October 2013 Edition

The Document Newsletter

Welcome to our Texas themed Newsletter. We hope that you will find many things to enjoy within its contents.  We have some exciting new releases and we have been able to bring some more CDs back into stock. As usual we have been able to offer some CDs at greatly reduced prices for the duration of the newsletter.  

As usual we would like to thank you for buying directly from Document and we hope to see you all on Facebook

New Releases on the 8000 Vintage Country series

We are delighted to announce that we have been collaborating with Tony Russell and Harry Bolick to bring you the complete recorded works of Narmour and Smith. We believe that this is the first time that all their recordings have been collected together

Narmour and Smith Vol.1 Complete Recorded Works (1928-1930)

 Renowned fiddle player Harry Bolick was the obvious choice to write the notes for as he says on his own website...
 “I’ve been thinking a good bit lately about where I think of as home. We moved many times when I was young and I've been up North for decades. I've come to realize that Mississippi, specifically Carroll County, is where I keep the image of home and family roots. After all, I keep going back there. I finally thought to ask in Carroll County about Narmour and Smith. I was startled to find that Avalon and Valley are only about 10 miles from where my mother was born in Carrollton. Narmour and Smith had played in my backyard. When I started to think about music in Carroll County, I assumed that people did some sort of square dancing. And then as I learned more of Narmour's tunes, I began to visualize a bizarre kind square dancing accompanying his irregular tunes. Upon asking members of the Smith and Duke families and my own cousin Anne (Bole) Smith I found that no one knew of any square dancing in the county in that period. Just waltzes and a very simple two step referred to as the "Carroll County Hop". (Willie Narmour's uncle was known to clog.) This explains how Narmour and Smith could be popular for dancing, as a regular beat is necessary but not regular phrases.

As a result of his investigations and the love of the music, Harry recorded his own CD entitled “"Carroll County, Mississippi”.

Reviews were enthusiastic
"Bolick and Bloom’s version of "Jake Leg Rag" sounds just great! …This is old-time music with a true link to the past, but enjoyed and played as we like to today. If you are open to the reality that old-time music is more than many of us would think, I believe you will enjoy this disc as much as I do." - The Old Time Herald Winter 2004/05

You can listen to clips or purchase his CD here

We are fascinated by Narmour and Smith and their musical neighbours, indeed the whole genre of the early Black and White String and Dance bands and have looked back through our catalogue to bring you some of the best examples. The list is not exhaustive, but we hope that you will appreciate our selection and the price. We have decided to offer all these CDs at £5.49 for the duration of the mail shot. The LPs are offered at £10.50 and we have limited stock. Please note tax (if applicable) and shipping will be applied at checkout.

Mississippi Sheiks 4 CD Bundle £17.50

Mississippi John Hurt’s recordings on Document can be found on Never Let The Same Bee Sting You Twice. (Temp out of Stock), New Release The Blues Revival Volume 1 (1963-1969)

New Releases on the 5000 and 32-20 Series

Buster Pickens and Jesse Thomas.
The choice of releases this month was serendipitous in as much as it has given us an opportunity to look more closely at the pre-war Texas artists and their styles, the majority of whom appear in our catalogue.

It’s true that Jesse was born  in Logansport, Louisiana, United States but he is commonly referred to as a Texas blues guitarist and singer, but  as Tony Russell says in The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Jesse Thomas popped up all over the blues map in his eight decade career.

Texas Piano Blues
Much has been written about the Texas Piano Blues of the 1920's and 1930's, and this excellent article by Jeff Harris draws many of the threads together.

  “The Texas piano tradition flowered in the 1920’s and was at its peak during the 1930’s when a number of the tradition’s best players were recorded. Today, seventy years down the line, much has changed; blues is no longer music performed and listened to strictly by African-Americans, the piano blues tradition has virtually evaporated and regional styles have effectively disappeared. The Texas piano tradition was a rich and vibrant one and luckily fairly well documented on record. As Francis Smith notes: “With the two major recording centres of New York and Chicago a thousand miles to the North, it was extremely fortunate that so many pianists of this important close knit Texas group were recorded—all three record companies of the time being involved.” The three companies were Columbia, Victor and Vocalion in addition to Bluebird and Okeh. These companies, either singularly or in various combinations, made field trips to Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio in 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940 and 1941.”
Continue reading here http://sundayblues.org/archives/19

For further reading we suggest the excellent  two  part article "Stomp the Grinder Down" Texas Blues Piano by Michael Hortig .that appeared in Blues & Rhythm 250/251. The  articles are available as a PDF via this link
Stomp-the-Grinder-Down.pdf

Document has the majority of these artists’ works in its back catalogue and we have put our selection here. You can purchase any of these CDs for just £ 5.49 for the duration of the mail shot.

