomas, Emmett Berry (tp), Johnny Guarnieri (p), Israel Crosby (b),

Cozy Cole (d)

Sidney Bechet Blue Note Jazzmen

1944.12.20

Sidney Bechet (cl, ss), Sidney De Paris (tp), Vic Dickenson (tb), Pops Foster (b), Art Hodes (p), Manzie Johnson (d)

Jimmy Smith Quintet

1958.07.16

Jimmy Smith (org), Cecil Payne (bars), Kenny Burrell (g), Don Bailey (b), Art Blakey (d)

Dave Brubeck Quartet

1963.02.22

Dave Brubeck (p), Paul Desmond (as), Gene Wright (b), Joe Morello (d)

In Carnegie Hall, New York

Max Roach Sextet

1965.10.14

Max Roach (d), Freddie Hubbard (tp), Roland Alexander (ss), James Spaulding (as), Ronnie Mathews (p), Jymie Merritt (b)

Jaki Byard Trio

1967.10.31

Jaki Byard (p, g), David Izenzon (b), Elvin Jones (d)

Earl Hines

1973.03.27

Earl Hines (p)

Jessica Williams Quartet

1996.10.??

Jessica Williams (p), Jay Thomas (tp), Jeff Johnson (b), Mel Brown (d)

  Vocal

PERFORMERS

DATE OF RECORDING

MUSICIANS WHO TOOK PART IN THE RECORDING

 

Original Dixieland Jazz Band

1921.05.25

Nick LaRocca (cnt), Eddie Edwards (tb), Larry Shields (cl), Bennie Krueger (as), Frank Signorelli (p), Tony Sbarbaro (d), Al Bernard (voc)

Bessie Smith

1925.01.14

Bessie Smith (voc), Louis Armstrong (cnt), Fred Longshaw (arm)

The Mills Brothers

1932.04.14

Harry Mills (voc, p), Herbert & Donald Mills (voc), John Mills (voc, g)

The Boswell Sisters

1935.05.28

Connee, Martha & Helvetia Boswell (voc), Victor Young Orchestra

Maxine Sullivan

1938.06.29

Maxine Sullivan (voc), Bobby Hackett (tp), Jimmy Lytell, Paul Rickey, Bernie Kauffman, Babe Russin (sax), Eddie Powell (fl), Claude Thornill (p, dir), John Kirby (b), Buddy Rich (d)

Mildred Bailey

1939.01.18

Mildred Bailey (voc), Charlie Shavers (tp), Buster Bailey (cl), Russell Procope (as), Red Norvo (xil), Billy Kyle (p), John Kirby (b), O'Neil Spencer (d)

Billie Holiday with Benny Carter All Star Orchestra

1940.10.15

Billie Holiday (voc), Benny Carter (as, cl, dir), Bill Coleman (tp), Benny Morton (tb), George Auld (ts), Sonny White (p), Ulysses Livingston (g), Wilson Myers (b), Yank Porter (d)

Lena Horne

1941.06.23

Lena Horne (voc), Dixieland Jazz Group

Mildred Bailey

1944.??.??

Mildred Bailey (voc), Red Norvo (vib), Teddy Wilson (p), Roy Eldridge (tp), Paul Baron Orchestra

Duke Ellington Orchestra

1946.09.03

Duke Ellington (p, dir), Cat Anderson, Shorty Baker, Shelton Hemphill, Taft Jordan, Ray Nance, Francis Williams (tp), Lawrence Brown, Wilbur De Paris (tb), Claude Jones (vtb), Jimmy Hamilton (cl, ts), Johnny Hodges, Russell Procope (as), Al Sears (ts), Harry Carney (cl, bars), Fred Guy (g), Oscar Pettiford (b), Sonny Greer (d), Marion Cox (voc)

Louis Armstrong All Stars

1954.07.12

Louis Armstrong (tp, voc), Trummy Young (tb), Barney Bigard (cl), Billy Kyle (p), Arvell Shaw (b), Barrett Deems (d), Velma Middleton (voc)

Ella Fitzgerald

1957.07.24

Ella Fitzgerald (voc), Frank DeVol Orchestra

Nat King Cole

1958.01.30

Nat Cole (voc), Harry 'Sweets' Edison (tp), Charlie Harris (b), Lee Young (d), Nelson Riddle Orchestra

Ella Fitzgerald

1963.10.29

Ella Fitzgerald (voc), Roy Eldridge (tp), Wild Bill Davis (org), Ray Brown (b), Herb Ellis (g),

Gus Johnson (d)

On cinemas

 The song 'St. Louis Blues' is included in the soundtrack of the following movies:

 

ORIGINAL TITLE

TITLE IN SPAIN

AEAR OF PRODUCTION

PERFORMERS OF THE SONG IN THE FILM

Hallelujah

Aleluya

1929

Nina Mae McKinney (a capella)

Night Nurse

Enfermeras de noche

1931

Ball music at a party

Scarface, Shame Of A Nation

Scarface, el terror del hampa

1932

Gus Arnheim Orchestra

Rain

Bajo la lluvia

1932

Background music

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

Soy un fugitivo

1932

Background music

Red-Headed Woman

La pelirroja

1932

Plays on the radio

Winner Take All

O todo o nada

1932

Background music

Baby Face

Carita de ángel

1933

Theresa Harris (a capella)

King Kong

King Kong

1933

Robert Armstrong (whistled)

Hold Your Man

Tu eres mío

1933

Dorothy Burgess (a capella)

The Mind Reader

El adivino

1933

A band

Stella Dallas

Stella Dallas

1937

Plays on a disc

Sweethearts

Enamorados

1938

Background music

Birth of the Blues

El nacimiento del blues

1941

Ruby Elzy

A Guy Named Joe

Dos en el cielo

1943

Don DeFore (a capella)

Bataan

Bataan

1943

Kenneth Spencer (a capella)

For Heaven’s Sake

¿Se puede entrar?

1950

Background music

The Glenn Miller Story

Música y lágrimas

1954

'St. Louis Blues March', by Glenn Miller Orchestra

The Client

El cliente

1994

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band of New Orleans

Thirteenth Floor

Nivel 13

1999

Johnny Crawford Dance Orchestra

The Cat's Meow

El maullido del gato

2001

Ian Whitcomb Bungalow Boys

Try Seventeen

Todo lo que quiero

2002

 

Swing

Swing

2003

Black Tie Jazz Orchestra

Kill Bill: Vol. 2

Kill Bill: Vol. 2

2004

Bessie Smith

The Aviator

El aviador

2004

Benny Goodman Orchestra

The Great Gatsby

El gran Gatsby

2013

Louis Armstrong

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