The 1937 Flood Watch Podcast

Charles Bowen
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Each week The 1937 Flood, West Virginia's most eclectic string band, offers a free tune from a recent rehearsal, show or jam session. Music styles range from blues and jazz to folk, hokum, ballad and old-time. All the podcasts, dating back to 2008, are archived on our website; you and use the archive for free at: http://1937flood.com/pages/bb-podcastarchives.html 1937flood.substack.com

  1. 3d ago

    “Sloop John B”

    Say “Sloop John B” to most baby boomers and their likely response is, “The Beach Boys!” They’re not wrong. But they’re also not right enough. Not by a long shot. It turns out the tune that Brian Wilson and his lads put on their beloved Pet Sounds album was decades older than everyone on that room in 1966. About the Song In fact, it was a century ago that “Sloop John B” — which tells a story from the Bahamas of an ill-fated sea voyage plagued by a drunken crew, fights and legal trouble, leaving a weary sailor just wanting to go home — was collected by poet Carl Sandburg (as “The John B. Sails”) in his hugely popular 1927 collection of folk songs, The American Songbag. Sandburg said he got the song from a friend, Chicago political cartoonist John T. McCutcheon, who in turn learned it while on holiday with his wife in the West Indies. McCutcheon told Sandburg, “Time and usage have given this song almost the dignity of a national anthem around Nassau.” But the tune goes back further than that. Ten years before Sandburg published it, British author Richard Le Gallienne (1866-1947) wrote a novel called Pieces Of Eight in which the narrator says at one point, “We sang one of the quaint Nassau ditties.” Then the text records these opening lines: Come on the sloop John B, my grandfather and me, Round Nassau town we did roam; Drinking all night, we got in a fight, We feel so break-up, we want to go home. But our roots quests takes us back even further. Fourteen years before Le Gallienne’s novel came the first published mention of a song called “Hoist the John B Sails,” sheet music for which (as a “two step for piano”) was released in the U.S. in 1903 by Eddy Warren Prouty, a Massachusetts-based orchestra leader and violinist. In those days, Prouty’s band provided music for hotels owned by oil and railway magnate Henry Flagler. Those properties included two in Nassau, which gives us our link to the Bahamas. Historians think Prouty probably arranged an existing melody for the piece he copyrighted. Writing in Financial Times in 2023, author David Cheal noted, “The Henry Flagler connection has given rise to suspicions in folk-music circles that the ‘John B’ song is not ‘authentic,’ that it was created for the tourism industry. But it tells a true story.” Fact Checking Cheal found evidence of a 19th century vessel that was named after a Welsh captain named John Bethel. It seems that Captain John built the sloop and sailed it until it was wrecked (some versions of the song are named “The Wreck of the John B”), ”though it’s not known if his boat was the scene of the revelry described” in the song. Bahamian singer Blake Alphonso Higgs, who brought the song back home with his 1952 version, said the sloop called “John B” had been a sponger boat that one day went under with no one returning. Over the years, the popularity of the song and its legend triggered interest in the wreck’s whereabouts. Weathered ribs of the craft were found in the 1920s, remnants imbedded in the Bahamian sands at Governor’s Harbor. Excavated relics were preserved in a watch tower on the coast. Enter Lomax and Seeger Now let’s flash forward to 1935. That’s when folk song collector Alan Lomax flew from Florida to Nassau to record music of the islands. He hoped, Cheal wrote in his Financial Times article, “to capture the authentic spirit of Africa that he believed could be found in the songs, ‘chanteys’ and dances of the islanders, particularly the sponge fishers of Cat Island.” Lomax’s July 1935 field recordings included “Sloop John B” being sung by the Cleveland Simmons Group in Nassau and is probably the song’s oldest recording. Fifteen years later, Pete Seeger and The Weavers brought the song to a wider U.S. audience, waxing it for Decca Records in the spring of 1950. Lee Hays, The Weavers’ bass singer and vocal arranger, modified the melody a bit to fit the quartet’s vocal style. Because of his work, the label on the 1950 Decca single officially credited the songwriting/adaptation to Sandburg and Hays (taking advantage of standard copyright practices for traditional folk material at the time). From There… We’re almost up to The Beach Boys’ recording, but the sloop has a few more stops to make on its way to 1966. Eight years after The Weavers’ seminal recording, The Kingston Trio brought the song into its repertoire. Then along came Johnny Cash who gave it what Cheal termed “a hopalong country-tropical vibe in 1959 under the title ‘I Want to Go Home.’” A year later, British skiffler Lonnie Donegan put his spin on it with a tango rhythm, trombones and strings. Then six years later, Beach Boy Al Jardine, a fan of The Kingston Trio’s rendition, urged the band’s maestro Brian Wilson to let them cover it. Speaking of the version that boomers remember so fondly, Cheal observed, “A hit single from their Pet Sounds album, it is notable for its pin-sharp harmonies and lush instrumentation and also for its a cappella section, unusual for a pop song of the time.” Our Take on the Tune All of which brings us home to Floodlandia. When Jim Rumbaugh and his sweet wife Donna dropped in at last week’s rehearsal, we drew them into The Flood’s latest project. Listen to Jim join in singing chorus as well as contributing a cool bit of harmonica on this century-old siren song of the islands. In Other News, Live Tonight at Bahnhof! By the way, if your Friday night dance card isn’t already full, we hope you’ll take a spin with us. The Flood is pleased to be playing tonight as part of Bahnhof Wvrsthaus & Biergarten’s Oktoberfest fun. We’re playing from 6 ro 9 at the 745 7th Ave. venue in Huntington. And best of all, Floodster Emerita Michelle Hoge — the original Chick Singer! — is visiting from her Loveland, OH, home and will be sitting in with us for the entire show. Come on down for good food, good tunes and good times. Let’s make memories! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1937flood.substack.com