Texas Piano. The Ma Grinder Specials.

Piano Bluesfeaturing Bert Mays, Texas Piano Vol 1, Texas Piano Vol 2, Texas Girls Includes accompaniment by Hersal Thomas, piano;, William (Willy ) Tyson piano, Charlie Hill, guitar; Coley Jones, guitar; K.D. “44” Johnson, piano; Alex Moore, piano. Black Boy Shine & Black Ivory King featuring Dave Alexander, Leroy Carr & featuring Black Boy Shine, Rare Country Blues featuring Frank Tannehill (limited stock), Joe Pullum featuring Rob Cooper, Whistling Alex Moore, Robert Shaw, Dusky Dailey CD is due to be repressed shortly

Jesse Thomas and Friends on CD.
You can purchase any of these CDs for just £ 5.49 for the duration of the mail shot.
Evangelist Sister Rosetta Winn’s sides recorded for Jesse’s Club label can be found on DOCD-5463 below

Texas Blues

It is not possible to cover the breadth and depth of “The Texas Blues” here, or in our view in any single article. A cursory look at Google reveals 50,700,000 results! For those wanting an overview we suggest that a good starting point would be Alan Govenar ’s Texas Blues: The Rise of a Contemporary Sound. The book is sprawling and has been much criticised and we were amused to read this “For one thing, it’s hard to see how a book in which more than 90 percent of the profiled artists are dead can accurately be subtitled “The Rise of a Contemporary Sound. “Jim Sherman Texas Observer

In terms of vintage Texas Blues and Old Timey music, we have a huge selection of artists and styles. We have chosen some CDs that we hope you will find of interest.

Texas is rightly proud of its Old Time Fiddle history and if you are in the area or simply wish to know more then check out the Texas Old Time Fiddlers Association

New Releases on Vinyl. Mississippi Sheiks Volume 3

We are delighted to inform you that we have just taken stock of The Mississippi Sheiks' Volume 3 from our highly-anticipated Document Records reissue series on black, 180-gram vinyl.

Track list:   

Volume 3, Side 1
Thing About Comin' My Way                                   
The World is Going Wrong
She's a Bad Girl
Tell Me What the Cats Fight About
Kind Treatment
Livin' In A Strain
Lazy Lazy River
Too Long
Shake Hands And Tell Me Goodbye

Volume 3, Side 2
Bed Spring Poker
When You're Sick with the Blues
I've Got Blood In My Eyes for You
Shooting High Dice
It's a Pain to Me
She's Crazy About Her Lovin'
Tell Me To Do It Right
The New Stop And Listen Blues
Go 'Way Woman

** Please note  that Charley Patton The Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Volume 3 on black, 180-gram vinyl and Blind Willie McTell The Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Volume 3  on black, 180-gram vinyl will be available from our forthcoming Christmas newsletter . Readers wishing to buy all 3 volumes (including the Sheiks ) as a Bundle are advised to wait until then

Would you Adam and Eve it?

Longtime Blues Record Collector Pays Record Price For
Rare Tommy Johnson 1930 Blues 78 rpm Record

Sells For $37,100.00 On Ebay! 

RIP

August 2013

George Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American musician, known as a keyboard pioneer, composer, singer and producer in both jazz and popular mainstream musical genres. He worked with numerous acclaimed artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a professor of music. He first made a name for himself with the album The Jean-Luc Ponty Experience with the George Duke Trio. He was known primarily for thirty-odd solo albums as well as for his collaborations with other musicians, particularly Frank Zappa.

William Dunn (August 14, 1942 – August 5, 2013) was a Canadian film maker, folk musician, playwright and politician. Born in Montreal, he is of mixed Mi'kmaq and Scottish/Irish background. Dunn often highlighted aboriginal issues in his work.

