Bill Wyman's Blues Odyssey A Journey to Music's Heart & Soul

WARTIME BLUES By the end of 1941, the world war that had been raging in Europe for over two years finally, and officially, involved the American people. Ironically, the onset of war allowed the American people to escape from the persistent grip of the Depression, generating an economic boom that sparked significant change at just about every level of society. As industry expanded in the North, as well as in the West, there was a rapid upturn in the fortunes of both poor black and white people. The expansion of industrial output required people, and a new migration began -- a migration not to an uncertain future, but to the guarantee of work. Changes that meant that black Americans began to experience accelerated progress toward a more equal society; although the situation was still a long way from where it needed to be. The war also marked a sea change in the music industry. Entertainment had to give precedence to the nation''s need for machinery, raw materials, and military manpower. But music and entertainment did not stop, and records continued to be manufactured and to sell. As if to prove that the war was not going to get in the way of the music business, the music trade magazine Billboard launched its first chart, exclusively catering for black music. Called the "The Harlem Hit Parade," it was based on the sales of records at six New York record stores, which included Harlem De Luxe Music Store and Frank''s Melody Music. The first song to top the chart, of just 10 records, was "Take It And Git" by Andy Kirk and his Clouds of Joy. Kirk, a 44-year-old Kentuckian, and his 12-piece swing band from Kansas City had been playing together, in one form or another, since 1929; and by 1935 Mary Lou Williams, a gifted pianist, was a featured artist. Like many other swing bands they had blues influences within their sound, as well as boogie woogie. In 1942, Kirk issued "Boogie Woogie Cocktail," a showcase for Mary Lou''s swinging left hand. BIG BAND SWING Looking back at the period immediately before World War II, the tendency is to think of little else but the big bands, an era when swing was the thing. Just weeks before Pearl Harbor, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra had become the first band to be awarded a "Certified Gold Record," when "Chattanooga Choo Choo" sold over a million copies. Miller and his orchestra, like many of the most popular blues artists of the prewar period, recorded for the Bluebird label. From the second half of the 1930s big bands were all the rage in the US and Britain. One of the first big hits of the big band era and a million seller, was Boogie Woogie," first recorded in 1928 by Clarence "Pinetop" Smith. Tommy Dorsey was quick off the mark to capitalize on the craze for boogie woogie that was sweeping the nation in the wake of the From Spirituals To Swing concerts, which was boosted by the success of the boogie pianists at New York''s Cafe Society. Dorsey''s recording had staying power, as it was reissued in 1943,1944, and 1945 and sold well each time. Boogie woogie was not entirely confined to big bands, either, as one of the best-selling records of 1941 was the Andrews Sisters'' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." Neither was it just boogie woogie that had struck a chord with the big bands. Many of them, along with their singers, recorded blues songs, or in some cases pseudo-blues material. In earlier years, the word "rag" had been inserted into the title of a song to make it fashionable; now the same thing happened with the blues. As early as 1935 the Boswell Sisters recorded "St. Louis Blues" (a year earlier, the Boswells recorded the first ever song called "Rock And Roll," even if it actually did neither)."St. Louis Blues" was very much a big band favorite, as Cab Calloway recorded it in 1930, The Mills Brothers in 1932, Benny Goodman in 1936, and Guy Lombardo in 1939. Earl Hines, who accompanied a number of blues singers in the 1920s, covered all the bases by recording "Boogie Woogie On St. Louis Blues." Other artisWyman, Bill is the author of 'Bill Wyman's Blues Odyssey A Journey to Music's Heart & Soul', published 2001 under ISBN 9780789480460 and ISBN 0789480468.