  2. Sep 25

    Autumn of ‘63

    In the autumn of 1963, as students were adjusting to a new school year, a song that hit the charts sparked the imagination of all the aspiring folksingers in our area. Radio stations throughout the Huntington-Ashland-Ironton area 63 years ago this fall seemed to hourly played Bobby Bare’s new song. “500 Miles Away From Home” had a special local interest, because Bobby is famously one of us. We all knew the young singer/songwriter had been born in 1935 in Ironton, Ohio, where he led a hard-scrabble life. His mother died when Bobby was just five years old, and his father, unable to feed and care for the children himself, was forced to split up the family. By the time he was 15, Bobby was working to help make ends meet, first on a farm and later in nearby factories. At the same time, Bare discovered his love of music and built his own guitar out of a coffee can and a stick. “I got some strings off of a screen door and wired it up,” he once told filmmaker Ken Burns. “I’d sit around and flog on that, you know?” In 1953, an 18-year-old Bobby Bare left Ohio, catching a ride to California and playing music all along the way, earning tips to help pay for the gas. Those days of struggle were much on his mind a decade later when he began crafting his version of “500 Miles.” Bare, as we reported here in an earlier article, recalled years later how the song came to him while returning from a gig. “I was driving back from San Diego one night,” Bare told interviewer Gary James. “I was surfin’ the radio and I heard Peter, Paul And Mary singing the old campfire version of ‘500 Miles’ and I thought, ‘Boy, that’s great!’” As soon as he got home to his North Hollywood apartment — down the street from his sometimes drinking buddy, Glen Campbell — “I got Glen’s album and it was an instrumental. There were no lyrics.” Now the story turns to Bare’s friend Charlie Williams, whom Bobby called up. “I said, ‘Hey Charlie, come over and let’s write some lyrics to this.’” “500 Miles” put Bobby Bare firmly on the musical map. His version, recorded for RCA, became a Top 10 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, as well as a Top 5 hit on both the country and adult contemporary charts. (Incidentally, on that same album, Bobby’s take on “Abilene” would influence The Flood’s take on that tune as well.) About the Song As Autumn 1963 rolled on, “500 Miles Away from Home” had an impact on all those fledgling guitarists who were starting to answer the call to come to folk music. On park benches and in living rooms, at parties and in bars, on school buses and in nascent coffee houses, earnest young singers were sharing those poignant lyrics: Teardrops fell on mama’s note when I read the way she wrote. She said, “We miss you, son. We love you. Come on home.” I didn’t have to pack. I had it all right on my back. Now I’m five hundred miles away from home. Detective Work The more scholarly among those early song-slingers/-hunters wanted to trace the roots of Bare’s source song. Sure, Bobby told that interviewer he had been inspired by a radio broadcast of an “old campfire” song by Peter, Paul and Mary, but where did they get it? As reported here earlier, the composition of “500 Miles” is generally credited to one of Flood co-founder Dave Peyton’s favorite folksinger, Hedy West. (As noted, Peyton even brought another of Hedy’s tunes — “Gambling Man” — into the early Flood repertoire.) ”500 Miles” went on to be covered by everyone from The Kingston Trio and The Country Gentlemen to Sonny & Cher, from The Brothers Four and Elvis to Reba McEntire, Jackie DeShannon and Johnny Rivers. Internationally, it has been recorded in Albanian, Assamese, Bengali, Chinese, Czech, Finnish, French, Germany, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Slovenian, Spanish and Vietnamese. More Flood Folkishness? Meanwhile, if all this folk talk has you wanting more of The Flood’s roots repertoire, drop by our free Radio Floodango music streaming feature and click on the Folk Channel. There you can hear a randomized playlist of more than a hundred tracks recorded by the band over the years. We’ve now got ways to mobilize the ol’ Floodanago. Click here to find out how to put the Flood radio on your computer desktop and on an iPhone so your Flood fix is always just a click away. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1937flood.substack.com

