The Original 1916 Hesitation Blues presented by Zefren

When this song was recorded Ragtime was still the King of popular music, but ragtimes complex harmonies and concrete structure was giving way to the next phase of popular music. The animal dance craze was starting to reach a fever pitch as aspiring composters were trying to discover the next sound. The Turkey trot, bunny hug, the Grizzly bear and the enduring Fox-trot offered people a lightly syncopated structure that was adept at improvisation and band arrangements. Blues songs were also starting to become popular as the younger Americans yearned for the once forbidden blues songs. This recording is one of those early Blues songs arranged in a One Step (go figure) and played by the Victor Military Band in 1916. I suppose if you combine the two styles and add a talented soloist you get the birth of jazz. Still this is an amazing record and the sound is half fast ragtime and a jaunty Blues song so please enjoy and leave comments and suggestions.


Hesitation Blues One Step (Billy Smythe)
Played by the Victor Military band
Victor Record Company with Bat wing Label
18163-A
Acoustically Recorded in 09.15.1916

additional info is at http://victor.library.ucsb.edu/matrixDetail.php?id=700003382

Recorded in Shiprock New Mexico Monday, February 22, 2009 on a TTUSB ION turntable.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Hesitation
• Blues
• victor
• military
• band
• 19216
• 78
• RPM
• ragtime
• early
• blues
• song
• fox
• tort
• jazz
• Gay
• Navajo
• Shiprock
• new
• Mexico

[DrGitpaws]

OK, This story gets more and more interesting the more I follow it. It turns out that the first composer that I could confirm as the author of "Hesitation Blues" was Art Gillham in 1915. His co-writers were Billy Smythe and Smythe's brother-in-law Scott Middleton

See: lwhisper.home.mindspring etc ( or Serch for Art Gillham)

Art Gillham never pressed the record, but his co-writer Billy Smythe did. Till now I never heard it. Thanks Zefrenm. Why do people attribute this to Rev Jim Davis?

[Zefrenm]

@DrGitpaws The Rev. Pressed a few records for ARC in the 30's and it's buget sales pushed him into stardom. These record sold at 35 cents when Victor's verison was selling at 75 cents when the record was taken out of the catolouge in 1925 i believe. If you were of limited means which would be preferable? Some of Victors masters were sold by ARC for Sears mostly country songs of the Carter family.

[zo2imus]

I tried to correlate W. C. Handy's published sheet-music of "Hesitation Blues" with this music and I found no correlation. Is this "Hesitation Blues" by somebody else?

[Zefrenm]

Hesitation Blues One Step By Billy Smythe. The Tune was well known blues tune before Billy, and Handy penned thier own verisons.

[olafbigandglad]

@DrGitpaws that's rev. GARY davis.

[LouisLeeKH]

Would you please upload a 720p or 1080p clip of this work?

Thanks !!!

[SatchmoSings]

The record is slipping on the turntable.

[OnkleGreifenklau]

I believe Handy's song is called Hesitating (rather than Hesitation) Blues.

[FinalCurve]

@TroyOi heh :)

[TroyOi]

Is that Jorma Kaukonen I hear playing in the background?

[Ripley44mag]

Ohhhhhh that's a sweet ragtime beat.

[ThePeaceableKingdom]

@DrGitpaws Perhaps I misunderstood you, but Art Gillham did record Hesitation Blues, though not until many years after the record Zefrenm presented here. It's Columbia 343-D (1925) unless I'm misinformed...

[MultiBert07]

@ThePeaceableKingdom I agree!

[MultiBert07]

I came to YouTube just a few weeks ago.

Who would have thought that one can actually learn here.

Thanks guys!