Jack Henderson Clement (April 5, 1931 – August 8, 2013) was an American singer,songwriter, and a record and film producer. Clement wrote a number of highly successful songs that have been recorded by singing stars such as Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Ray Charles, Carl Perkins, Bobby Bare, Elvis Presley, Jim Reeves, Jerry Lee Lewis, Cliff Richard ("It'll Be Me"), Charley Pride, Tom Jones, Dickey Lee and Hank Snow. He was inducted into theNashville Songwriters Hall of Fame[1] in 1973. He also produced albums by Townes Van Zandt and Waylon Jennings

Batile or Batili Alake was a prominent Nigerian waka singer.[1][2] Born in Ijebu - Igbo, Ogun State, she popularized the Islamic-inspired, Yoruba genre by playing at concerts and parties throughout Yorubaland, and was the first waka singer to wax an album.[d] She was active during the 1950s and 1960s

Donna Lubertha Hightower (December 28, 1926 – August 19, 2013) was an American R&B,soul and jazz singer and songwriter, who recorded and released albums for the Decca andCapitol labels. Later in her career she was based in Europe, where she had a hit in 1972 with "This World Today is a Mess."

Margaret Marian McPartland, OBE (née Turner;[1] 20 March 1918 – 20 August 2013), was an English-born American jazz pianist, composer and writer. She was the host of Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on National Public Radio from 1978 until 2011.[2]
After her marriage to Jimmy McPartland in February 1945,[3] she resided in the United States when not travelling throughout the world to perform. In 1969 she founded Halcyon Records, a recording company that produced albums for ten years. In 2000 she was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master. In 2004 she was given a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement. In 2007 she was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. Known mostly for jazz, nonetheless, she composed other types of music as well, performing her own symphonic work A Portrait of Rachel Carson with the University of South Carolina Symphony Orchestra in 2007. In 2010 she was named a member of the Order of the British Empire.

Sid Bernstein (August 12, 1918 – August 21, 2013) was an American music producer and promoter. Bernstein changed the American music scene in the 1960s by bringing The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, The Moody Blues, and The Kinks to America. He was the first impresario to organize rock concerts at sports stadiums

Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi (10 August 1932 – 25 August 2013) was an Indian classical singer and music director.[1]  He was the first Oriya musician to be decorated by the government of France, in the early '70s.[2]A noted singer of the Gita Govinda, he left a promising career in film music in Chennai, to provide vocal support in his wife, Sanjukta Panigrahi, a legendary Orissi performer and composer.[3] He made a lifetime contribution of promoting, propagating and popularizing the life and works of Jayadeva and the cult of Lord Jagannatha.

John "Juke" Logan (September 11, 1946 – August 30, 2013) was an American electric bluesharmonica player, musician, singer, pianist and songwriter. He is best known for his harmonica playing on the theme music for television programs (Home Improvement andRoseanne) and films (Crossroads and La Bamba). In addition to playing on many other musicians' work, Logan released four solo albums, and wrote songs for Poco, John Mayall andGary Primich.

September 2013
David Lewis Jacobs, CBE (19 May 1926 – 2 September 2013) was a British broadcaster who gained prominence as presenter of the 1960s peak-time BBC Television show Juke Box Juryand Chairman of the BBC Radio 4 political forum, Any Questions? He broadcast, mostly for the BBC, as an announcer and presenter for over sixty-five years, only stepping down shortly before his death. Though not really an actor, his earlier radio work had included some acting of small parts and he also sometimes played himself or presenter characters in films, television and radio

Ray Milton Dolby, OBE (January 18, 1933 – September 12, 2013) was an American engineerand inventor of the noise reduction system known as Dolby NR. He was also a co-inventor ofvideo tape recording while at Ampex. He was the founder of Dolby Laboratories. He was also a billionaire and a member of the Forbes 400 with an estimated net worth of US$2.9 billion in 2008[3] although as of September 2012 it was estimated to have declined to $2.4 billion

Marvin Karlton Rainwater[1][2] (July 2, 1925 – September 17, 2013), was an American country and rockabilly singer and songwriter who had several hits during the late 1950s, including "Gonna Find Me a Bluebird" and "Whole Lotta Woman", a UK no.1 record. He was known for wearing Native American-themed outfits on stage and was 25 per cent Cherokee

Gia Maione Prima (May 20, 1941 – September 23, 2013) was an American singer and wife of singer Louis Prima
Born in Roebling, New Jersey,[1] Maione was a 1959 graduate of Toms River High School (now known as Toms River High School South). She first gained notice in 1962, when she was signed to sing lead female vocals for Prima and his band. Prima had divorced Keely Smith, his former lead vocalist, the year before. Smith left the orchestra, creating the opening that Maione filled. The young singer's rich voice was an ideal match for Prima's rugged jazz riffs, and the couple performed and recorded together until Prima fell ill in 1975.