  3. Sep 18

    “Darlin’ Companion”

    As much as we try to use the rehearsals to work out arrangements to our regular tunes, we never drift too far away from The Flood’s original loose jam session vibe. That means there’s always room for those “sometimes kinda tunes,” like this one, heads-up, top-down and just flat-out rattling and rolling into the sunset! About the Song “Darlin’ Companion” was written by John Sebastian and was first recorded by his group, The Lovin’ Spoonful, in November 1966 on their album Hums of the Lovin’ Spoonful. As reported here earlier in an article about The Flood’s cover of another song for that album (“Sittin’ Back Lovin’ You”), Hums was the Spoonful’s concerted effort to record in a wide variety of styles on a single disc. For it, they composed and played pop-, country-, jugband-, folk- and blues-fused tunes. “Darlin’ Companion” — considered an early example of country-rock, blending a laid-back acoustic folk feel with a catchy pop melody — also was released as the B-side to the band’s 1967 single “Darling Be Home Soon.” Oddly, “Darlin’ Companion” has never gotten the kind of love from Sebastian’s fellow artists that others of his compositions received. In fact, SecondhandSongs.com has found fewer than a half dozen covers since 1966. However, the song did receive a major nod from country music royalty within three years of its creation when it was included on a historic album. Take It Away, Johnny and June! In February 1969, Johnny Cash and June Carter were just five days away from their first wedding anniversary (and three days away from Cash’s 37th birthday) when the pair went north of San Francisco to California’s famed San Quentin Prison to record a live show. A year after Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, the San Quentin disc would proved even more successful, soaring all the way to the top of the Billboard 200 album list and staying there for four weeks. It is hard to overstate just how huge Johnny Cash At San Quentin was. It was Cash’s only album to reach the top of the pop chart during his lifetime. It also had a 20-week stay at the top of the country music chart, No. 1 until the last week of December 1969. The LP’s success was partially due to its featuring “A Boy Named Sue.” As a single, that tune spent five weeks atop the country chart. It peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100, giving Cash his only top 10 hit on the pop chart. Johnny played it publicly for the first time behind the prison walls. On the same famed afternoon, Johnny and June offered a playful, upbeat rendition of “Darlin’ Companion.” From then on, the song became a charming staple of the couple’s live performances, celebrating the warmth, humor and affection of their real-life partnership. They performed a vibrant version of the song for Danish television during a September 1971 taping, later featured on releases like Man in Black: Live in Denmark 1971. More from the Room? Meanwhile, back in the Floodiverse, if you’d like to hear more of what the guys are playing nowadays, check out the 2026 playlist on Radio Floodango. And remember we’ve now got ways to mobilize the ol’ Floodanago. Click here to find out how to put the Flood radio on your computer desktop and on an iPhone to make your Flood fix always just a click away. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1937flood.substack.com

