Blue Yodel No. 1 (T for Texas)

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From Wikipedia, Liberade Libera.

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«“Lord I’m going where the water drinks like cherry wine/’Cause the Georgia water tastes of turpentine”»

( Jimmie Rodgers, T for Texas )

Blue Yodel No. 1 (T For Texas) It is a country song by Jimmie Rodgers published for the first time in 1928. The song is considered one of the best and most famous of the artist [first] , as well as one of the most important songs in the history of country, having definitively launched its composer and the genre itself to success [2] . The Rolling Stone music critic magazine inserts the song at the number 29 position in the list of the 100 biggest country songs of all time [3] .

Recording [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The song was recorded on November 30, 1927, three months after Rodgers’ first recording session in Bristol, Tennessee, and produced by Ralph Peer. The engraving session of T for Texas was held in Camden, New Jersey [4] .

Commercial success [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The single, published in February 1928, obtained an extraordinary success of the public and launched Rodgers himself to success. The single came to sell more than a million copies, an incredible figure for the time [5] .

Historical importance [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

With this song, Jimmie Rodgers kicked off a series of famous songs known as “Blue Yodel”; In these songs Rodgers united the typical structure of the 12 bar classic blues with a musicality and a singing style typical of folk music [6] . T for Texas was the first of 13 songs of great commercial and great influence for many subsequent country artists [7] . With this song, moreover, Rodgers brought the Yodel Country to success, which then became a standard for the genre itself, as well as a real factory brand of the artist, who would subsequently insert Yodel in almost every future song [8] .

In total, 13 Blue Yodel Songs were published, and therefore 12 other songs belonging to the same genre after T for Texas. Below, a complete list of songs:

  • “Blue Yodel” [aka “Blue Yodel No. 1 (T for Texas)”], recorded on 30 November 1927 at Camden, New Jersey; released on 3 February 1928 (BVE 40753-2).
  • “Blue Yodel No. 2 (My Lovin’ Gal, Lucille) ”, recorded on 15 February 1928 at Camden, New Jersey; released on 4 May 1928 (BVE 41741-2).
  • “Blue Yodel No. 3 (Evening Sun Yodel) ”, recorded on 15 February 1928 at Camden, New Jersey; released on 7 September 1928 (BVE 41743-2).
  • “Blue Yodel No. 4 (California Blues) ”, recorded on 20 October 1928 at Atlanta, Georgia; released on 8 February 1929 (BVE 47216-4).
  • “Blue Yodel No. 5 (It’s Raining Here) ”, recorded on 23 February 1929 at New York, New York; released on 20 September 1929 (BVE 49990-2).
  • “Blue Yodel No. 6 (She Left Me This Mornin’) ”, recorded on 22 October 1929 at Dallas, Texas; released on 21 February 1930 (BVE 56453-3).
  • “Anniversary Blue Yodel (Blue Yodel No. 7) ”, recorded on 26 November 1929 at Atlanta, Georgia; released on 5 September 1930 (BVE 56607-3) – Jimmie Rodgers and Elsie McWilliams (Rodgers’ sister-in-law).
  • “Blue Yodel No. 8 (Mule Skinner Blues)”, recorded on 11 July 1930 at Hollywood Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California; released on 6 February 1931 (PBVE 54863-3).
  • “Blue Yodel No. 9 (Standin’ On the Corner)”, recorded on 16 July 1930 at Hollywood Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California (with Louis Armstrong, trumpet, and Lil Hardin Armstrong, piano); released on 11 September 1931 (PBVE 54867-3).
  • “Blue Yodel No. 10 (Ground Hog Rootin’ in My Backyard) ”, recorded February 6, 1932, at Dallas, Texas; released on 12 August 1932 (BVE 70650-2).
  • “Blue Yodel No.11 (I’ve Got a Gal) ”, recorded on 27 November 1929 at Atlanta, Georgia; released on 30 June 1933 (BVE 56617-4), after Jimmie Rodgers had died.
  • “Blue Yodel No. 12 (Barefoot Blues) ”, recorded on 17 May 1933 at New York, New York; released on 27 June 1933 (BS 76138-1), a month after Jimmie Rodgers’ death.
  • “Jimmie Rodgers’ Last Blue Yodel (The Women Make a Fool Out of Me) ”, recorded on 18 May 1933 at New York, New York; released on 20 December 1933 (BS 76160-1), seven months after Jimmie Rodgers had died.

T for Texas was reinterpreted by various artists over the years; Below is a list of some famous versions:

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  1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/song/t-for-texas-blue-yodel-no-1-mt0013066184
  2. ^ Rolling Stone Magazine: “29. Jimmie Rodgers, ‘Blue Yodel No. 1 (T For Texas)’ (1928) A phenomenon that created country music’s very first superstar”
  3. ^ rollingstone.com , https://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/100-greatest-country-songs-of-all-all –2010601/29-jimmie -Rodgers-blue-yodel-no-1-T-1-T-Texas- 1928-0551779 .
  4. ^ Rolling Stone Magazine: “Jimmie Rodgers tracked Peer to New York and he soon ended up in Camden, New Jersey, where he recorded the song that defined his legacy.”
  5. ^ Jimmie Rodgers: Life & Time’ by John Lilly
  6. ^ ‘Black and White Cultural Seepage in Country’, by Cole M. Greif-Neill, ‘Your folyops’ website (2005).
  7. ^ Yodel-ay-ee-oooo: The Secret History of Yodeling Around the World by Bart Plantenga, 2004, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-93989-5.
  8. ^ John Greenway, ‘Jimmie Rodgers: A Folksong Catalyst’, The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 70

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