On our shopping list.  

A look at some new releases that piqued our interest.

If you are a lover of Box Sets then these are sure to appeal.

If you are a lover of Box Sets then these are sure to appeal. Our only concern’s would be the price and the weight, you might need a second mortgage to indulge yourself and if you are lucky enough to be able to afford it you might put your back out lugging this lot around !

The Rise & Fall of Paramount Records, Volume One (1917-1932)
Third Man Records

Black Europe

The first comprehensive documentation of the sounds and images of black people in Europe pre-1927
Recordings on phonograph cylinders, gramophone discs and films, with both still and moving images, feature people of African descent in Europe from the earliest years of the recording industry and continued after the First World War. The contribution of these pioneering personalities on the modern mass media has not been noticed – recognition is overdue. Music, spoken word and dance, from all styles, categories, languages and natal lands provide a lost but rich resource. Many artefacts may be lost forever, but this project traces the surviving evidence.
Black Europe, a boxed set comprising a slipcase with two hardbound, LP-sized books and a folder with 40 CDs (in paper sleeves) of music and sound documents, will be released in 2013.
http://www.black-europe.com/

This month’s selection of CDs at our keenest prices. Our CDs normally retail at £7.49 but for the duration of this newsletter you can snap up a bargain for just £2.49 (ex tax where applicable )

2014 Halloween Teaser .

We would like to wish every one a Happy Halloween. This CD is nearly ready and will be available for next Halloween . . .

Track list and catalogue number is not confirmed but we know it will contain at least 21 of our favourite spooky songs and extensive notes about Hoodoo, Voodoo and the Halloween tradition.

Drop us a line to info@document-records.com  if you want us to reserve you one.

The Last Word. Mad Doreen

The nights are drawing in .It was 6pm and I had just closed the curtains and was settling down with the latest edition of  the Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture and a cup of decaffeinated Cocoa  when I heard a dreadful noise. I rushed upstairs and found my Andrew sprawled on the bathroom floor unable to move It seems that he had accidentally put both legs in to his Hulk Fleece Onesie and taken a tumble.

At first I thought he was concussed as he started mumbling something about a Ma Grinder. I said “Andrew, I’m your mother. Mummy’s here “

When I had extricated his leg he stood up unsteadily and I gasped “What’s that bulge in your trousers”. I thought he had done himself a mischief.   Well he wasn’t for showing me, so I had no choice but to wrestle him to the floor, and to my surprise I discovered he was concealing a compact disc in his Onesie. 

“Oh, I said “I like the look of that. “ It was a gentleman sitting at a piano, someone called Mr Pickens.  He put me in mind of that nice Winifred Atwell.

We went downstairs and I asked Andrew to put the record on. He started hopping about from one leg to the other and saying that he felt sick. “Don’t be silly Andrew “I told him. “You know I love Mrs Mills “

I took a swig of my now lukewarm cocoa and settled back in the chair. The next thing I remember was Andrew fanning me with a tea towel. “Boar Hog Blues “the epitome of FILTH had caused me to hyperventilate and my cocoa went down the wrong way !

“Right” I said, “Right, right, right, right! I know who has put you up to this. It’s them across the road, the Atkinson’s. Is this some kind of a joke?” “No” said Andrew “Lots of people listen to this sort of music. It’s called The Blues “

“I’ve told you before about lying “I said, striking him on the temple with this week’s copy The Deseret News.   “Blues!”  I said “You can’t fool me, that’s another word for Porn .Blues means FILTH on the Interwebs . Everyone knows that even my friend Hattie Green will tell you the same .It’s the Devils music    Now go and put that record in the bin!”

He went off to the dustbin leaving the front door open and I could see the lights in The Atkinson’s. I was horrified to see a Pumpkin in their window. Clearly they have started worshipping the Devil openly now! They are always on that Book Face posting up those wicked songs. FILTH! How I wish they could be stopped.  My Andrew told me later they were planning to feature more of these types of piano tunes in their newsletter. Honestly what is wrong with people? We have some perfectly good piano players of our own that they could be listening to: Charlie Kunz, Russ Conway, Bobby Crush, Mr Joe” Piano” Henderson and that French bloke Richard Clayderman. They were all nice boys!

Well it’s up to you what you listen to, but you needn’t come round to my house on Judgement Day repenting and wanting me to melt down your Blues shellac!

We now have a Facebook page and we hope to see you there!

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