St. Louis Blues (music)
Encyclopedia
"St. Louis Blues" is an American popular song composed by W. C. Handy
in the blues
style. It remains a fundamental part of jazz
musicians' repertoire. It was also one of the first blues songs to succeed as a pop song
. It has been performed by numerous musicians of all styles from Louis Armstrong
and Bessie Smith
to Count Basie
, Glenn Miller
, Guy Lombardo
, and the Boston Pops Orchestra
. It has been called "the jazzman's Hamlet
". Published in September 1914 by Handy's own company, it later gained such popularity that it inspired the dance step the "Foxtrot
".
The version with Bessie Smith
and Louis Armstrong
on cornet was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1993. The 1929 version by Louis Armstrong
& His Orchestra (with Henry "Red" Allen) was inducted there in 2008.
At the time of his death in 1958, Handy was earning royalties upwards of US$25,000 annually for the song. The original published sheet music is available online at the United States
Library of Congress
in a searchable database of African American music from Brown University.
twelve-bar blues in common time
with three lines of lyrics, the first two lines repeated, but it also has a 16-bar bridge
written in the habanera
rhythm, popularly called the "Spanish Tinge
", and identified by Handy as tango Handy's tango-like rhythm is notated as a dotted quarter note, followed by an eighth, and two quarter notes, with no slurs or ties, and is seen in the introduction as well as the sixteen-measure bridge.
While blues became often simple and repetitive in form, "St. Louis Blues" has multiple complementary and contrasting strains
, similar to classic ragtime
compositions. Handy said in writing "St. Louis Blues" his objective was "to combine ragtime syncopation
with a real melody in the spiritual tradition."
With traditional New Orleans and New Orleans style bands, the tune is one of a handful which includes a set traditional solo. The clarinet
solo with a distinctive series of rising partials was first recorded by Larry Shields
on the 1921 Original Dixieland Jass Band
record. It is not found on any earlier recordings nor published orchestrations of the tune. Shields is often credited with creating this solo; however, alternative claims have been made for other early New Orleans clarinetists, including Emile Barnes
.
Researcher Guy Marco, in his book Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound in the United States, stated that the first audio recording of "St. Louis Blues" was by Al Bernard
in July 1918 on the record company label Aeolian-Vocalion (cat. no. 12148). This is however not true, since Columbia's
house band, directed by Charles A. Prince
, had recorded a released instrumental version already in December 1915 (Columbia A5772). Bernard's version may have been the first US issue to include the lyrics though. However, by then Ciro's Club Coon Orchestra, a group of black American artists appearing in Britain, had already recorded a version including the lyrics in September 1917 (UK Columbia 699).
Since the 1910s, the number has enjoyed great popularity not only as a song but also as an instrumental.
Many of jazz's most well-known artists in history have given renowned performances of the tune. The following is an incomplete list of the hundreds of musicians of renown who recorded "St. Louis Blues", chosen as examples that are early in their careers and in the era of its greatest popularity.
"St. Louis Blues" is played in the 1914 Charles Chaplin film, The Star Boarder
as well as later being sung by Theresa Harris
and played several times, including the opening credits, in the 1933 film Baby Face
.
The song is also sung by Marcellite Garner
as Minnie Mouse
in the 1931 animated short film, Blue Rhythm.
It is played a number of times in the 1936 film, Banjo on my Knee, by Walter Brennan
and is sung as a major production number by the Hall Johnson
Choir as Barbara Stanwyck
looks on.
As an instrumental, the song is featured in Lewis Milestone
's early talkie, Rain
, in which it comes to symbolize the wanton ways of the main character Sadie Thompson, played by Joan Crawford
.
The title of William Faulkner
's short story "That Evening Sun
" (published 1931) references the famous opening lyrics from "St. Louis Blues".
"About Her" by Malcolm McLaren
(from Kill Bill Vol. 2 Original Soundtrack) samples this song – in particular the line, "My man's got a heart... like a rock cast in the sea".
In Jean-Paul Sartre
's existentialist play No Exit
, Estelle talks about how she and Peter, one of her admirers, used to dance to "St. Louis Blues".
A unique oddity is the relationship of the "St. Louis Blues" and the song "Memphis, Tennessee
" by Chuck Berry
. The composers of these two songs lived in the other city; W.C. Handy was from Memphis, and Chuck Berry
was from St. Louis. Yet they both wrote the song most associated with the other's hometown.
