Your favorite music from 1931

'Lazy River' - Hoagy Carmichael and his orchestra


https://www.discogs.com/Hoagy-Carmichael-And-His-Orchestra-Lazy-River-Just-Forget/release/11230460

 

'Sloppy Drunk Blues' - Lucille Bogan aka Bessie Jackson


https://www.discogs.com/Bessie-Jackson-Sloppy-Drunk-Blues-Alley-Boogie/release/13797668

 

Salty Dog Sam; aka (Crying) Sam Collins


'New Salty Dog'
https://www.discogs.com/Salty-Dog-Sam-Slow-Mama-Slow-New-Salty-Dog/master/1595597

 

'Guilty' - Ruth Etting


https://www.discogs.com/Ruth-Etting-Guilty-A-Faded-Summer-Love/release/9712583
Cover versions of Guilty written by Richard A. Whiting, Harry Akst, Gus Kahn | SecondHandSongs

 

"Gitfiddle Jim" aka Kokomo Arnold


78 Record: "Gitfiddle Jim" - Paddlin' Blues (1931)
Illustrated Kokomo Arnold discography
Cover versions of Paddlin' Madelin' Home written by Harry M. Woods | SecondHandSongs

 

'Wake Up, Sinners' - Lloyd Smith and his Gut Bucketeers


78 Record: Lloyd Smith And His Gut Bucketeers - Wake Up Sinners (1931)

 

'Just a Gigolo'


https://www.discogs.com/Ted-Lewis-And-His-Band-Just-A-Gigolo-Headin-For-Better-Times/release/4841307
one of a number of 1931 versions
Cover versions of Just a Gigolo written by Irving Caesar | SecondHandSongs

 

Victoria Spivey


https://www.discogs.com/Victoria-Spivey-Nebraska-Blues-He-Wants-Too-Much/release/13990991

 

'Way down in jail on my knees' - David Miller, "The Blind Soldier"


variation on 'Lonesome Road Blues' / 'Going down the road, feeling bad'
Cover versions of Lonesome Road Blues written by [Traditional] | SecondHandSongs
Davey Miller - Wikipedia

 

'Mother called her child to her dying bed' - Lil McClintock


Sow Good Seeds / Mother Called Her Child to Her Dying Bed by Lil McClintock - RYM/Sonemic
(Lil was probably short for Little)
Lil McClintock worked to sow the seeds of love in his blues music

 

Gid Tanner and his Skillet Lickers with Riley Puckett and Clayton McMichen


78 Record: Gid Tanner And His Skillet-Lickers With Riley Puckett And Clayton McMichen - Bully Of The Town No. 2 (1931)
returning to 'Bully of the Town' which they had first recorded in 1926
Cover versions of The Bully written by [Traditional] | SecondHandSongs

 

the crowd singing "take me out to the ball game" during the St. Louis Cardinals win over the Philly Athletics in the '31 World Series.

i don't have a recording of it. you just had to be there.

buy me some peanuts and cracker jack. i don't care if i never get back.

 

'New Birmingham Jail' - Jimmie Tarlton


78 Record: Jimmie Tarlton - New Birmingham Jail (1931)
Tarlton had previously recorded 'Birmingham Jail' with Tom Darby in 1927.

 

'The House Carpenter' - Clarence (Tom) Ashley


78 Record: Clarence Ashley - Old John Hardy (1931)
Cover versions of The Daemon Lover / The House Carpenter written by [Traditional] | SecondHandSongs

 

'Jackson Stomp' - Mississippi Mud Steppers


with (Papa) Charlie McCoy - mandolin
https://www.discogs.com/Mississippi-Mud-Steppers-Jackson-Stomp-Alma-Waltz/release/9432623
aka 'Cow Cow Blues'
Cover versions of Cow Cow Blues written by Cow Cow Davenport | SecondHandSongs
Papa Charlie McCoy - Wikipedia

 

"Yum Yum Blues" by the Georgia Wildcats, recorded 26 October 1931.



Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers broke up in 1931 during the Great Depression, with Clayton McMichin and guitarist Slim Bryant forming the Georgia Wildcats. Guitarist Riley Puckett played scattered gigs with them. From what I know from family correspondence, it appears that McMichin and whatever makeshift group he had, including the more established Georgia Wildcats, worked up and down the Cincinnati-Chattanooga Railroad during 1930-1932. They traveled by car but the railroad was putting down new ties in 1930, and paying the men in cash. These workers needed entertainment. One of my relatives worked on the railroad. That's how he ended up going to Atlanta to record with them in 1930. Some of the sides were recorded with Bascom Lamar Lunsford.

Another relative, a great-uncle, saw the Georgia Wildcats twice in February 1932.

 

Delmore Brothers (Alton and Rabon)


their first record
78 Record: Delmore Brothers - Got The Kansas City Blues (1931)
THE DELMORE BROTHERS - True US discography part 1

 

'Old and Only in the Way' - Charlie Poole with the North Carolina Ramblers


issued May, 1931; the month that Charlie died, aged 39
78 Record: Charlie Poole With The North Carolina Ramblers - Took My Gal A-Walking (1931)

 

the Memphis Sheiks; aka Memphis Jug Band


78 Record: Memphis Sheiks - He's In The Jail House Now (1931)
Illustrated Memphis Jug Band [& associates] discography
Cover versions of In the Jailhouse Now written by [Traditional] | SecondHandSongs

 

Cab Calloway and his orchestra - "Minnie the Moocher"
Apparently, the original, 1931 version.

 

Varèse’s Ionization, though I don’t have a favorite specific recording of it

 

The Mills Brothers


Mills Brothers – Nobody's Sweetheart / Tiger Rag (1931, Shellac)
Cover versions of Nobody's Sweetheart written by Ernie Erdman, Gus Kahn, Billy Meyers, Elmer Schoebel | SecondHandSongs

 

The Boswell Sisters



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iafM9IN3-kY&ab_channel=AadJuijnAadJuijn
The Boswell Sisters – Roll On, Mississippi, Roll On / Shout, Sister, Shout! (1931, Shellac)
Cover versions of Roll On, Mississippi Roll On written by Dave Ringle, James McCaffrey, Eugene West | SecondHandSongs
Cover versions of Shout, Sister, Shout written by Tim Brymn, Alex Hill [US1], Clarence Williams [US1] | SecondHandSongs

 

'Love Letters in the Sand'


Helen Rowland -vocal
Majestic Dance Orchestra – Now That You're Gone / Love Letters In The Sand (1931, Shellac)
the first of several 1931 versions
Cover versions of Love Letters in the Sand written by J. Fred Coots, Nick Kenny, Charles Kenny | SecondHandSongs

 

'I'm left with the blues in my heart' - King Carter and his Royal Orchestra (aka the Mills Blue Rhythm Band)


Dick Robertson - vocal
King Carter And His Royal Orchestra - I'm Left With The Blues In My Heart / Minnie, The Moocher
Cover versions of Blues in My Heart written by Benny Carter, Irving Mills | SecondHandSongs
Mills Blue Rhythm Band - Wikipedia