Tommy McClennan - Bottle It up and Go - rare 78rpm blues record

Tommy McClennan
- Bottle It up and Go -
rare 78rpm blues record
recorded on RCA label

This is one of my favorites. THIS guy's attitude really comes out in his music. He's not talked about as much as other early blues players...more people should know about him!!!

LYRICS:
Yes, yas

Got to bottle it up an go
Got to bottle it up an go
Now, 'em high-power women
(guitar)
Yeah

Now, she may be old
Ninety year
She ain't too old
For the shift them gears

She gots (guitar)
'Got to do what, tell me 'gain?'
'Got to bottle it up and go'
Now, them high power women
Yeah!

Now, I told my girl
Week 'fore last
The gate she jus' came in
Just a little too fast

She had to bottle it up an go
She had to bottle it up an go'd
An them high-power women
(guitar)
Yes, yeah

Now, the nigger and the white man
Playin', set 'em up
Nigger beat the white man
Was scared to pick it up

'He had the bottle up and do what?'
Had to bottle it up and go
And them high-power women
(guitar)
Yeah

Now, look-a-here, baby
You stay last night?
Ain't none a yo' business
You don't do me right

'You got t'
(guitar)
'Gotta do what?
Tell me again, I don't understand?'
I've got the bottle up and go'd
I ain't gon' bother with 'em
Now, them high-power women
Yeah

Now, nickel is a nickel
A dime is a dime
I don' need no girl
If she want wine

She has to
(guitar)
Had do what?
Had to bottle up and go
And them high-power women
Yeah

Now, my mama killed a chicken
She thought it was a duck
She put him on the table
With the legs stickin' up

He had-a (guitar)
Had to do what?
He had the bottle it up and go'd
An them high-powered women
Sho' got the bottle up and gone

'Yeah, play it man-a

Be-da, bee, bop, bop, bop
Bo, de-dum, be-dum, bop, bop
Bo, bom, bom, bom, bom
Bee-da, bee-um, bop-um, bop-um, bop
Bo, bop-um, bop-um, bop-bop, be-ba
T-dee-da, t-dee-da
T-da-da-da

(guitar)

Yeah!

Uh-huh!

Got the bottle up and go
Got the bottle up and go
Now, you high-power women
Sho' got to bottle 'em up and go.

~

*Note: (Bluebird insert notes by M.K. Aldin)
(brief & condensed) notes about this song )

Big Bill Broonzy told Tommy not to use the 'n' word.
But he got mad at Bill and said, 'Hell no, I'll
Never change my song'. Big Bill said he knew
Tommy was right, the way he felt about it because
He had sang the same words in another song of his
Before Tommy was born but knew better than to do
It in the North...
The next night Big Bill took Tommy to a party, Tommy
Sang his version of 'Bottle It Up And Go.' The song flopped
And Big Bill had to put Tommy out the window and they
Ran 5 miles to one of Big Bill's friend's house.

BIO:
Physical, intense Mississippi blues. Underrated guitar player.
Born on a farm in April, 1908, and grew up in nearby Yazoo City, Mississippi. Played across the South Delta in towns like Greenwood, Indianola and Itta Bena during the 1920s and through the 1930s, sometimes with his only local rival, and stylistic "sound-a-like", Robert Petway. Reportedly, McClennan was a very nervous and slightly built man, but he must have really rocked in those Mississippi juke joints. There's been a lot of negative writing about McClennan in the past, but Big Tony is telling you: this is one of the great Delta artists. He's a powerful and convincing vocalist, and his playing has both impact and nuance; this is one of the Big Guys.
Lester Melrose arranged his first recording session, for Bluebird in November, 1939; and around 1940 Tommy moved to Chicago. His first recordings sold rather well, and he was back in the studio in May, 1940, and again in December the same year. In 1941 he did a session in September, and in 1942 he recorded his last songs in February. All his recordings was made in Chicago for the Bluebird label. At each recording session he cut eight songs, which makes a total output of 40 titles.
McClennan is thought to have stopped performing about 1952. A decade later he died, destitute, in the Chicago ghetto; another victim of changing tastes and the retreat into alcohol abuse.
As Honeyboy Edwards once described Tommy's style in an interview:

"He just play the blues. Play straight blues. There wasn't nothin' betwixt nothin'. Just straight go.

for more go to:
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu_LF8sZII3gAlENXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTE1ZjZwcHFvBHNlY...

~also check out my other 78rpm videos~

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Tommy
• McClennan
• Bottle
• It
• up
• and
• Go
• 78rpm
• rca
• records
• early
• acoustic
• blues
• robert
• johnson
• shellac
• vinyl
• record
• BLUES
• guitar

[2009framat]

I think he did the original versions of "cross cut saw"(Otis Rush) and "love her with a feeling" (Freddie King) - at least the oldest I know.

[xodusattack]

yup, from what I understand he was the first to record cross cut saw.

Though if I remember HONEYBOY EDWARDS said in his book that that song was made by someone else....but TOMMY was smart enough to record it first....this type of thing happened all the time in the old days with alot of blues artists.

[bigmammadawg]

Yeah. My favorite tune by my favorite cuz.

[xodusattack]

Tommy is 1 of my top fav's.

His recordings are beyond fantastic....they are "real deal blues!!!"

Are you serious when saying CUZ?

[monkeytown1000]

Oh yeah, summat else. When Tommy moved from the south to Chicago Big Bill Broonzy told him not to use the 'N' word in Chicago as in the north afro-americans didn't accept it as they did in the south. Tommy ignored this advice during a house party he was playing at - this resulted in him having his guitar smashed over his head & him having to jump/being thrown out of a window.

Might even have been this song that caused the ruckus.

[monkeytown1000]

The song originated as a black work song and has been written about as far back as the 1870s. A blues singer called Julius Daniels recorded a similar song in Atlanta in 1926, but I doubt it was as good as Tommy McClennan's song.

[recordmancharlie]

hey just an idea for you,,, If you have a 4 foot long black light sitting around somewhere, pull out all your records and some night turn out ALL your main lights and turn on the blacklight and start putting them under the blacklights glare. You will really be surprised at what you might find.. It wont work on EVERY record you have, but some of your records will almost jump out of your hand as they react to the blacklight. it will work on 78's , 45's, & l.p.'s Some wil REALLY light up !!!

[JuanDeSoCal]

Thanks for posting this. Did McClennan write this tune? I'd heard Lightnin' Hopkins do a version, and had assumed that it was his tune, but I sure this one predates his.

[CanadianFolkBlues]

nice this is a great version of this tune. i only have it on mp3 i wish i had it on that sweet sweet vinyl

[lightnweight]

Thanks for posting this!

I'm sure some people will recognize this from Bob Dylan's Step It Up and Go.

[xodusattack]

@redbuck82

Not a problem, I will be uploading another fine TOMMY record very soon!

[fortyfifthnoodle]

Thank you for making this recording available...