Mildred Bailey - When it`s sleepy time down south (1931).wmv

[freescorepaul]

Love that early 30s swing! I'm afraid that Jim Crow racism was alive and well even through the 50s, when my elders' conversation led me to use the vocabulary without knowing any better. Thank the 60s! And thanks for this video.

Paul

[aadjuijn]

@freescorepaul Thank you Paul...strange enough this song became the theme song of Louis Armstrong!Armstrong's popularity among African American audiences dropped because of the song, but at the same time it helped the trumpeter to make his fan base broader. Billie Holiday did a "cleaned" version of this song...for instance..."Folks are crooning soft and low, etc."! Grtz, Aad

[CroatAndNettles]

While there's a lot to like in this version, I still think the 10-4-31 version is superior. It can be heard at: redhotjazz

Does anyone know why she recorded three versions with Whiteman? Did it sell particularly well?

[llllDjMp3llll]

At 0:52... "darkies" crooning songs soft and low....Wow!!!!!

[llllDjMp3llll]

At 1:31 & 2:38... the darkies are singin?!?!.....wow.... I have the Billie Holiday version up in which she says, "the folks are all singing, they dance until the break of day." I've read Mildred had a few songs of racist lyrics, guess this would be one of them. Wow!!!!!