W. C. Handy
William Christopher Handy was a blues composer and musician. He was widely known as the "Father of the Blues"....
in the 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...
style. It remains a fundamental part of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musicians' repertoire. It was also one of the first blues songs to succeed as a pop song
Pop Song
Pop Song is the first single by the Drugs. It was released in 2000 and earned the Drugs some positive press. It has been described as "addictive". A live version was released on The Only Way Is Up...
. It has been performed by numerous musicians of all styles from Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
and Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s...
to Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
, Guy Lombardo
Guy Lombardo
Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist.Forming "The Royal Canadians" in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor and other musicians from his hometown, Lombardo led the group to international success, billing themselves as creating "The Sweetest...
, and the Boston Pops Orchestra
Boston Pops Orchestra
The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, that specializes in playing light classical and popular music....
. It has been called "the jazzman's Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
". Published in September 1914 by Handy's own company, it later gained such popularity that it inspired the dance step the "Foxtrot
Foxtrot (Dance)
The foxtrot is a smooth progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band music, and the feeling is one of elegance and sophistication...
".
The version with Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s...
and Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
on cornet was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1993. The 1929 version by Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
& His Orchestra (with Henry "Red" Allen) was inducted there in 2008.
History
Handy said he had been inspired by a chance meeting with a woman on the streets of St. Louis distraught over her husband's absence, who lamented, "Ma man's got a heart like a rock cast in de sea", a key line of the song. Details of the story vary but agree on the meeting and the phrase.At the time of his death in 1958, Handy was earning royalties upwards of US$25,000 annually for the song. The original published sheet music is available online at the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
in a searchable database of African American music from Brown University.
Analysis
The form is unusual in that the verses are the now familiar standardJazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
twelve-bar blues in common time
Common Time
"Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...
with three lines of lyrics, the first two lines repeated, but it also has a 16-bar bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
written in the habanera
Habanera (music)
The habanera is a genre of Cuban popular dance music of the 19th century. It is a creolized form which developed from the contradanza. It has a characteristic "Habanera rhythm", and is performed with sung lyrics...
rhythm, popularly called the "Spanish Tinge
Spanish Tinge
The phrase Spanish Tinge is a reference to the belief that a Latin American touch offers a reliable method of spicing the more conventional 4/4 rhythms commonly used in jazz and pop music. The phrase is a quotation from Jelly Roll Morton...
", and identified by Handy as tango Handy's tango-like rhythm is notated as a dotted quarter note, followed by an eighth, and two quarter notes, with no slurs or ties, and is seen in the introduction as well as the sixteen-measure bridge.
While blues became often simple and repetitive in form, "St. Louis Blues" has multiple complementary and contrasting strains
Strain (music)
A strain is a series of musical phrases that create a distinct melody of a piece. A strain is often referred to as a "section" of a musical piece. Often, a strain is repeated for the sake of instilling the melody clearly. This is so in ragtime and marches....
, similar to classic ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
compositions. Handy said in writing "St. Louis Blues" his objective was "to combine ragtime syncopation
Syncopation
In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
with a real melody in the spiritual tradition."
With traditional New Orleans and New Orleans style bands, the tune is one of a handful which includes a set traditional solo. The clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
solo with a distinctive series of rising partials was first recorded by Larry Shields
Larry Shields
Lawrence James "Larry" Shields was an early American dixieland jazz clarinetist.Shields was born into an Irish-American family in Uptown New Orleans, on the same block where jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden lived...
on the 1921 Original Dixieland Jass Band
Original Dixieland Jass Band
The Original Dixieland Jass Band were a New Orleans, Dixieland jazz band that made the first jazz recordings in early 1917. Their "Livery Stable Blues" became the first jazz single ever issued. The group composed and made the first recordings of many jazz standards, the most famous being Tiger Rag...
record. It is not found on any earlier recordings nor published orchestrations of the tune. Shields is often credited with creating this solo; however, alternative claims have been made for other early New Orleans clarinetists, including Emile Barnes
Emile Barnes
Emile Barnes was a New Orleans jazz clarinetist.Barnes studied under Lorenzo Tio Jr., Alphonse Picou, George Baquet, and Big Eye Nelson. Active professionally in New Orleans by 1908, he was long well regarded locally for his bluesy and distinctively individualistic style. He played with the Chris...
.
