KOKOMO ARNOLD: Old Original Kokomo Blues / Milk Cow blues DECCA 78 RPM HEAR

$

150

James "Kokomo" Arnold (born February 15, 1901 in Lovejoy's Station, Georgia) had already made one record in 1930 in Memphis, under the nameGitfiddle Jim("Paddlin' Blues" b/w "Rainy Night Blues", Victor 23268). The record was a speedy bottleneck showpiece but it didn't sell, so Arnold moved to Chicago to work in the steel-mills (his reputed bootlegging activities there are not authenticated). He would make recordings again only four years later, whenKansas Joe McCoyrecommended him toJ. Mayo Williams, the legendary head of therace recordsdepartment of the new US Decca label. These sides here, the first two tracks from Arnold's first Decca session in Chicago on September 10, 1934, made up the first substantial national blues hit in the USA after the start of the Great Depression in 1929, and actually both sides were extremely successful and well-known in the black community, not only in the big cities like Chicago but also on the plantations in the Mississippi Delta. TellinglyRobert Johnson, who was not anywhere near as successful as Arnold at the time, used the basic structure of "Milk Cow Blues" for his first record and only hit,"Terraplane Blues"(1937), and made an obvious follow-up of "Milk Cow Blues" with his"Milkcow's Calf Blues". Less obviously, Johnson copied the melody of the "Old Original Kokomo Blues", with its "baby don't you want to go" chorus, for his own"Sweet Home Chicago". Moreover, "Milk Cow Blues" made the crossover to C&W music and a white audience some years later via theswinging coverofJohnnie Lee Wills and His Boys(his brother,Bob Wills, would turn it into"Brain Cloudy Blues"), from whichElvis Presleyderived his rockabilly version,"Milkcow Blues Boogie", in 1954. "Milk Cow Blues" has become a kind of rock music standard since, covered countless times over the last decades in fact like the flipside, even though in its "Sweet Home Chicago" shape. Note: Although many sources claim that Arnold got his "Kokomo" alias due to the success of "Old Original Kokomo Blues", the original "sunburst" Decca record labels from 1934 reveal that Arnold had adopted it before the record came out (possibly inspired byScrapper Blackwell's"Kokomo Blues"from 1928, which was also the model for Arnold's song).

Feel free to check out my other listings. I have many more records (Many rare and HTF) for sale Genres include country, bluegrass,folk, jazz, rock,blues,etc. Most78s I'll be listing have been tested and play, but some lots may not be. Due to the large volume I have for sale it's difficult to test them all as it would take more time than I have available. There are tons more to come. For those that have been tested see photo 2 for audio samples of sides 1 & 2. The sound clips of each side are roughly 30 seconds a piece and both play together in the 50 - 60 second audio of photo two. The sound from photo two was extracted using my audio technica turntable with its vm670sp cartridge and needle. I am a veteran shipper and salesman of records, including fragile shellac 78s, and have been doing it for many years. I ship all my 78s sandwiched between corigated cardboard, wrapped with bubble wrap, and surrounded by filler in a corigated box. I have been packing many years and have yet to have a 78 break during shipment so rest assure your purchase will reach you intact. All records for sale Range in Condition (new to acceptable) and are sold as is. They haven't been played and tested unless the description says they have or there is an audio clip in photo 2 (see photos and read description before buying) All records vary in Condition and are being sold as is as shown some have been tested, while others have not. I am not a professional grader so please view them and hear their audio and to judge their condition. Thank you for looking