35 - Leadbelly Adapts Boogie Woogie Bass Line from Piano to Guitar

History of Boogie Woogie — Thu, Mar 26, 2009

Leadbelly Adapts Boogie Woogie Bass Line from Piano to Guitar

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34 - The First Recording to Use a 12-Bar Blues Harmonic Progression with a Boogie Woogie Bass Figure

History of Boogie Woogie — Thu, Mar 26, 2009

The First Recording to Use a 12-Bar Blues Harmonic Progression with a Boogie Woogie Bass Figure

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33 - Jimmy Blythe’s “Chicago Stomp:”  The First “Completely Boogie Woogie” Recording

History of Boogie Woogie — Fri, Mar 06, 2009

Unlike other early recordings of Boogie Woogie, Blythe’s “Chicago Stomp” is significant in that, after its short introduction, it maintains a Boogie Woogie feel and pulse to the end with no intermittant use of the 2/4 oom-pah pulse heard throughout most Ragtime music.

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32 - Black Swan Records - The Record Label that Recorded Fletcher Henderson’s “Chime Blues”

History of Boogie Woogie — Thu, Mar 05, 2009

Black Swan Records was the first back-owned record label.  The label was founded by Harry Pace, who was from Georgia.  Before moving to New York to start his record label, Pace had run a music publishing company in Memphis with W. C. Handy.

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31 - Fletcher Henderson’s “Chime Blues” is an Early Boogie Woogie Recording

History of Boogie Woogie — Mon, Jan 19, 2009

“In early 1923, Fletcher Henderson recorded a pair of piano solos for Black Swan, which were issued on their rare 2100 series.  Chime Blues features a walking bass, and although Henderson was never known as a boogie-woogie pianist, this must be one of the earliest such solos on record (with the possible exception of the mysterious Clay Custer’s [A.K.A. George Thomas] ‘The Rocks’ on OKeh 4809, recorded about this same time).  It would be interesting to know where Henderson picked up this style!”

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30 - The Earliest Sound Recordings Containing Boogie Woogie Bass Figures

History of Boogie Woogie — Fri, Jan 16, 2009

The Earliest Sound Recordings Containing Boogie Woogie Bass Figures

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29 - U. S. Highway 59 from Texarkana to Houston to El Campo - “The Boogie Woogie Highway”

History of Boogie Woogie — Tue, Jan 13, 2009

U. S. Highway 59 from Texarkana to Houston to El Campo - “The Boogie Woogie Highway” (A.K.A. “The Boogie Woogie Corridor”)

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28 - Eubie Blake’s “Charleston Rag”

History of Boogie Woogie — Sun, Jan 11, 2009

Eubie Blake’s “Charleston Rag:”

A 1917 Piano Roll with a Non-Swinging, Grace-Noted, Broken-Octave Walking Bass Line

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27 - Important Distinctions between Five Kinds of Broken-Octave Bass Figures

History of Boogie Woogie — Thu, Jan 08, 2009

What are the necessary and sufficient elements to constitute a broken-octave Boogie Woogie bass line?  Some historians have erroneously referred to ANY broken octave bass line as a Boogie Woogie bass line.  Yet, there are specific reasons why a broken octave bass is NOT sufficient in and of itself to create a Boogie Woogie feel.

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26 - Another Early Sheet-Music Publication of a Boogie Woogie Bass Figure

History of Boogie Woogie — Mon, Jan 05, 2009

Another early sheet-music publication of a Boogie Woogie bass figure can be found in 1916 in George Thomas’s “New Orleans Hop Scop Blues.”  Paul Oliver has noted that George Thomas based his “New Orleans Hop Scop Blues” on music that he had heard being played in East Texas.

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25 - The Earliest Sheet-Music Publication of a Boogie Woogie Bass Figure

History of Boogie Woogie — Fri, Jan 02, 2009

George Washington Thomas, Jr., is credited by Clarence Williams as playing with a Boogie Woogie bass figure in 1911 in Houston, Texas.  Moreover, Clarence Williams credits Thomas with being the first man to write down a Boogie Woogie bass figure.