Performances
Writing about the first time "St Louis Blues" was played (1914), Handy notes that "The one-step and other dances had been done to the tempo of Memphis Blues... When St Louis Blues was written the tango was in vogue. I tricked the dancers by arranging a tango introduction, breaking abruptly into a low-down blues. My eyes swept the floor anxiously, then suddenly I saw lightening strike. The dancers seemed electrified. Something within them came suddenly to life. An instinct that wanted so much to live, to fling its arms to spread joy, took them by the heels."Researcher Guy Marco, in his book Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound in the United States, stated that the first audio recording of "St. Louis Blues" was by Al Bernard
Al Bernard
Alfred A. Bernard was an American vaudeville singer, known as "The Boy From Dixie", who was most popular during the 1910s through early 1930s.-Life:...
in July 1918 on the record company label Aeolian-Vocalion (cat. no. 12148). This is however not true, since Columbia's
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
house band, directed by Charles A. Prince
Charles A. Prince
Charles Adams Prince was an American bandleader, pianist and organist known for conducting the Columbia Orchestra and, later, Prince's Band and Orchestra. He made his first recordings as a pianist in 1891 for the New York Phonograph Co...
, had recorded a released instrumental version already in December 1915 (Columbia A5772). Bernard's version may have been the first US issue to include the lyrics though. However, by then Ciro's Club Coon Orchestra, a group of black American artists appearing in Britain, had already recorded a version including the lyrics in September 1917 (UK Columbia 699).
Since the 1910s, the number has enjoyed great popularity not only as a song but also as an instrumental.
Many of jazz's most well-known artists in history have given renowned performances of the tune. The following is an incomplete list of the hundreds of musicians of renown who recorded "St. Louis Blues", chosen as examples that are early in their careers and in the era of its greatest popularity.
- 1920 – Marion HarrisMarion HarrisMarion Harris was an American popular singer, most successful in the 1920s. She was the first widely known white singer to sing jazz and blues songs....
- 1921 – Original Dixieland Jass BandOriginal Dixieland Jass BandThe Original Dixieland Jass Band were a New Orleans, Dixieland jazz band that made the first jazz recordings in early 1917. Their "Livery Stable Blues" became the first jazz single ever issued. The group composed and made the first recordings of many jazz standards, the most famous being Tiger Rag...
- 1922 – W. C. HandyW. C. HandyWilliam Christopher Handy was a blues composer and musician. He was widely known as the "Father of the Blues"....
- 1925 – Bessie SmithBessie SmithBessie Smith was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s...
, backed by Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
on cornet and Fred Longshaw on harmoniumHarmoniumA harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
. One of the most famous versions. - 1927 – Sylvester WeaverSylvester WeaverSylvester Weaver was an American blues guitar player and pioneer of country blues.-Biography:On October 23, 1923, he recorded in New York City with the blues singer Sara Martin "Longing for Daddy Blues" / "I've Got to Go and Leave My Daddy Behind" and two weeks later as a soloist "Guitar Blues" /...
- 1928 – Al BernardAl BernardAlfred A. Bernard was an American vaudeville singer, known as "The Boy From Dixie", who was most popular during the 1910s through early 1930s.-Life:...
as "John Bennett" (Madison 1642) - 1929 – Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
& His Orchestra with Henry "Red" Allen - 1930 – Rudy ValleeRudy ValléeRudy Vallée was an American singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer.-Early life:Born Hubert Prior Vallée in Island Pond, Vermont, the son of Charles Alphonse and Catherine Lynch Vallée...
, Cab CallowayCab CallowayCabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
, the Mills BrothersMills BrothersThe Mills Brothers, sometimes billed as The Four Mills Brothers, were an American jazz and pop vocal quartet of the 20th century who made more than 2,000 recordings that combined sold more than 50 million copies, and garnered at least three dozen gold records...
, the Boswell SistersBoswell SistersThe Boswell Sisters were a close harmony singing group, consisting of sisters Martha Boswell , Connee Boswell , and Helvetia "Vet" Boswell , noted for intricate harmonies and rhythmic experimentation... - 1933 – The Whiskey Bottle Boys, played on a water bottle xylophone
- 1934 – Paul RobesonPaul RobesonPaul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
recorded it in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on February 20, 1934. It was released by EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
on the His Master's Voice label B 8219. - 1935 – Bob WillsBob WillsJames Robert Wills , better known as Bob Wills, was an American Western Swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western Swing and universally known as the pioneering King of Western Swing.Bob Wills' name will forever be associated with...
