LongLostBlues.com - Dr. Peter Muir - #3. "The First Blues Recording?"

[cv5600]

Kinda a stretch but still a great record....Andrew--Start appreciating all the great turn of the century vocalists!...also--Peter--be careful with that record--Makes me nervous to see the way you're holding it...(I have this also---know of maybe three other copies out there besides yours and the one in the loc...

[puremerit]

@cv5600 - thanks for the feedback. Very surprised indeed (and pleased) to hear of 4 other copies out there - incidentally 2 in the LOC, 1 beat-up, the other clean. Peter

[cv5600]

Kinda a stretch but still a great record....Andrew--Start appreciating all the great turn of the century vocalists!

[MusicHealthInstitute]

The standard theory about songs like "Frankie & Johnnie," which I support strongly in my book Long Lost Blues, is that they started out as fast ragtime performances. Therefore this is not a "ragtime cover" but at least partly represents how the song was originally performed (in terms of black performance you'll find the same type of treatment with Mississippi John Hurt's famous 1928 recording of the same song).

[Indensity]

This is not blues lol it's a ragtime cover of a blues song. Just like artists these days do covers of other genres but in their genre. Nice recording though. I wonder when did recording capabilities begin?

[KawhackitaRag]

THANK YOU for posting this terrific recording!

I really hope all of the rest of Gene Greene and Charley Straight's recordings can be found... I have only heard two others, and they are all great! I don't know what I like more... the singing or the piano playing!

This team was 100% pure ragtime, and although I don't generally like singers or listen to singers, I have made an exception for Gene Greene and try to model my singing after his!

THANKS!!!

[MusicHealthInstitute]

@KawhackitaRag Hi Andrew, thanks for your comments. I totally share your enthusiasm for the Greene/Straight Pathe's. I understand from Mark Berresford that Archeophone are planning a Cd reissue of as many of these sides as they can find (all these sides - there are about 60 - are scarce, and some, I believe, haven't survived at all). I am really looking forward to it. Peter"