  4. Sep 11

    The Song that Defined George Hamilton IV

    When George Hamilton IV suffered his fatal heart attack a dozen years ago this week, the first song The New York Times mentioned in his obituary was “Abilene.” Indeed, that song was a turning point in Hamilton’s life. Recorded in March 1963 at RCA’s Studio B in Nashville, “Abilene” was the biggest hit of George’s long career, helping him transition from a pop teen idol of the 1950s into a traditional country artist. As reported here earlier, the song, which had a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. country charts, was written by Hamilton’s long-time friend John D. Loudermilk along with folksinger Bob Gibson. George often talked about how his RCA producer, famed guitarist Chet Atkins, instantly loved “Abilene” and jumped in to play the track’s iconic intro and turnaround on that 1963 release. Over his near-50-year career, Hamilton frequently called “Abilene” his signature song, the defining hit of his body of work. But Which Abilene? George also often noted he didn’t know which town the song was actually about. Since the lyrics mention trains and a nearby crowded city, listeners frequently debated whether it referred to Abilene, Texas, or Abilene, Kansas. Co-composer Bob Gibson always said he was inspired by a 1946 cowboy movie — Abilene Town — which was set in the historic Kansas cattle town. Ever the diplomat, though, Hamilton proudly noted the song made him an honorary citizen of both cities, since residents of each adopted it as their unofficial anthem. The Biblical Connection On stage, Hamilton — who died at 77 in September 2014 — loved to tell about once singing the song in church. When a preacher asked him to perform it, Hamilton questioned whether it was appropriate for a house of worship. Why, yes, the preacher responded, didn’t he realize the song was “biblical”? Uh-huh, the minister added with a wink. It was right there in Luke 3:1 — in a verse scholars use to date the start of John the Baptist’s ministry (around 26–29 AD, during the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar) — that it said Lysanias was “the tetrarch of Abilene.” The Parody George also had fun spoofing the song. In 2008, when U.S. gas prices soared, Hamilton performed this parody version, entitled “Gasoline”: (Hmmmm… that one might need to be re-introduced, as we wake up this morning to $4.30 a gallon...) Classin’ It Up “Abilene” got dressed up and went to town last week when Danny Cox came to The Flood rehearsal with his sweet Gretsch Super Chet. Just listen to how Dan uses that classic 1970s hollow body to bring sass and class to this long-time Flood standard. More from the Room? If you’d like to hear more of the newest blend of Floodishness, check out the 2026 playlist on Radio Floodango. And remember we’ve now got ways to mobilize the ol’ Floodanago. Click here to find out how to put the Flood radio on your computer desktop and on an iPhone to make your Flood fix always just a click away. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1937flood.substack.com

  5. Sep 4

    “One Horse Town”