- 1939 – Benny GoodmanBenny GoodmanBenjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
- 1940 – Earl HinesEarl HinesEarl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was an American jazz pianist. Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one source, is "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early...
rendition titled "Boogie Woogie On The St. Louis Blues". Hines can be heard saying, "Aw, play it till 1951", the year the original copyright was to expire. - 1943 – Glenn MillerGlenn MillerAlton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
"St. Louis Blues -- March" as played by the U.S. Army Air Force Band, of which Miller was the commander. - 1949 – Art TatumArt TatumArthur "Art" Tatum, Jr. was an American jazz pianist and virtuoso who played with phenomenal facility despite being nearly blind.Tatum is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time...
- 1952 – Chet AtkinsChet AtkinsChester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
on his first recording, Chet Atkins' Gallopin' GuitarChet Atkins' Gallopin' GuitarChet Atkins' Gallopin' Guitar is the title of the first release by American guitarist Chet Atkins on the RCA Victor label . It was available as a 10-inch vinyl record.-History:... - 1953 - Billy Eckstine with Metronome All-Stars: recorded by Roy Eldridge, Kai Winding, John LaPorta, Warne Marsh, Lester Young, Teddy Wilson, Billy Bauer, Eddie Safranski, Terry Gibbs, Max Roach
- 1954 – Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
recorded the song numerous times, including a hard-rocking version on Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. HandyLouis Armstrong Plays W.C. HandyLouis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy is a 1954 studio release by Louis Armstrong and His All Stars, described by Allmusic as "Louis Armstrong's finest record of the 1950s" and "essential music for all serious jazz collections"...
. - 1950s – Moon MullicanMoon MullicanAubrey Wilson Mullican , known as Moon Mullican, was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. However, he also sang and played jazz, rock 'n' roll and the blues...
sang and played the song on the Grand Ol' Opry. - 1956 – The Teen Kings, featuring Roy OrbisonRoy OrbisonRoy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
- "St. Louis Blues" and other songs recorded at KOSA-TV, Odessa, Texas, 1956. - 1957 – Louis PrimaLouis PrimaLouis Prima was a Sicilian American singer, actor, songwriter, and trumpeter. Prima rode the musical trends of his time, starting with his seven-piece New Orleans style jazz band in the 1920s, then successively leading a swing combo in the 1930s, a big band in the 1940s, a Vegas lounge act in the...
recorded the song on the album The Wildest Comes Home!. - 1958 – The release of St. Louis BluesSt. Louis Blues (1958 film)St. Louis Blues is a 1958 film broadly based on the life of W. C. Handy. It starred jazz and blues greats Nat "King" Cole, Pearl Bailey, Cab Calloway, Ella Fitzgerald, Eartha Kitt, and Barney Bigard, as well as gospel singer Mahalia Jackson and actress Ruby Dee...
, a biopic of W.C. Handy, who had died earlier in the year. The star of the film, Nat King ColeNat King ColeNathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, recorded an album of songs from the filmSt. Louis Blues (album)St. Louis Blues is a 1958 album by Nat King Cole, arranged by Nelson Riddle. St. Louis Blues was the soundtrack to the film of the same name that starred Cole.-Track listing:# Overture /"Hesitating Blues" – 3:08...
, and fellow star, Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
incorporated the song into her repertoire. - 1959 – John FaheyJohn Fahey (musician)John Fahey was an American fingerstyle guitarist and composer who pioneered the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo instrument. His style has been greatly influential and has been described as the foundation of American Primitivism, a term borrowed from painting and referring mainly to the...
recorded the song on the album Blind Joe DeathBlind Joe DeathBlind Joe Death is the first album by American fingerstyle guitarist and composer John Fahey. There are three different versions of the album, and the original self-released edition of fewer than 100 copies is extremely rare...
, re-recorded in 1967. - 1964 – Chuck BerryChuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
recorded a version for Chuck Berry in LondonChuck Berry in LondonChuck Berry In London is a Chuck Berry album which was released in 1965 under Chess Records.-Track listing:# "My Little Love Light"# "She Once Was Mine"# "After It's Over"# "I Got a Booking"# "Night Beat"# "His Daughter Caroline"...