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24 - The National Spread of Boogie Woogie

History of Boogie Woogie — Fri, Jan 02, 2009

The National spread of Boogie Woogie

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23 - The Maturation of Boogie Woogie Paralleled the Maturation of Steam Locomotives

History of Boogie Woogie — Mon, Dec 22, 2008

The repetitive, ostinato, departing-acceleratory, chugging, thumping, rattling sound; as well as the bluesy Doppler-effected, pitch-shifted wail of steam whistles on steam locomotives inspired musical elements heard in Boogie Woogie and Blues music.

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22 - An Explanation of the “Jay Gould System” of Railroads

History of Boogie Woogie — Thu, Dec 18, 2008

Of all the railroad tycoons of nineteenth century, Jay Gould was perhaps the most notorious and hated.

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21 - Three Railroads in the Jay Gould System Probably Brought the Thomas Family to Houston

History of Boogie Woogie — Wed, Dec 17, 2008

Three Railroads in the Jay Gould System Probably Brought the Thomas Family to Houston

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20 - The Thomas Family:  “The First Family of Boogie Woogie”

History of Boogie Woogie — Thu, Dec 11, 2008

George Washington Thomas, Jr. and his younger brother Hersal were regarded as seminal influences by later Boogie Woogie players, such as Albert Ammons and Meade “Lux” Lewis.  Although both George and Hersal died tragically at a young age after they moved to Chicago, their having brought Boogie Woogie from the Piney Woods of East Texas to the Big Cities —first to Houston, then to New Orleans and Chicago—substantially influenced the course of popular music.

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19 - Classically Trained Musicians Take Boogie Woogie Seriously

History of Boogie Woogie — Wed, Dec 10, 2008

The Boogie Woogie has made its influence felt in present-day orchestration, and many leading orchestras have their version of the Boogie Woogie.  But it is fundamentally a piano style and is most effective when played on this solo instrument.

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18 - Five Meanings of “The Fives”

History of Boogie Woogie — Tue, Dec 09, 2008

On page 17 of the February 19, 1959 issue of Down Beat, Meade Lux Lewis described “The Fives” as something that was done with the right hand, rather than the left.  Moreover, in 1959, Lewis has trouble remembering the name of the piano player who played “The Fives” for him and Ammons.

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17 - Hersal & George W. Thomas, Jr. Influenced Many Boogie Woogie Players in Chicago

History of Boogie Woogie — Tue, Dec 09, 2008

Hersal & George W. Thomas, Jr. Influenced Jimmy Yancey, Albert Ammons, Meade “Lux” Lewis, and Other Boogie Woogie Players in Chicago

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Archetypes and Antecedents of Piano Blues and Boogie Woogie Style

Articles and Scholarship — Thu, May 08, 2008

Jazz is essentially an improvised music; it is simultaneously composed and performed. "Style" in jazz implies qualities of both composition and performance. "Idiom," "structure," "phrasing," and "technique" are aspects of style, and a study of various jazz styles contrasts musical "personalities" in the fullest sense.

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16 - Is Ragtime or Boogie Woogie More Difficult to Play?

History of Boogie Woogie — Mon, Dec 08, 2008

There is a long history of snobbery and resentment from some Ragtime players towards Boogie Woogie players.

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Boogie Woogie Biography Page

Site Information — Tue, May 20, 2008

Information about the BoogieWoogie.Com Biography pages.

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References for “The History of Boogie Woogie”

History of Boogie Woogie — Tue, Apr 01, 2008

Citations and references for the content of “The History of Boogie Woogie”.

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15 - Contrasts Between Boogie Woogie and Ragtime

History of Boogie Woogie — Thu, Nov 13, 2008

Although the words, “Boogie Woogie” and “Ragtime” have occasionally been used synonymously, there is no question that the modern meanings of these terms refer to different musical attributes.  Nonetheless, some of the same sensibilities, especially in the right-hand parts, informed both Boogie Woogie and Ragtime.