    Here’s the latest treasure that Randy Hamilton and Danny Cox have brought to The Flood’s table, a Charlie Starr composition from Alabama that resonates powerfully in our own Appalachian hills as well. “One Horse Town” debuted 14 years ago on The Whippoorwill, the critically acclaimed third studio album of Starr’s Southern rock band, Blackberry Smoke. While many country anthems predictably romanticize small-town life, Starr wrote “One Horse Town” as the exact opposite: A realistic, poignant look at the struggles of growing up in rural isolation. Personal Experience For his lyrics, Starr drew from his own upbringing in Lannett, Alabama, a small settlement in the Chattahoochee Valley, about 80 miles southwest of Atlanta. He wrote the song after returning home multiple times and seeing the devastating impact of economic decline alongside the growing the meth epidemic among old friends. From the opening lines … In the tiny town where I come from You grew up doing what your daddy does… … the tune expresses the heavy burden of generational expectations. It acts as a narrative of a young person feeling shackled to his root, longing to “ride my pony right out of this one-horse town” to discover the wider world. On the release of The Whippoorwill in August 2012, The New York Times critic Jon Caramanica called Starr’s composition one of the year’s finest traditional country songs, a “nervy document of small-town regret,” upending familiar rural narratives and framing the status quo as asphyxiating. Hearing Blackberry Smoke Oh, and attention Huntington area readers! If you want to hear Charlie Starr in person, mark Friday, Nov. 6, on your calendar. That’s when his Blackberry Smoke is set to play the Keith Albee Theater in downtown Huntington. Showtime is 8 p.m. More from Randy Meanwhile, if this week’s podcast has you wanting more Randy Hamilton in your Flood Friday, we gotcha covered. Swing by the free Radio Floodango music streaming feature and, under the “People Picker” section, click on the Randy Channel. Or better yet, just click the pic below to get in the fast lane: And remember, we’ve now got ways to mobilize the ol’ Floodanago. Click here to find out how to put our radio on your computer desktop and on an iPhone to make your Flood fix always just a click away. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1937flood.substack.com

  6. Aug 28

    “Time in a Bottle”

    Here’s an audio snapshot of the end of last week’s rehearsal. We’d just had a wonderful evening singing with a Flood sweetheart, Charlie Bowen’s lovely cousin Kathy Castner, who had made one of her rare visits in from Cincinnati. At the beginning of this track you hear folks packing up their instruments and saying their goodbyes. But at the same time, over in the corner, Danny Cox and his guitar have one more tune to do with Kathy. Listen as the guys realize what’s happening and join in for this sweet final moment of the night. And what a wonderfully wistful song it is for a perfect closing. About the Song The late Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle” was never intended as a single release, and the songwriter didn’t even live to see its success. Initially, the song was seen as merely filler material on Croce’s smash 1972 debut album, which featured chart-toppers like the disc’s title tune (“Don’t Mess Around with Jim”) as well as the memorable “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels).” The Inspiration Jim wrote the song in December 1970, the night his wife, Ingrid, shared the news that she was expecting. The couple had been married for five years, and the inspiration for the song came from the anticipation of a new addition to the family. At the time, Croce had been working three jobs and felt he could not devote enough time to his music. Ingrid recounted in The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits that she entered a recipe in a Pillsbury baking competition the night she informed her husband of her pregnancy. Croce sat down that same night and wrote “Time in a Bottle.” Noted Jay McDowell in American Songwriter magazine, “The song’s meaning lies in the message that the most important thing we have is time.” Its Second Act In 1973, “Time in a Bottle” was exposed to a new audience when it appeared in the film She Lives, a story of a young couple who fall in love and then face a cancer diagnosis. In a key scene, the song plays entirely as the couple remains silent on the phone, bringing the lyrics to the center of the story. The movie aired on CBS just eight days before Jim’s own life was cut short. On Sept. 20, 1973, Croce’s plane crashed into a tree as it was taking off from Natchitoches, Louisiana, with no survivors. Television stations received many calls from viewers asking where they could purchase the song. Radio stations started playing “Time in a Bottle” in response to the movie’s success, and, with Croce’s death, ABC Records decided to re-release it as a single. Fourteen weeks after the crash, the song became Croce’s second No.1 hit. Meanwhile, 22 Years Ago… “Time in a Bottle” also was on the set list 22 years ago this month when Kathy made a memorable guest appearance on Joe Dobbs’ “Music from the Mountains” radio show on West Virginia Public Radio, as you’ll hear if you click the button below: On Friday, Aug. 13, 2004, Charlie and Kathy drove from Huntington to the radio station’s studios in Charleston to record the show. Kathy was comfortable singing. She and her cousin had sung together for a long time, starting years earlier swapping tunes with Kathy’s late mom, Charlie’s Aunt Katherine. But always shy, Kathy did feel a bit nervous about the speaking and interview segments of the show. Fortunately, Joe and his engineer George Walker quickly put her at ease. Her recorded performance and interview aired on the public radio network a few weeks later near the 31st anniversary of Croce’s death. More from 2004 If you’d like more 2004 Flood tunes — including those featuring tunes on which Kathy sat in — visit the free Radio Floodango music streaming service and, under the “Hear by Year” heading, select the 2004 button. Remember, we’ve now got ways to mobilize Floodango. Click here to find out how to put the Flood radio on your computer desktop and on an iPhone to make your Flood fix always just a click away. Also if you’d like to know more of what was happening in the Floodiverse in those days, click here to see the 2004 pages in the band’s online scrapbook. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1937flood.substack.com

