But I won't be blue always

May 28, 2022 5:48 PM

T r o u b l e   i n   m i n d

Context: Trouble in Mind is a vaudeville blues song written by jazz pianist Richard M. Jones. Singer Thelma La Vizzo with Jones on piano first recorded it in 1924 and in 1926, Bertha "Chippie" Hill popularized the tune with her recording with Jones and trumpeter Louis Armstrong. The song became an early blues standard, with numerous renditions by a variety of musicians in a variety of styles.

Artists are in the pop-up tooltips links for people on mobile devices:
T - Tuba Skinny, contemporary New Orleans street jazz
r - Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the godmother of rock n roll
o - Bertha "Chippie" Hill's recording that popularized the tune, featuring Louis Armstrong
u - Janis Joplin, your basic white gurl
b - Big Bill Broonzy, acoustic blues guitarist
l - Lightin' Hopkins, another acoustic blues guitarist
e - Roscoe Holcome, the Bluegrass godfather of the high and lonesome sound

i - Georgia White, blues singer
n - Nina Simone, the High Priestess of Soul who ain't got no time for you

M - Muddy Waters, your Hoochie Coochie Man
i - Dinah Washington, Turbulent Queen of the blues
n - "Little" Nora Brown, contemporary Brooklyn banjoist
d - Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, gratefully, mostly, dead

posted by peeedro (13 comments total)

Also - Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, Western swing from 1936
posted by brachiopod at 6:30 PM on May 28, 2022 [3 favorites]

Mark Isham & Marianne Faithfull, from the Alan Rudolph film Trouble in Mind.
posted by doubtfulpalace at 6:57 PM on May 28, 2022

i'm going to lay my head on a southern railroad tie, let that 2:19 pacify my mind...
posted by danjo at 7:08 PM on May 28, 2022 [1 favorite]

Also - Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, Western swing from 1936

Yep, it was a standard, so there were so many dead-eyed, soulless country, western and swing recordings from white artists who should have put their own spin on it.
posted by peeedro at 7:57 PM on May 28, 2022 [1 favorite]

Freddie King

Sam Cooke

Big Walter Horton
posted by camneely at 8:04 PM on May 28, 2022 [2 favorites]

Snooks Eaglin

Aretha Franklin


(This is one of my all-time favorite songs, by the way)
posted by thivaia at 8:41 PM on May 28, 2022 [1 favorite]

Larkin Poe

Otis Spann & Lonnie Johnson

Some english guys

Johnny Shines Snooky Pryor

Hot Tuna

DIY/DIY/DIY/DIY
posted by mbo at 2:05 AM on May 29, 2022 [2 favorites]

jerry lee lewis
posted by pyramid termite at 2:58 AM on May 29, 2022 [2 favorites]

Thanks for this. It was perfect for an early Sunday morning.
posted by james33 at 4:57 AM on May 29, 2022

Also the title of a very stylized Alan Rudolph film.
posted by adamrice at 7:16 AM on May 29, 2022 [1 favorite]

That Big Walter Horton version is my favorite by far. Carey Bell's harmonica on that is spine-tingling.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:32 AM on May 29, 2022

peeedro, this is wonderful. Thanks so much!
posted by allthinky at 9:40 AM on May 29, 2022 [1 favorite]

If I could add to the mix Bukka White's "Sleepy Man Blues."

https://g.co/kgs/bjch4Z

My understanding is that the core lyrical content in Trouble in Mind goes back even further, most likely antebellum. But that understanding comes from someone who read that in a book or CD liner notes, so I can't give a cite here.

Thanks for this, this song is an all timer. FWIW I quite like the Bob Wills version.
posted by kensington314 at 11:34 AM on May 29, 2022 [2 favorites]