Nigger Blues, composto dall'attore blackface Le Roy "Lasses" White (1888–1949), è uno dei primi brani musicali blues pubblicati.Gracyk, Popular American Recording Pioneers, p. 43. Registrata da White sotto copyright nel 1912, fu dapprima intitolata Negro Blues, ma per ragioni sconosciute quando White la pubblicò nel 1913, il titolo venne cambiato.Monge, "New Songs of Blind Lemon Jefferson", p. 19: "In fact, in addition to its textual relationship in the first stanza to 'Michigan Water Blues,' Jefferson’s 'Light House Blues' is related textually and musically to an even older song, 'The Negro Blues'/'Nigger Blues' by Leroy 'Lasses' White of Dallas. White registered his tune with a set of fifteen three-line stanzas for copyright on November 9, 1912, under the former title. In 1913, a shortened version of the piece was published under the latter infelicitous title, containing only six stanzas, five of which are close variants of stanzas in the longer version and one of which is new."
In aggiunta alla sua importanza storica,Oliver, The New Grove gospel, Blues and Jazz, p. 49: "Handy's The Memphis Blues was published in 1915 [sic], but Leroy 'Lasses' White, a blackface entertainer, who composed Nigger Blues, 1912 (published 1913) was one of the first to write in the 12-bar form; Nigger Blues è stato il primo brano musicale i cui testi erano strutturati in quella che sarebbe diventata la forma blues standard usata dagli artisti di vaudeville degli anni '20 e che si trova nelle canzoni folk blues raccolte e registrate negli anni '30Carlin, Country Music, p. 224: "After performing in other companies, White returned to Dallas, where he published "Nigger Blues," a stringing together of standard blues verses. (It opens with the oft-repeated, "The blues aint nothin' ... but a good man feelin' bad.")":
Prime incisioni DataArtistaEtichettaluglio 1916 George O'Connor Columbia A-2064Rust, The Columbia Master Book Discography, p. 184.agosto 1916 Prince's Band Columbia A-2064Rust, The Columbia Master Book Discography, p. 138.ottobre 1916 Victor Military Band Victor 181741919 Al Bernard Edison Blue Amberol 3766Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project, Nigger Blues.
Note
Bibliografia Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project. "Nigger Blues". University of California, Santa Barbara. Carlin, Richard. Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary. New York: Routledge (2002) Gracyk, Tim. Popular American Recording Pioneers: 1895-1925. New York: Routledge (2000). Monge, Luigi; David Evans. "New Songs of Blind Lemon Jefferson". Journal of Texas Music History 3:2 (2003). Oliver, Paul; Harrison, Max; Bolcom, William. The New Grove Gospel, Blues and Jazz: With Spirituals and Ragtime. New York: W. W. Norton & Company (1997). Rust, Brian. The Columbia Master Book Discography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press (1999) White, Le Roy "Lasses". "Nigger Blues" (sheet music). Dallas, TX: Bush & Gerts (1913).
Collegamenti esterni
"Nigger Blues"; E. Azalia Hackley Collection , Detroit Public Library.