  7. Aug 21

    Diamond Teeth Mary '26, Here We Come!

    Here’s a tune that will be on the set list tomorrow night when The Flood opens the festivities at this year’s Diamond Teeth Mary blues festival in downtown Huntington. It’s a 1913 composition by the great Shelton Brooks. And if that name sounds familiar, you might be remembering last week’s podcast when we talked about Brooks’ best-known composition, the phenomenal “Darktown Strutters’ Ball.” As noted, by the time Brooks wrote that, his songwriting chops already were firmly established with songs like this “I Wonder Where My Easy Rider’s Gone,” which, as we’ve reported earlier, was performed by everyone from Sophie Tucker and Mae West to Tampa Red, Georgia Tom and Frankie “Half Pint” Jaxon. The Companion Song This tune also is intimately related to another song on The Flood set list. As we’ve report here earlier, in 1915 famed songwriter W.C. Handy was writing an “answer” to Brooks’ “I Wonder Where My Easy Rider’s Gone” when he penned his “Yellow Dog Blues.” “Yellow Dog Blues” is an especially appropriate choice for Huntington’s Diamond Teeth Mary festival, because in 1925 it was one of the biggest hits for Mary’s half sister, Bessie Smith. Critics consider Smith’s take to be the definitive recording of Handy’s song. “Yellow Dog” focuses on the crossing of the Southern Railway and the local Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad. Today in Sunflower County, Mississippi, in the town of Moorhead, a bronze plate — see above — stands at the very spot memorialized in that blues classic. You have to wonder if that same song might have been on Mary’s mind a dozen years later when she was at her sister’s side as Bessie died in Clarksdale, MS, from injuries suffered an auto crash on Highway 61 just 50 miles north of “where the Southern crosses the Yellow Dog.” Come to the Festival! The Diamond Teeth Mary Medicine Show will be rocking downtown Huntington tomorrow night in the beautiful Heritage Station, 210 11th Street, where the band has often played over the decades. The Flood takes the stage on at the gazebo at 6 p.m. For more about the festival, you might be interviewed in a recent segment aired by Marshall University’s WMUL radio. Emma Johnson and John Boggess interviewed The Flood’s Charlie Bowen, festival director Karen Combs and Osage, WV, soul artist Aristotle Jones. Click the “Play” button below to give it a listen. In addition, here’s the link to Derek Halsey’s story about the festival in The Herald-Dispatch. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1937flood.substack.com

  8. Aug 14

    "Darktown Strutters' Ball"