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14 - Is Boogie Woogie “Jazz?”  Yes!  Absolutely!

History of Boogie Woogie — Tue, Nov 11, 2008

There is a war of words in which some want to co-opt the word “jazz” to apply only to the music that they own, promote, play, or otherwise stand to benefit from.

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13 - The Sacred & Profane:  Boogie Woogie, Jazz, Sex, Trance, Spirituality, & Existentialism

History of Boogie Woogie — Fri, Nov 07, 2008

Improvised lead parts played on top of an ostinato substrate resonated with primitive humans for reasons that are almost certainly intrinsic to our evolutionary and sexual biology.

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12 - Other Names by Which Boogie Woogie is Known

History of Boogie Woogie — Thu, Nov 06, 2008

The developments in Boogie Woogie that occurred in Chicago in the 1920s, and at various places in the 1930s, resulted in a prototypical recordings or yardsticks by which other latter music can be compared to assess its “Boogie-Woogie-ness.”

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11 - June 16, 1865—“Juneteenth”—A Turning Point in the Development of Boogie Woogie

History of Boogie Woogie — Wed, Nov 05, 2008

Although Boogie Woogie continued to develop and evolve after 1900, various pieces of evidence, such as Lead Belly’s account of piano walking bass lines in 1899, have resulted in my tendency to refer to Boogie Woogie events prior to 1900 as “origin” events, while referring to events after 1900 as “developmental” events.

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Links

Site Information — Wed, Oct 22, 2008

Check out these links..

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08 - What is a “Barrelhouse?”

History of Boogie Woogie — Sat, Sep 06, 2008

“The style was named for the barrelhouses, where it was performed-sheds with walls lined with beer and whiskey, an open floor, and a piano on a raised platform in a corner of the room. The back of the barrelhouse was also used as a bawdy house.”

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07 - Boogie Woogie Piano Player Style

History of Boogie Woogie •People — Tue, May 20, 2008

“The Boogie Woogie piano players had already developed a mature style in the early twenties, yet it waited until 1938 to find ready acceptance in the hot music field, and by such dispensers of musical taste as the arrangers.”

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06 - Steam Locomotives Sang the Blues & Inspired Early Boogie Woogie Musicians

History of Boogie Woogie — Tue, May 20, 2008

“When the blues began, the countryside was quiet. Loudest of the sounds to break the stillness was the roar of a steam train as it traced its way through the lowlands, leaving a smudge of smoke against the blue sky.”

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04 - Piney Woods of East Texas

History of Boogie Woogie — Tue, May 20, 2008

“Although the neighboring states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Missouri would also produce boogie-woogie players and their boogie-woogie tunes, and despite the fact that Chicago would become known as the center for this music through such pianists as Jimmy Yancey, Albert Ammons, and Meade Lux Lewis, Texas was home to an environment that fostered creation of boogie-style…”

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03 - George W. Thomas, Jr.

History of Boogie Woogie •People — Mon, May 19, 2008

"The ‘Boogie Woogie’ originated in Texas many years ago.  It wasn’t called the ‘Boogie Woogie’ then. George Thomas was the fellow who used this style and first wrote it down."

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02 - Barrelhouse Pianist

History of Boogie Woogie — Mon, May 19, 2008

“Boogie Woogie piano playing originated in the lumber and turpentine camps of Texas and in the sporting houses of that state.”

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10 - How Old Is Boogie Woogie?

History of Boogie Woogie — Thu, Oct 16, 2008

“Somewhere along the way—no one knows for sure exactly when—barrelhouse forked into boogie-woogie, an urban style characterized by eight insistent beats to the measure in the bass, and right-hand melodies that were essentially rhythmic variations on this bass line.”

