Marion Harris - St.Louis Blues (1920)

[flipyPro]

Didnt Minnie Mouse sing this song?? :'D

Almost 100 years old, but this song is still so nice to me

[country12able]

thank you !  Gaby De Paris !

[broverKeyes]

The woman in the picture looks like Angela in Boardwalk Empire, you know, Jimmy's wife? anyone see it?

[MrChromonica64]

I can't describe what I am feeling here...but I'am feeling a lot.

[DeeLovesSushi]

It's insane when you think about it: This was recorded almost 100 years ago?

[21wowa]

hey leute ist das nicht total verrückt- das ist fast 100 jahre her

[miko50474]

...and so we found us again , after all this years , juaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[Odin029]

I always get confused when folks try and down this white artist or that for singing or playing the blues. I used to play the violin back in the day. I learned Bach and Mozart and I'm not even sure if those guys ever saw a black person let alone heard one play some chamber music. If an artist can pull off a song more power to them. Sure Marion Harris wasn't Bessie Smith, but who the heck was?

[TheThomasChannel]

@Odin029 Hey, let's not forget that one of the greatest classical violinists was black - George Bridgetower, for whom Beethoven wrote the Kreutzer Sonata. Beethoven only changed the dedication later because Bridgetower dissed his lady friend. And then there's Andre Watts, Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, William Grant Still, José White, and many other artists across the generations.

[amitafxx]

@wikkerman78

uh..my generationn is increasing unlike yours ;P

[amathew711]

@amitafxx lol fuck you, why do you come to troll, try growing up a little..

[Rayne4mdaLv]

I really wish I could have talked to my great grandma about her days of being a pin up/flapper girl. I can just picture her doing her makeup and getting all dolled up to a song like this<3

[CreamyMacarooney]

@Rayne4mdaLv I'm sorry, hon, flapper girls and pinup girls are from two separate eras :(

[Rayne4mdaLv]

@CreamyMacarooney Sorry, I guess I should have been clear. She lived during both eras and took up both styles but she loved music like this..

[CreamyMacarooney]

@Rayne4mdaLv Oh, that's ok... Looks like your grandma has had an fun and exciting long life :)

[SixesNSevensS]

I'am 22, and I agree that I wish I was back in these days. So simple and fun. Makes me want to grab a girl and kick back.

[thundera321]

Love this era!

[amitafxx]

@thenewcrowXfeather1 im human ;)

[TheMojoToTheAce]

I don't think people understand that the faded, scratchy sound is a great addition to any song. It makes it more authentic; makes you really focus on the singer, and not the booming backround music. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge techno fan, but it's a great counter to songs that center on the artificial instruments instead of the person who actually sings, which is nothing like today's "pop" music.

[monopatilla]

como era blanca tenia dinero para grabar

[SuperSharpshooter7]

i wish i lived in the 20s

[amitafxx]

ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww­wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww­wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww­wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww­wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww­wwwww

[thenewcrowXfeather1]

@amitafxx what are you?

[wikkerman78]

@amitafxx poor, poor soul... your generation is lost and hopeless, well, most of you, that is.

[The1234fivesix]

grand

[iPlayPiiano]

OMG Bioshock flashbakcs.

Scary as hell - yet beautiful.

[Monkeyspankerelite]

So far 8 people in the world are probably deaf and just pure evil...

[raynewoman]

Oh...My grandmother used to play this on the piano and sing it like you wouldn't believe. I didn't know what song it was until I was going through all of her old piano books (she passed away 16 years ago, and I am now just going through an old piece of furniture.) In memory of my grandmother, I am going to learn to play this song, as I am a songwriter. Rayne and The Nocturnal Bees

[XPIOLT]

I love music, it's people I hate. Marion Harris, Bessie Smith, whats the difference as long as its good and this is good and Bessie is great too.

[suewilly1237]

IT"S SO OLD!

[ForCarolToEnjoy]

Roll back time to a lyrical era....where blues and belters reigned supreme.

[claudio249347a]

very very good

[dormouse72]

This version is the Original music and lyrics version by W.C. Handy.

[coltmanm]

wow i love loads of types of music (LITERALLY except rap ) its sad if i tell anybody they would find me weird. i love the scratchyness :)

[Cubarted]

ah, its like as i go farther back into past music, it gets better and better. love this, very nostalgic.

[JsgHair71]

I love Bessie Smith's version much better than this one

[JsgHair71]

I love Bessie Smith's version much better than this onw

[FatEats]

all these really old oldsongs remind me of bioshock... but its an awesome flashback....

[cackagill]

very eerie.

[barrymel45]

St.Louis Blues is one of my favorites. A very interesting 1920 rare recording well done by Ms. Harris.