    The story goes that a century or so ago there was a strange annual ball in Chicago. A model of irony, it was a fancy affair in the city’s sordid South Side, financed by wealthy society folk but reserved for the community’s prostitutes and their sugar daddies. Some believe that songwriter Shelton Brooks so loved those tales that he celebrated this modern equivalent of the medieval carnivals of misrule with his most famous composition. “As far as I can find, this event was not called ‘the Darktown Strutters’ Ball,’” writes our favorite song sleuth Elijah Wald, “but I guess that seemed like a more marketable title than ‘Pimps and Hookers Ball.’” Shelton Recalls In 1972 British singer/music historian Ian Whitcomb located and interviewed Brooks just three years before the venerable composer’s death. During their visit, Brooks told Whitcomb that he wrote the song after hearing a story about an ordinary working stiff who got “an invitation to an affair to be given by the local pimps. A big ball. All a mistake and he should never have been asked.” (Incidentally, some sources suggest Brooks’s song referred instead to a ball at the 1915 San Francisco Pacific-Panama Exposition. ) Shelton’s Biggest Hit In either case, it was a real-life party that inspired the song that became one of the first monster hits of the early recording age. Brooks, his composing cred already established with hits like “I Wonder Where My Easy Rider’s Gone,” brought “Darktown Strutters’ Ball” to vaudeville in 1917 where it was introduced by stars like Sophie Tucker. After that “Darktown Strutters’ Ball” sold more than three million copies as sheet music. The first recording of the song was made by Canadian vaudeville band Six Brown Brothers in May 1917 for Victor Records in New York City. This was followed a few weeks later by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band’s instrumental version for Columbia. The latter is one of the earliest commercial jazz records and was the No. 3 song of 1917, later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The song quickly became a staple of dozens of pop and jazz artists including Count Basie, Dave Brubeck, Fats Domino, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Al Jolson, Django Reinhardt, the Savoy Quartet, Wilbur Sweatman’s Original Jazz Band, and Lieutenant James Europe’s 369th Infantry Jazz Band. Ted Lewis and His Band had a hit with it in 1927. The Flood’s Take on the Tune We had our old buddy Jim Rumbaugh in the band room last week. As we’ve reported, Jim will be sitting in with us next week when The Flood plays at the latest Diamond Teeth Mary blues festival. After we’d worked on the blues tunes we’ll do for the show, we switched this rocking old Roaring Twenties number for a happy change of pace. It all went well until we tried to tag the tune with a classic ending that our late Chuck Romine always favored. Hey, who knew there’d be spelling?! More Tunes from the Teens and the ‘20s? Meanwhile, if this week’s podcast has you in the mood for more of the tunes that rocked Grandpa and Grandma at the start of the last century, man, do we have you covered! A lot of The Flood’s favorite songs come from the Roarin’ Twenties and we have an easy way for you to find them. Just click this link to reach the “Tunes on a Timeline” section of our archives, then on the resulting page, just scroll down to find a time period you’re looking for. When you see a tune you want to hear (such as “(I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My) Sister Kate” in the above example), click a title to hear the guys doing that song along with a bit of the song’s back story. … Or Floodango It! Or if you’d rather just randomize it, you might turn on Radio Floodango’s free Holum Channel, where all the tunes in the rotation are from the ‘20s and ‘30s. Click here to give it a spin. And as we’ve said, we’ve now got ways to mobilize the ol’ Floodanago. Click here to find out how to put the Flood radio on your computer desktop and on an iPhone to make your Flood fix always just a click away. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1937flood.substack.com

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Each week The 1937 Flood, West Virginia's most eclectic string band, offers a free tune from a recent rehearsal, show or jam session. Music styles range from blues and jazz to folk, hokum, ballad and old-time. All the podcasts, dating back to 2008, are archived on our website; you and use the archive for free at: http://1937flood.com/pages/bb-podcastarchives.html 1937flood.substack.com

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