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The Depression Years 1


A number of significant events in the Depression years affected the quantity and type of blues music performed and recorded, with notable effects on the evolution of the genre. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the ensuing Depression significantly reduced the activities of the record industry. As a result, companies focused on recording highly successful and famous blues singers, such as Leroy Carr from Indianapolis. A pianist with a soft voice, Carr brought a new, poetic approach to the blues and enjoyed significant success with his recordings of "How Long, How Long Blues" (1928) and "Blues Before Sunrise" (1934). His change in approach may have contributed to the demise of the Classic Blues, but it was the death of Bessie Smith that brought that tradition to a close. For a period, there were comparatively few women singers who recorded extensively. The few exceptions included Ida Cox and Lucille Bogan (who also recorded as Bessie Jackson). A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Bogan had a strong voice and a repertoire that included somewhat cleaned-up versions of bawdy songs, such as "Shave ’Em Dry"   (1935).

Memphis Minnie (Douglas) was exceptional among the women singers who continued to record in the 1930s. An accomplished guitarist herself, she teamed with another guitarist, Kansas Joe McCoy, with whom she sang and performed many duets, such as "What's the Matter With the Mill?" (1930). It was a pattern that proved very popular, as were her later partnerships with Casey Bill Weldon and Little Son Joe (Lawlers). Other women singers of note who recorded extensively in the 1930s were Victoria Spivey from Texas and her sister, "Sweet Pease" Spivey. Unfortunately, most of the women who recorded at the time did not play an instrument. A notable exception was Georgia White, an able pianist even though she did not play on many of her records. Accompanied by Richard M. Jones on "Careless Love"   (1937) and the versatile Lonnie Johnson, her popularity with record companies and listeners did not diminish.

Portrait (1940) on Minnie

Portrait (1940) on Minnie's grave marker

Logo of Decca Records

Logo of Decca Records

Other changes were taking place in the blues, mainly through the advent of the Decca company, which sought and found new voices and artists. The dazzling guitarist Kokomo Arnold, who played his instrument flat on his lap, had close to eighty units issued by Decca, beginning with his "Milk Cow Blues" (1934). Among Decca's favored singers was William Bunch, who recorded as Peetie Wheatstraw and used the nickname "The Devil's Son-in-Law." His blues, especially those made during the late 1930s, were rich in content and reflected many aspects of African American life of the period. They signified a new emphasis on content related to emotions, aspirations, crime and punishment, fortune and misfortune, unemployment, and employment (listen to Wheatstraw's "Working on the Project" [1937]). Leroy Carr was also an early exponent of this approach. Other figures soon followed. These include Walter Davis, Lee Brown, Bill Gaither ("Leroy's Buddy"), and Bumble Bee Slim ( "Policy Dream Blues" (1935) about the numbers racket). The new approach to the blues often blended the traditional and the new, as was the case with the high-voiced Texas singer Joe Pullum. Listen to "Hard Working Man Blues" (1935) performed with pianist Andy Boy to hear an excellent example of this mix.

The St. Louis Blues

I got them Saint Louis Blues
just as blue as I can be
He's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea
Or else he wouldn't have gone so far from me

Bo-Weavil Blues

Hey, bo-weavil, don't sing the blues no more
Hey, hey, bo-weavil, don't sing the blues no more
Bo-weavil's here, bo-weavil's everywhere you go