Stomp Off 1001 - Dickbaker.org

The copyright isLucy's sextette: a ragtime travesty on thesextette from Lucia by Harry L. Alford; orch.4to. © Mar. 3, 1913; 2 c. Mar. 8, 1913; E305269: Alford-Colby co., Chicago.Conway’s Band recorded it for Victor in July1916, Victor 18219, with subtitle “A RagtimeTravesty on the ‘Sextette from Lucia.’”OK, we’ve got HRO agreeing with copyrightand that old record, so I’ll just presume thatPRO simplified the title.Lull at Dawn, A (Duke Ellington)Black Eagle JB 1346Credit on CD was Barney Bigard.Rec. Bigard & Orch (small group of Ellingtonsidemen), 11/11/40, Bluebird B-10981, HMV B-9185 et al.Composition list in Ellington bio claims it forDuke, date 1940, but that’s supposedly thecopyright date, and it’s just not in the books1940-42. BUT both the Bluebird and HMVlabels credit Ellington, so it’s his!Lullaby of the Leaves(Bernice Petkere–Joe Young)Tom Stuip & Delirium Tremolo 1433Confirmed by 3/22/32 copyright reg., w. JY/m.BP.Lulu White (Brun Campbell)Elite Syncopators 1286This could be tough, as Campbell neverpublished anything. “rec. by Campbell in the1950s,” say the notes (but Campbell died in1952). I used to have it on The Professors LPfrom Euphonic, now have it on a reissue ofthat stuff from Delmark, but no hard evidence.Wikipedia article on BC confirms it; PerfesserBill says he wrote it sometime 1900-08. We’lljust settle for that.Richard Egan (see note at Barber Shop Rag):Lulu White - just like Barber Shop andCampbell Cakewalk: first released inrecorded form on The Professors Vol. 1 butnot published until 1993.Lulu’s Back in Town(Harry Warren–Al Dubin)Don Ewell 1077Paris Washboard 1261Confirmed by 5/24/35 copyright reg. andsheet music reproduced in two folios; w.AD/m. HW.Lyin’ (Buck Evans)Brahmin Bellhops 1305See the note about Evans at Blue Bungalow.Turns out that all 19 tracks on 1305 werewritten by Evans, who played piano on thesession.MMa Curly-Headed Baby(George H. Clutsam)Grand Dominion JB 1330On record as My Curly-Headed Baby.Not in Rust or S&P. Liner notes say rec. byPaul Robeson in London in 1932 and was abig hit in Britain, but never issued in U.S.,probably because of Robeson’s politics. Notin 1932 copyright book, but no fewer than 19other songs by Clutsam are there, filed as bothG. H. Clutsam and George H., with the lattermore frequent. And aha, here’s our song in1933:Ma curly-headed babby; pt.-song or quartet,w and m G. H. Clutsam, arr. William Stickles;female voices. © Aug. 9, 1933: E pub.37834; Chappell & co., ltd.Babby? Not just a typo in this spot, it was inthree other places in the book spelled thesame way.AND a Robeson record was labeled the sameway: Columbia MM 732, Paul Robeson withthe Columbia Concert Ochestra—but this is a1948 reissue, not the 1932 original, accordingto the guy who placed it on YouTube. ButRobeson doesn’t sing it with any dialect, just“my curly-headed baby” with standardpronunciation.But here’s the label of a different release on78: HMV B.4309, and it’s Ma Curly-HeadedBaby. But a presumably later Philips 45 saidBabby. But aha again: at a Robesondiscography site, I learned that the HMV labelwas indeed the original Robeson recording in1932.Oops, the Library of Congress has two copiesof the original sheet music, athttp://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/S?ammem/aasm:@field(TITLE+@od1(Ma+curly-headed+babby+))a “professional” copy (not to be sold) and acommercial copy. Pro copy dated 1897 byGeorge H. Clutsam; commercial copy dated1900 by G. H. Clutsam. It’s subtitled“Plantation Song” and is written in dialect:We’ll sit below de sky and sing a song to demoon.Oh, ma babby ma little nigger babby,yo’ daddy’s in de cotton field,a-workin’ for de coon.OK, Robeson sings different, unoffense lyricsfor the verse:Oh, my baby, my curly headed baby,We'll sit below the sky and sing a song tothe moon.Oh, my baby, my curly headed baby,Your daddy's in the cotton fields a-workin'late and soon.Then sings the original lyrics for the chorus,although without the dialect pronunciation:So lulla lulla lulla lulla bye byeDoes you want the moon to play withOr the stars to run away with?They'll come if you don't cry.So lulla lulla lulla lulla bye byeIn your mammy's arms be creepin'And soon you'll be a-sleepin'Lulla lulla lulla lulla lulla bye.Except he sings do you want (not does) andmother’s not mammy’s.Now that I know how old it is, I looked in the1897 copyright book and found it as “Macurly-headed baby”!This is a conundrum: Almost all thereferences to it I could find observedClutsam’s “Ma” instead of “My” (and so shallwe), and the majority rendered it “Baby” not“Babby.” The sheet music is normally ahands-down authority, and there’s no doubtit’s Babby there. It got into Americancopyright book in 1897 as Baby, but wasreregistered in 1933 (presumably because ofthe Robeson recording) as Babby. The firstRobeson record seems to have been Baby,but subsequent releases reverted to Babby. Iguess we’ll stick with Baby with our fingerscrossed behind our backs.Ma Rag Time Baby (Fred S. Stone)Ophelia Ragtime Orchestra 1108Imperial Serenaders 1351River Raisin Ragtime Revue 1417ASM, 1898, Whitney-Warner.Ma Ragtime Queen (John F. Barth)Elite Syncopators 12861907 says Parrish, but not in copyright books1906-08. Aha, actually, from 1902. Foundcover (pub. Rogers & Eastman, Cleveland)and then copyright in 1902 book..Mabel (from Coral Gables)(Buck Evans)Brahmin Bellhops 1305See the note about Evans at Blue Bungalow.Turns out that all 19 tracks on 1305 werewritten by Evans, who played piano on thesession.Mabel’s Dream (Ike Smith)New Yankee Rhythm Kings 1015South Frisco JB 1035Black Bottom Stompers (England) 1045Acker Bilk & Ken Colyer 1119