[djmyers71]

Wow, Im 39 years old, its 2010.---and I like this. I sure wish music would get back to some of that.

[PiperFreeze06]

@djmyers71

I'm 21 years old (22 next month) and I like this, too. You're absolutely right, music needs to go back several decades.

[mariostable]

Bellissimo!

[GloomyBearsOfDoom333]

gosh, i LUV this X3 i luv the 20's and everything about them, music, dresses, everything <3

[tempetiger]

This is a really cool version! I'm used to hearing it played with just instruments. A really great American jazz classic. One of my favorite songs to play on organ.

[cannoir]

the little cracks of the records add a little something to this song.can you believe this song is over 90 years old.

[MisterBeaucoup]

@cannoir There's nothing like the sizzle and pop of an old recording.  Really takes you back in time :)

[KawhackitaRag]

This is a nice version. It is not the same as Bessie Smith's version, but then again, Marion Harris was not Bessie Smith. They are two different vocalists with two different styles. They also led two different lives.

I have always thought that trying to rank music and musicians on a scale, or say who is "better" than who, is an exercise in futility. What people should be doing is listening to a lot of music and deciding for themselves who they personally like and dislike.

[MissDellaReese]

Marion Harris was an exceptional singer, and ALL music trancends race, if you have the talent, and she surely did.

[Chazranman]

And yet she was still more well known than you will ever be unless of course you go postal in a McDonalds, funny that

[Pattiiification]

HA-HA you don't even know me

[Chazranman]

Yeah, you're right I don't know you, I know your type, little dick, little promise, little life, sometimes in life you get lucky and this is one of those times

[Pattiiification]

ok?

[dubonn3t]

A lyricist, composer and a performer all make a song, so why can't different nationalities make a genre? Jazz would not exist without the instruments, language and techniques of Europe, OR the experiences, motivation and creativity of African-Americans, not to mention everything else contributed since by both these and musicians of other nationalities.

[the1musiclad]

exactly. i don't know why ppl still have to say "blacks did this" and "whites did that". people did it all. give it a rest.

[airlo90]

@the1musiclad

cause thats how is was in the past. It shouldn't be like that today, but that was history...it was like that

[luvureally]

@dubonn3t Yes but it was the African-American who put those African and Europeans elements together to create the music.

[Geefunk55]

Bessie Smith version is way better!!!!

[spanishlioness75]

As an African-European (born in spain),Black. Sorry but Bessie did the song alot better and jazz started in black district of New Orleans so its black music.

[cushtichavi]

I don't care who's music it is . Let's just enjoy whoevever sings it. I believe the composer had abit to do with it too?

[4448087]

Bessie Smith is still the best!!

[chkjns]

added this to 1920 in my 110 playlists for every year back to 1900. It's a trip back in time waiting for you, to the music of any past year, just click the ol' mouse.

[128pagenovella]

as for the 'this is black music' nonsense, this music is created using european harmony with european instruments and a little european language called english. at most it's european music with a slight african american influence. black music is what you find in africa and it's a very different thing.

[dammoonnm]

did europeans create it, nope black people did, therefore it was black music

[128pagenovella]

if a german goes to africa, plays some african drums and sings in swahili, are you willing to call that german music? just because he adds a few lines about sausage eating?

[dammoonnm]

but if you give a german an instrument and from that instrument he makes his own brand of music will u be willing to call that german music

[128pagenovella]

the point is, western harmony/western instruments were developed over thousands of years by very talented europeans. didn't appear by magic. for blacks to inherit this body of work, add a little spin on it, then pretend this is 'black music' is absurd. btw there isn't an african on the planet that would be willing to let a white use african instruments/techniques and call it white music. Even calling it 'fusion' would cause an uproar.

[DeportAnchorBabies]

@128pagenovella Typical whitey, angry about the fact that blacks have created better music than your people

[teadororudy]

@DeportAnchorBabies And yet, who recorded it first?? HHMMM.....

[stazz1111]

@DeportAnchorBabies

hehe ... being white, I sure can't argue with that.



[threeaddictedmen]

dumb

[ccaammiiittoo1]

Can someone out there post Harris' "Goodbye Alexander (Goodbye, Honey Boy)." Again we've got YouTube to thank for preserving these gems, whatever the color!

[tukilala]

Bellissima Voz, Bravooo !!!!!!!!

[CalJennings]

Thanks for posting the great old song!

[paulostroff99]

Awesome! Brava! I love it.

[tap2535]

WC Handy is the composer and I doubt he gave away the rights to this song to be recorded over. Yes he is Black and he was a blues arttist. You guys should watch the movie The Saint Louis Blues. It was difficult for Blacks to get their music recorded back in the days and that is when it got stolen most of the time.

