Driftin' Blues
"Driftin' Blues" | |
---|---|
Single by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers | |
B-side | "Groovy" |
Released | December 1945 |
Recorded | Los Angeles, September 14, 1945 |
Genre | Blues |
Length | 3:12 |
Label | Philo |
Songwriter(s) |
|
"Driftin' Blues" or "Drifting Blues" is a
Background
In an interview, Brown recalled that "Driftin' Blues" was "the first song that I wrote down and tried to sing".[2] Music critic Dave Marsh noted that Brown wrote it while still in high school.[3] Rhythm-and-blues singer Johnny Otis, who was in Bardu Ali's band with Brown in Los Angeles in the early 1940s, recalled that Brown was reluctant to record the song.[4] Brown's inspiration for the tune was a gospel song his grandmother had taught him and he felt uneasy about mixing gospel and blues; Otis and others helped convince him to go ahead with it.[4] An earlier blues song, "Walking and Drifting Blues", recorded by Bumble Bee Slim in 1935, includes the lyric "Now I'm driftin', like a ship without a sail". The music writer Bryan Grove noted that Brown's original working title for the song was the same and that, although he was influenced by Slim's lyrics, the songs are otherwise dissimilar.[5]
After his stint with Ali, Brown joined the guitarist Johnny Moore and the bassist Eddie Williams. As Johnny Moore's Three Blazers, they were modeled on the
Recording and release
"Driftin' Blues" was a feature of Johnny Moore's Three Blazers' club repertoire. Their performances of the song were well received and led to a recording contract with
The song follows a
Well, I'm drifting and I'm drifting, like a ship out on the sea
Drifting and I'm drifting, like a ship out on the sea
Well, I ain't got nobody, in this world to care for me
The song is credited to Brown, Moore, and Williams, although several commentaries discuss it as Brown's composition.[5] According to Brown, Moore's and Williams' names were added without his consent and, being unfamiliar with copyright law, he did not challenge it.[17] He also claimed that the group signed away their financial interest in the song for $800 and a vague promise of a share in future revenues by Philo Records.[18] Despite having one of the biggest R&B hits of the 1940s, the group never received any additional compensation.[16] Brown called it "the biggest mistake we ever made in our lives".[18]
"Driftin' Blues" became a hit, spending twenty-three weeks on the Billboard Most-Played Juke Box Race Records chart.[19] The song reached number two and "emerged [as] one of the top selling black records in 1945 and 1946".[9] The song is included on numerous Brown compilation albums, such as the Philo–Aladdin compilations The Complete Aladdin Recordings of Charles Brown and Driftin' Blues: The Best of Charles Brown.[20] It is also included on many collections by various artists, such as the box sets Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: A Musical Journey and The Blues: A Smithsonian Collection of Classic Blues Singers.[20]
Recognition and legacy
"Driftin' Blues" was inducted into Blues Hall of Fame in 1989 in the category "Classics of Blues Recording", which noted that it was "one of the records that helped define the burgeoning postwar West Coast style of smooth 'lounge blues'".
The song became a blues standard, and renditions have been performed and recorded by numerous artists.[23] Some follow the original arrangement, while others interpret it differently.[5] As early as 1946, a young Ray Charles played it regularly.[24] He recalled, "Charles Brown was a powerful influence on me in the early part of my career, especially when I was struggling down in Florida. I made many a dollar doing my imitation of his 'Drifting Blues'. That was a hell of a number".[25] "Driftin' Blues" entered the charts again in 1968, when
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c Blues Foundation (November 10, 2016). "1989 Hall of Fame Inductees: Drifting Blues — Johnny Moore's Three Blazers (Charles Brown, vocal) (Philo, 1945)". The Blues Foundation. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
- ^ Hannusch 1992, p. 4.
- ^ Marsh 2004, p. 108.
- ^ a b Otis 1993, p. 42.
- ^ a b c Grove 2006, p. 283.
- ^ Yanow 2002, p. 328.
- ^ Sidran 1995, pp. 355–356.
- ^ Cogdell Dje Dje & Meadows 1998, p. 225.
- ^ a b Hannusch 1992, p. 3.
- ^ a b Otis 1993, p. 43.
- ^ Otis 1993, pp. 43–44.
- ^ Hannusch 1992, p. 2.
- ^ Marsh 2004, p. 107.
- ^
"Drifting Blues by Charles Brown". Musicnotes.com. Alfred Publishing. 16 January 2012. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ a b Sidran 1995, p. 355.
- ^ a b Deffaa 1996, p. 112.
- ^ Deffaa 1996, p. 116.
- ^ a b Govenar 2008, p. 436.
- ^ Whitburn 1988, p. 299.
- ^ a b c "Charles Brown: Driftin' Blues – Appears On". AllMusic. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
- ^ "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 1995. Archived from the original on May 2, 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
- ^ Danchin 2001, p. 298.
- ^ Herzhaft 1992, p. 445.
- ^ Charles & Ritz 2003.
- ^ Charles & Ritz 2003, eBook.
- ^ a b Whitburn 1988, p. 26.
References
- ISBN 978-0-306-81335-1.
- Cogdell Dje Dje, Jacqueline; Meadows, Eddie S. (1998). California Soul: Music of African Americans in the West. Oakland, California: ISBN 978-0-520-20628-1.
- Danchin, Sebastian (2001). Earl Hooker: Blues Master. Jackson, Mississippi: ISBN 978-1-57806-307-9.
- ISBN 978-0306809194.
- Govenar, Alan B. (2008). Texas Blues: The Rise of a Contemporary Sound. College Station, Texas: ISBN 978-1585446056.
- Grove, Bryan (2006). "Drifting Blues". In Komara, Edward (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Blues. New York City: ISBN 978-0-415-92699-7.
- Hannusch, Jeff (1992). Driftin' Blues: The Best of Charles Brown (Album notes). Charles Brown. Hollywood, California: Aladdin Records. CDP-7-97989-2.
- Herzhaft, Gerard (1992). "Driftin' Blues". Encyclopedia of the Blues. Fayetteville, Arkansas: ISBN 1-55728-252-8.
- ISBN 0-87930-424-3.
- ISBN 978-0306806131.
- ISBN 0-89820-068-7.
- ISBN 978-1617744761.
- Otis, Johnny (1993). Upside your head!: rhythm and blues on Central Avenue. Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England. ISBN 978-0-8195-6287-6.