It is interesting to hear Duke make those points, albeit in an unusually hesitating way.
Did anyone ever ask Duke about the recordings he made in the early 30s with studio singers like Chick Bullock, Dick Robertson and Smith Ballew? I don't mean because they were white, but because of the materal the band had to play, and whether the material was thrust upon them--I assume it was.
In the case of "Sam & Delihah" with Bullock, it seems to have been a unique performance in that Bullock was heavily featured, a rarity, even amongst Duke's famous singers, who were yet to come.
Is it true that audiences at live performances wanted to hear "S&D", but Duke wouldn't perform it without Bullock?
Yes, in 1930 and 31 there were indeed a number of songs that Duke was more or less "assigned" to record with those singers, as I believe Steven Lasker has written. And for a number of those songs the arrangements were already written, not by Duke, although he sometimes added his own touches. I don't know that story about audiences requesting "Sam and Delilah"—if I find out more I'll add it here. THANK YOU JULIAN
This comes from an interview with Bullock, by Peter Tanner, published in Jazz Journal, June 1974
"We recorded The River and Me, Keep a Song in Your Soul, Sam and Delilah and an instrumental version of Rockin’ in Rhythm. Sam and Delilah was a really big seller and Duke wanted to put my name above his on the label, but Victor wouldn’t have it. When Duke came back from his European tour in 1933 he told me he couldn’t play it because he didn’t have me to sing it."
It seems I cannot play the audio. I can still play the audio from the previous post. Is there something wrong with the upload?
Sorry--There WAS something wrong, but I just fixed it. Thank you for letting me know, Mladen!
Thank you!
It is interesting to hear Duke make those points, albeit in an unusually hesitating way.
Did anyone ever ask Duke about the recordings he made in the early 30s with studio singers like Chick Bullock, Dick Robertson and Smith Ballew? I don't mean because they were white, but because of the materal the band had to play, and whether the material was thrust upon them--I assume it was.
In the case of "Sam & Delihah" with Bullock, it seems to have been a unique performance in that Bullock was heavily featured, a rarity, even amongst Duke's famous singers, who were yet to come.
Is it true that audiences at live performances wanted to hear "S&D", but Duke wouldn't perform it without Bullock?
Julian Vein
Yes, in 1930 and 31 there were indeed a number of songs that Duke was more or less "assigned" to record with those singers, as I believe Steven Lasker has written. And for a number of those songs the arrangements were already written, not by Duke, although he sometimes added his own touches. I don't know that story about audiences requesting "Sam and Delilah"—if I find out more I'll add it here. THANK YOU JULIAN
This comes from an interview with Bullock, by Peter Tanner, published in Jazz Journal, June 1974
"We recorded The River and Me, Keep a Song in Your Soul, Sam and Delilah and an instrumental version of Rockin’ in Rhythm. Sam and Delilah was a really big seller and Duke wanted to put my name above his on the label, but Victor wouldn’t have it. When Duke came back from his European tour in 1933 he told me he couldn’t play it because he didn’t have me to sing it."
So, it seems the record was popular in Europe!