*(1936) Okeh Records ''Black Snake Swing'' (N 051-13 Master) Victoria Spivey & Her Hallelujah Boys

Описание: ''Black Snake Blues'' (Acetate) (N 051-2 Master) (Victoria Spivey-Lonnie Johnson) (Drop Top Music) (3:14)
Recorded May 11, 1926, St. Louis, Illinois

Name (Or. No. of Instruments)
Victoria Spivey - Vocals & Piano

On her first recording, on May 11, 1926, in St. Louis, Vee accompanied herself on the piano. Its unusual structure, with its extended first line, captured the imagination of the public, and of rival artists, who immediately made cover versions, such as Martha Copeland for Columbia four months later.

Did her "black snake moans" inspire Blind Lemon Jefferson's "Black Snake Moan," first recorded in the fall of 1926? Vee had no doubt. "It was so similar, including the moan. I was really angry for a while. John Erby and I talked to Lemon in St. Louis and straightened things out." She did not say how.

Vee herself may have been inspired by one of her piano teachers, Robert Calvin, a Houston musician and ex-boyfriend of her sister Leona, who was nicknamed "Snake." When Vee started her record label 35 years later, she played a piano tune on her first record called ''Blues For Robert Calvin''.

The Condor Recordings reserves the right to remove any comments from our site or various social media platforms at any time. Comments featuring hate speech or otherwise threatening or violent content will be deleted.

Digitally Remastered

© - Condor Records - ©