. - 1967 – MinaMina (singer)Anna Maria Quaini, Grand Officer , known as Mina, is an Italian pop singer. She was a staple of Italian television variety shows and a dominant figure in Italian pop music from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s known for her three-octave vocal range, the agility of her soprano voice, and her image as an...
sang an orchestra version at Italian TV program Sabato Sera (Saturday night). - 1970 – Jula de PalmaJula de PalmaJula de Palma is an Italian singer.-Biography:She started to work in the early 1950s as a singer in radio with pianist, composer, and showman Lelio Luttazzi...
sang a beatBeat musicBeat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
version of this song in a successful concert recorded on the LP Jula al Sistina. - 1976 – The Flamin' Groovies on Shake Some Action (Chuck Berry's version)
- 1985 – Doc WatsonDoc WatsonArthel Lane "Doc" Watson is an American guitar player, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music. He has won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson's flatpicking skills and knowledge of traditional American music are highly regarded...
recorded the song on the album Pickin' the Blues and has played his version for many years. - 1986 – Hank Williams Jr. recorded the song as part of a medley on Montana CafeMontana CafeMontana Cafe is a studio album by American country music artist Hank Williams, Jr. It was released by Warner Bros. Records in July 1986. "Country State of Mind," "Mind Your Own Business" and "When Something Is Good " were released as singles...
. - 1994 - George Thorogood & the Destroyers performed the song with Johnnie JohnsonJohnnie Johnson (musician)Johnnie Johnson was an American pianist and blues musician. His work with Chuck Berry led to his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.-Career:...
at Mississippi NightsMississippi NightsMississippi Nights was a music club in St. Louis, Missouri that achieved national recognition for the number of big-name acts and performers it hosted....
, which was released on Thorogood's 1995 album Live: Let's Work TogetherLive: Let's Work TogetherLive: Let's Work Together is the second live album by George Thorogood & the Destroyers. It was recorded on December 2-3, 1994 at Mississippi Nights in St. Louis, Missouri and December 5, 1994 at Center Stage in Atlanta, and released in 1995 on the EMI Records label... - 1998 – Stevie WonderStevie WonderStevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
recorded the song on Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
's jazz album Gershwin's WorldGershwin's WorldGershwin's World is the forty-second album by Herbie Hancock.This album featured the songs of George and Ira Gershwin. It features several prominent musicians including Joni Mitchell, Chick Corea, Stevie Wonder, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra....
and won the two Grammys in 1999. - 1999 – Merle HaggardMerle HaggardMerle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
and Asleep at the WheelAsleep at the WheelAsleep at the Wheel is a American country music group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, but based in Austin, Texas. Altogether, they have won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception. In their career, they have released more than twenty studio albums, and have charted more than twenty...
performed "St. Louis Blues" on the Bob Wills tribute album Ride with Bob. - 1999 - Cybill ShepherdCybill ShepherdCybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress, singer and former model. Her best known roles include starring as Jacy in The Last Picture Show, as Betsy in Taxi Driver, as Madeleine Spencer in Psych, as Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting, as Cybill Sheridan on Cybill, and as Phyllis Kroll on The L...
covered the song on the album Songs from the Cybill Show, which accompanied her sitcom CybillCybillCybill is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre, which aired on CBS from January 2, 1995 to July 13, 1998. Starring Cybill Shepherd, the series revolves around Cybill Sheridan, a twice-divorced single mother of two and struggling actress in her 40s, who has never gotten her show...
. - 2001 – Dexter RomweberDexter RomweberJohn Michael Dexter Romweber is an American rockabilly/roots rock musician from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Dex is best known as one-half of the seminal two-piece Flat Duo Jets...
- 2008 – David SanbornDavid SanbornDavid Sanborn is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school...
covered the song from his 2008 release Here & Gone. - 2008 – Jack RoseJack Rose (guitarist)Jack Rose was an American guitarist originally from Virginia and later based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Rose is best known for his solo acoustic guitar work. He was also a member of the noise/drone band Pelt....
on the album Dr. Ragtime & Pals/Self Titled - 2009 – Adam GussowAdam GussowAdam Gussow is a scholar, memoirist, and blues harmonica player.Gussow is currently an associate professor of English and Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi in Oxford...
recorded the song in a YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
performance video. He also has broken the song down and offers it on his website for performing on the harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
"Swinging" of eighth notes on guitar
Sometimes, guitarists will "swing" an eighth note in this song. Swinging is generally done by making the downbeat of the eighth notes slightly longer than the upbeat. This typically gives the song a more "jazzy" and "fun" feel.Films
A number of short and feature films have been entitled St. Louis Blues; see: St. Louis Blues (film)."St. Louis Blues" is played in the 1914 Charles Chaplin film, The Star Boarder
The Star Boarder
The Star Boarder is a 1914 American-made motion picture starring Charlie Chaplin.-Cast:* Charles Chaplin - The Star Boarder* Minta Durfee - Landlady* Edgar Kennedy - Landlady's husband* Gordon Griffith - Their son...