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09 - Definitions of Boogie Woogie

History of Boogie Woogie — Thu, Oct 16, 2008

“Boogie woogie is a percussive blues piano style—no one knows how old—in which an ostinsato bass figure, usually (but not always) played eight beats to the bar, is juxtaposed with a succession of right hand figures.”

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About BoogieWoogie.Com

Site Information — Wed, May 07, 2008

Information about the BoogieWoogie.Com web site, including some history and the creative team behind the site.

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Johnny Johnson

American ( Jul 08, 1924 — Apr 13, 2005 )

In future we will have a full biography here but, in the meantime, please check the full article for additional links to related information about this person.

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James Booker

American ( Dec 17, 1939 — Nov 08, 1983 )

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Amos Milburn

American ( Apr 01, 1927 — Jan 03, 1980 )

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Ralph Sutton

American ( Nov 04, 1922 — Dec 30, 2001 )

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Big Joe Duskin

American ( — )

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05 - The Focus of My Inquiry into Boogie Woogie

History of Boogie Woogie — Tue, May 20, 2008

The quotations above from E. Simms Campbell and Clarence Williams are among the earliest accounts that attribute an origin of Boogie Woogie music to a specific geographical region, namely Texas.

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About the Author of “The History of Boogie Woogie”

History of Boogie Woogie — Wed, May 07, 2008

John Tennison (also known as “Nonjohn”) was born in 1968 in Texarkana, Texas.  Texarkana is located in the Red River Valley in Bowie County at the far northeastern corner of Texas…

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01 - BOOGIE WOOGIE: Its Origin, Subsequent History, and Continuing Development

History of Boogie Woogie — Thu, May 08, 2008

“There is every reason for us to know something about Africa and to understand its past and the way of life of its peoples.  Africa is a rich continent that has for centuries provided the world with art, culture, labor, wealth, and natural resources.” 73

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Tampa Red

American ( Jan 08, 1904 — Mar 19, 1981 )

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Sunnyland Slim

American ( Sep 05, 1907 — Mar 17, 1995 )

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Pine Top Smith

American ( Jun 11, 1904 — Mar 15, 1929 )

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Pete Johnson

American ( Mar 24, 1904 — Mar 23, 1967 )

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Otis Spann

American ( Mar 22, 1930 — Apr 25, 1970 )

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Nat King Cole

American ( Mar 17, 1919 — Feb 15, 1965 )

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Meade Lux Lewis

American ( Jan 01, 1905 — Jul 07, 1964 )

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Martha Davis

American ( Dec 14, 1917 — Apr 06, 1960 )

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Lionel Hampton

American ( Apr 20, 1908 — Aug 31, 2002 )

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Leroy Carr

American ( Mar 27, 1905 — Apr 29, 1935 )

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Lafayette Leake

American ( — )

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Jay McShann

American ( Jan 12, 1916 — Dec 07, 2006 )

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James P. Johnson

American ( Feb 01, 1894 — Nov 17, 1955 )

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Hersal Thomas

American ( Jan 01, 1909 — Jul 03, 1926 )

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Hazel Scott

American ( Jun 11, 1920 — Oct 02, 1981 )

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George Thomas

American ( Jan 01, 1885 — Mar 14, 1930 )

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Cripple Clarence Lofton

American ( Mar 28, 1887 — Jan 09, 1957 )

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Cow Cow Davenport

American ( Apr 26, 1894 — Dec 03, 1955 )

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Bob Seeley

American ( May 14, 1930 — )

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Big Maceo Merriweather

American ( Mar 31, 1905 — Feb 23, 1953 )

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Albert Ammons

American ( Sep 23, 1907 — Dec 02, 1949 )

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Bob Baldori

American ( May 14, 1943 — )

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Advisory Board for BoogieWoogie.Com

Site Information — Wed, May 07, 2008

The Advisory Board for the BoogieWoogie.Com web site.

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Mission Statement

Site Information — Fri, May 09, 2008

The mission statement for the BoogieWoogie.Com web site. What we’re all about.

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Site Information — Wed, May 07, 2008

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