Gid Tanner & His Skillet Lickers

The Skillet Lickers were one of the most influential string bands of the '20s and '30s.
Led by fiddler Gid Tanner, the band which combined old-timey country music with humor and showmanship, were known for their off-the-wall arrangements of old-time fiddle tunes.

The original lineup of the band featured Tanner, guitarist Riley Puckett, fiddler Clayton McMichen, and banjoist Fate Norris.

The lyrics of the Skillet Lickers' music used language common among rural white Americans at the time, but today is considered offensive and racist, including song titles like "Nigger in the Woodpile" and "Run Nigger Run".
Following the original band's dissolution, Puckett and latter-day fiddler Bert Layne led various bands called the Skillet Lickers, but the group wasn't relaunched until 1934, when Tanner formed a new lineup that recorded one final session that yielded their biggest hit, "Down Yonder".

"Soldier's Joy" (October 29, 1929)

The title could refer to payday for soldiers or even opiates in light of the verse: "Well twenty-five cents for the morphine, and fifteen cents for the beer. Twenty-five cents for the old morphine, now carry me away from here." It appears that the extra ten cents for the morphine could have been well worth it.



"Pass Around The Bottle And We'll All Take A Drink" (April 17, 1926)



Each of the above photos is a link to more music (25 tracks in all!).

the Memphis Jug Band

The Memphis Jug Band was a loose knit outfit, with constantly changing members. They played local events and were one of the main attractions when they played at Handy's Park in Memphis.


The Memphis Jug Band has been described as having a remarkable sound due in part to their unusual instruments. Most songs included a rhythm guitar and either a jug, a kazoo or a harmonica as a lead instrument(or sometimes a mandolin or violin). The sound of the instruments was invariably a "raspy, buzzing sound" that was close to the musical aesthetic of Africa, the jug and kazoo representing the voices of animals or ancestral spirits.

Jug bands were found in nearly every city in the South during the 1920s and '30s, but they were most popular and prolific in Memphis, Tennessee. The Memphis Jug Band was the first (and some consider the best) of many to record.

"Stealin', Stealin' " (by Gus Cannon) :Recorded on September 15, 1928. Will Shade sings the lead with Vol Stevens on guitar, Ben Ramey on kazoo and Jab Jones on jug.



(this song was plagiarized by Jimmy Page on the Yardbirds' Little Games album)


"A Black Woman is Like A Black Snake":Recorded on September 11, 1928. This jug band's lineup includes leader Will Shade on harp and guitar, Charlie Burse on guitar, Ben Ramey on kazoo, and Jab Jone on the lead vocal and jug.



"Cocaine Habit Blues":Recorded on May 17, 1930. Hattie Hart sings the lead with Will Shade on harp, Tee Wee Blackman on guitar, Ben Ramey on kazoo, and Ham Lewis on the jug.




As an added Bonus, here's another "Old-Timey Drug Song", this one by Dick Justice;

"Cocaine":Recorded on May 20, 1929 in Chicago.

Elana James Live at Ballard Park - May 29, 2007

Today's Date In Music History:two years ago, Elana James and The Continental Two performed at Ballard Park in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
Elana James is a masterful violinist and vocalist who is reknowned for her work with the Hot Club of Cowtown. She and her duo (Whit Smith on guitar and Beau Sample on bass) produced a dazzling mix of sound, predominantly old-timey dance tunes and foot tapping western swing played with enormous verve and spirit.

This performance was a part of the "C.H.I.R.P." (Concert Happenings In Ridgefield's Parks) series.

Disc 1
1.) intros, 2.) Exactly Like You, 3.) Ragtime Annie,
4.) Down The Line, 5.) Emily, 6.) Cotton Eyed Joe,
7.) Devil's Dream, 8.) The Little Green Valley, 9.) Dinah, 10.) Ida Red, 11.) 'Deed I Do, 12.) Fuli Tschai, 13.) Run Away With Me, 14.) Mississippi Delta Blues, 15.) Twenty-Four Hours a Day,
16.) Eva's Waltz, 17.) Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette), 18.) Orange Blossom Special
Disc 2
1.) Oklahoma Rag, 2.) Oklahoma Hills, 3.) Oh, Baby, 4.) One More Night, 5.) It Stops With Me,
6.) Hamilton County Breakdown, 7.) I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good), 8.) Stomp, Stomp,
9.) Dev'lish Mary, 10.) Blue Bonnet Lane, 11.) Tchavolo Swing, 12.) Atomic Cocktail,
13.) Cherokee Shuffle, 14.) I Can't Believe You're In Love With Me, 15.) Sally Goddin'

Play show here:

Download full show here.

Special thanx to MC for the C.H.I.R.P. photo.