as well as later being sung by Theresa Harris
Theresa Harris
Theresa Harris was an American television and film actress.-Early life and career:Harris was born on New Year's Eve, 1906 in Houston, Texas to Isaiah and Mable Harris, both of whom were former sharecroppers from Louisiana.In 1929, she came out to Hollywood and lent her singing voice to the...
and played several times, including the opening credits, in the 1933 film Baby Face
Baby Face (film)
Baby Face is a 1933 American dramatic film directed by Alfred E. Green, and starring Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent. Based on a story by Darryl F. Zanuck , this sexually-charged, Pre-Code Hollywood film is about an attractive young woman who uses sex to advance her social and financial status...
.
The song is also sung by Marcellite Garner
Marcellite Garner
Marcellite Wall was an American artist and voice actress. She is most remembered as the first regular voice of Minnie Mouse during her time working at Walt Disney Productions and has been partially credited with defining Minnie's personality.-Early life:Garner was born in Redlands, California in...
as Minnie Mouse
Minnie Mouse
Minerva "Minnie" Mouse is an animated character created by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney. The comic strip story "The Gleam" by Merrill De Maris and Floyd Gottfredson first gave her full name as Minerva Mouse. Minnie has since been a recurring alias for her. Minnie is currently voiced by actress Russi...
in the 1931 animated short film, Blue Rhythm.
It is played a number of times in the 1936 film, Banjo on my Knee, by Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
and is sung as a major production number by the Hall Johnson
Hall Johnson
Hall Johnson was one of a number of American composers and arrangers—including Harry T. Burleigh, R. Nathaniel Dett, and Eva Jessye—who elevated the African-American spiritual to an art form, comparable in its musical sophistication to the compositions of European Classical...
Choir as Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
looks on.
As an instrumental, the song is featured in Lewis Milestone
Lewis Milestone
Lewis Milestone was a Russian-American motion picture director. He is known for directing Two Arabian Knights and All Quiet on the Western Front , both of which received Academy Awards for Best Director...
's early talkie, Rain
Rain (1932 film)
Rain is a 1932 South Seas drama film directed by Lewis Milestone with portions filmed at Santa Catalina Island, California. The film stars Joan Crawford as prostitute Sadie Thompson and Walter Huston as a conflicted missionary who wants to reform Sadie, but whose own morals start decaying...
, in which it comes to symbolize the wanton ways of the main character Sadie Thompson, played by Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
.
Other
The St. Louis Blues NHL team is named after the W.C. Handy song, and their theme song is Miller's version of the Handy composition.The title of William Faulkner
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
's short story "That Evening Sun
That Evening Sun
"That Evening Sun" is a short story by the American author William Faulkner, published in 1931 on the collection These 13, which included Faulkner's most anthologized story, "A Rose for Emily". "That Evening Sun" is a dark portrait of white Southerners' indifference to the crippling fears of one of...
" (published 1931) references the famous opening lyrics from "St. Louis Blues".
"About Her" by Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English performer, impresario, self-publicist and manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls...
(from Kill Bill Vol. 2 Original Soundtrack) samples this song – in particular the line, "My man's got a heart... like a rock cast in the sea".
In Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
's existentialist play No Exit
No Exit
No Exit is a 1944 existentialist French play by Jean-Paul Sartre. The original French title is Huis Clos, the French equivalent of the legal term in camera, referring to a private discussion behind closed doors; English translations have also been performed under the titles In Camera, No Way Out...
, Estelle talks about how she and Peter, one of her admirers, used to dance to "St. Louis Blues".
A unique oddity is the relationship of the "St. Louis Blues" and the song "Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee (song)
"Memphis, Tennessee" is a song by rock & roll singer-songwriter Chuck Berry. It is sometimes shortened to "Memphis". In the UK, the song charted at #6 in 1963, at the same time Decca Records issued a cover version in the UK by Dave Berry and the Cruisers, who came from Sheffield, Yorkshire...
" by Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
. The composers of these two songs lived in the other city; W.C. Handy was from Memphis, and Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
was from St. Louis. Yet they both wrote the song most associated with the other's hometown.