Potato Head Blues
Encyclopedia
"Potato Head Blues" is a Louis Armstrong
composition regarded as one of his finest recordings. It was made by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven
for Okeh Records
in Chicago, Illinois on May 10, 1927. It was recorded during a remarkably productive week in which Armstrong's usual Hot Five was temporarily expanded to seven players by the addition of tuba and drums; over five sessions the group recorded twelve sides.
Not strictly speaking a "blues
," the chord structure is a 32-bar form in the same neighborhood as "(Back Home Again in) Indiana
." The recording features notable clarinet work by Johnny Dodds
, and the stop-time
solo chorus in the last half of the recording is one of Armstrong's most famous solos. The last, hot "ride out" chorus is an example of this New Orleans jazz
custom brought to the level of genius through Armstrong's inspired melodic playing.
Critic Thomas Ward called this recording "one of the most astonishing accomplishments in all of twentieth century music."
Tallulah Bankhead
said that she played it in her dressing room every day during intermission while she appeared on Broadway
for the invigorating effect it gave her.
In Woody Allen
's 1979 film, Manhattan
, the character Isaac Davis (played by Allen) lists Armstrong's recording of "Potato Head Blues" as one of the reasons that life is worth living.
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
composition regarded as one of his finest recordings. It was made by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven
Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven
Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven was a jazz studio group organized to make a series of recordings for Okeh Records in Chicago, Illinois in May 1927. Some of the personnel also recorded with Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five, including Johnny Dodds , Lil Armstrong , Johnny St. Cyr...
for Okeh Records
Okeh Records
Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
in Chicago, Illinois on May 10, 1927. It was recorded during a remarkably productive week in which Armstrong's usual Hot Five was temporarily expanded to seven players by the addition of tuba and drums; over five sessions the group recorded twelve sides.
Not strictly speaking a "blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
," the chord structure is a 32-bar form in the same neighborhood as "(Back Home Again in) Indiana
Back Home Again in Indiana
" Indiana" is a song composed by Ballard MacDonald and James F. Hanley, first published in January of 1917. While it is not the official state song of the U.S...
." The recording features notable clarinet work by Johnny Dodds
Johnny Dodds
Johnny Dodds was an American New Orleans based jazz clarinetist and alto saxophonist, best known for his recordings under his own name and with bands such as those of Joe "King" Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Lovie Austin and Louis Armstrong. Dodds was also the older brother of drummer Warren "Baby"...
, and the stop-time
Stop-time
In tap dancing, jazz, and blues, stop-time is an accompaniment pattern interrupting, or stopping, the normal time and featuring regular accented attacks on the first beat of each or every other measure alternating with silence or solos. Stop-time appears infrequently in ragtime music...
solo chorus in the last half of the recording is one of Armstrong's most famous solos. The last, hot "ride out" chorus is an example of this New Orleans jazz
New Orleans Jazz
New Orleans Jazz may refer to:*Dixieland, a style of jazz music*New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park*Utah Jazz, a professional National Basketball Association franchise that was previously based in New Orleans and known as the New Orleans Jazz, in recognition of the jazz music of New Orleans*A...
custom brought to the level of genius through Armstrong's inspired melodic playing.
Critic Thomas Ward called this recording "one of the most astonishing accomplishments in all of twentieth century music."
Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was an award-winning American actress of the stage and screen, talk-show host, and bonne vivante...
said that she played it in her dressing room every day during intermission while she appeared on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
for the invigorating effect it gave her.
In Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
's 1979 film, Manhattan
Manhattan (film)
Manhattan is a 1979 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen about a twice-divorced 42-year-old comedy writer who dates a 17-year-old girl before eventually falling in love with his best friend's mistress...
, the character Isaac Davis (played by Allen) lists Armstrong's recording of "Potato Head Blues" as one of the reasons that life is worth living.