[tap2535]

I mean Bessie Smith. You guys should watch the movie St Louis Blues

[tap2535]

Copycat.....RIP Ertha Kit did it better. This is a blues song which has close ties to slavery prayer songs for the comment about it being European music. Which originates from African dance and song.

[MuzzyVanH]

This recording by Marion Harris has a fine sound. The accompaniment is typical of its' time, almost stilted, yet in marked rhythm. Harris does a beautifully clear lyrical treatment here, and remember, this is a decade earlier than Bessie's more 'jazz' version. No comparisons should be attempted. Billie Holiday's early 1940's version is wonderful, yet I'd not say 'better' than Bessies or Harris., actually, wait a minute, that's what YouTube's all about. carry on.

[orangedizzle]

whats up all ya'll Art and Prop procrastinators?

[bryanoverturf1]

I LOVE IT,,,THIS IS GREAT,,,BRY

[darkmarkrammstein]

i love it

[6970137]

asco.

[martinienvenenado]

pendej@

[mjZstargirl]

20's had a really sensual feel to their music. It was quite beautiful actually.

[Germanicus666]

This is more like the style that prevailed in the teens.

[Corrie121]

I will not make a comparison between Marion H and Bessie S. because they were each so distinctive in their presentations. To my mind, they were both superb artistes.

This is a great post, and I thank you for sharing it.

[cammicty]

Yes even then this was a copy, trying to imitate the sound of blacks, as this was how my ancestors spoke then. She was also a nice blues artists, but she's not believable, as one can clearly hear she was trying hard to sing as a black women in the south. Now when my ancestors sung these blues, they were singing about their actual problems, that they were dealing with, besides personal relationship troubles, ''racisim''!

[indy4ever]

You're right, you own this style of music. Congratulations.

[cammicty]

However, I must say in the South there are some that do it justice that are'nt black!

[indy4ever]

And I occasionally see black musicians doing a good job at playing European classical music. Of course, the next time I see them I will be sure to let them know that it is not part of their cultural heritage and that no matter how hard they try they are basically copying my ancestors (actually I am Arab-Irish, but you get my drift).

[ccaammiiittoo1]

@indy4ever Not so fast, bud! Just as you claim Arab-Irish descent, all too many African Americans are in fact African-European. Dorothy Maynor, for example, had European ancestry.

[DeportAnchorBabies]

@indy4ever Classical is european

Jazz is African American

its really not that hard to understand

[ccaammiiittoo1]

@cammicty I think you've got a point! I'd not heard of Harris. Yes, she does a good job. As did Lee Wiley, Connee Boswell. How did Harris come to be interested in a form frowned on by her people?

[cherokeebjones]

Miss Harris does a fabulous job of the W.C. Handy song in 1920...but after hearing the song performed in the first musical film by Blues Queen Bessie Smith in 1929, "St. Louis Blues" with it's wonderful support by Hall Johnson Chorale and the Fletcher Henderson orchestra, it's easy to see why the song is associated mainly with Bessie Smith.

[idasynco]

I really enjoy this very traditional take on the St. Louis Blues. The rendition is so authentic, and Marion's diction is supurb with the instruments talking back to her....feeling tomorrow like I feel today....like if that ain't the blues, I don't know what is!

[blah148]

not bad, but bessie made this her own song

[Jawblues]

Here some great artist from the 20`s

/watch?v=lXak4UkQBI4&feature=c­hannel_page

[kindalord]

Bessi Smith owns this... thing...

[AWSOMEFNHOTGIRL]

what the poopie are you talking about! gosh dang it go away!

[EmpressJudge13]

if this shit hurts your ears, wouldn't be reasonable to take your ears elsewhere?

[hrtoflove]

Thank you! I am glad you made that reply to trenabolx because when I read his or her reply, I was going to say something, but am glad you did.

I love Marion Harris!!!!

[aldiboronti]

Wonderful! I much prefer her voice to Bessie Smith's, it has a far more plaintive, haunting quality.

[pax41]

I agree with you on this, much better than Bessie all around.  Marion's later material is even better than this. Her style evolved and she could sing more than just one type of genre.

[Dannys998877]

Well, when it comes to singing the blues, she's no Bessie Smith. But this is nevertheless a fine recording of Handy's great composition. Interesting that this was recorded a full five years before the landmark 1925 recording...also on Columbia....with Bessie Smith, backed by Louis Armstrong and Fred Longshaw.

[natsumeluver4]

woah

[thebrujaisbackagain]

marion harris jazzin it up

[flygoo69]

This is excellent--What a voice--I know it seems dumb but I even love the scratchy sound of these old Victrolas, or whatever they were called--It's like I went by time machine to my great-grandparents' parlor

[silvermystic2001]

@flygoo69 I love the scratchy or w/e sound aswell and ditto <3