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Hokum Blues & Rags, Complete Recorded Works (1929-1930s) by Various Artists

Label: Document Records.
Release Date: November 30, 1995.
Recording Time: 69 minutes.
Release Info: Studio Recording.
Recording Date: 1929 - 1930s.

Styles: Hokum Blues, Ragtime, Early Jazz.

"It's Tight Like That" by Georgia Tom Dorsey and Tampa Red, was such a hit in the late 1920s that many blues performers recorded very similar songs, often using the same chord changes and melody. The double entendre lyrics always had similar plots dealing with sex and occasionally drugs, and the music, called "hokum," did not have much room to develop. But it is remarkable how many performers explored that music for a few years. Rufus and Ben Quillian, sometimes known as the Blue Harmony Boys, recorded 14 titles during 1929-1931 including such songs as "Keep It Clean," "Working It Slow," "It's Dirty But Good," and "Workin' It Fast." Those four numbers are essentially the same song as "It's Tight Like That" with different singalong lines. Rufus often played effective piano and there was usually a guitarist who was sometimes James McCrary who sang along with the Quillian Brothers. The 14 performances are joined by a pair of duets by McCrary and pianist Quillian on Hokum, Blues and Rags. Also included are the only two selections by singer-ukulele player Joe Linthecome, the two-part "Pratt and George Blues" by an unknown vocal duet (the music is from a test pressing) and two excellent instrumentals from the two-guitar-and-mandolin trio the Three Stripped Gears. None of this music had much of a chance to survive the early years of the Depression but at least the surviving performances can still be enjoyed today. - Review by Scott Yanow.

Credits: Blue Harmony Boys - primary artist; Joe Linthecome - primary artist; James McCrary - primary artist; Pratt & George - primary artist; Rufus and Ben Quillian - performer, primary artist; Three Stripped Gears - primary artist.

Tracks: 1) Pretty Mama Blues - Joe Linthecome (as Joe Joe); 2) Humming Blues - Joe Linthecome (as Joe Joe); 3) Sweet Miss Stella Blues - Blue Harmony Boys; 4) Jerking The Load - Blue Harmony Boys; 5) Take It Out Too Deep - Blue Harmony Boys; 6) Ragged But Right - Blue Harmony Boys; 7) All In Down And Out - Blue Harmony Boys; 8) Good Feeling Blues - Blue Harmony Boys; 9) Keep It Clean - Rufus & Ben Quillian; 10) Good Right On - Rufus & Ben Quillian; 11) Working It Slow - Rufus & Ben Quillian; 12) I Got Everything - Rufus & Ben Quillian; 13) Satisfaction Blues - Rufus & Ben Quillian; 14) It's Dirty But Good - Rufus & Ben Quillian; 15) Holy Roll - Rufus & Ben Quillian with James McCrary; 16) Workin' It Fast - Rufus & Ben Quillian with James McCrary; 17) Shove It Up In There - James McCrary; 18) Loose Me From This Woman - James McCrary; 19) Pratt And George Blues, Part 1 - Pratt And George; 20) Pratt And George Blues, Part 2 - Pratt And George; 21) 1931 Depression Blues - The Three Stripped Gears; 22) Black Bottom Strut - The Three Stripped Gears.