It was about time. Three years on from our last record, this third “Sons Of The Desert” CD documents our changed line-up as well as our musical development and therefore really represents the material you’ll get to hear at our current live shows.
It’s also our first CD with liner notes in English. We are based in Munich, but we want to be heard all around the world. On one hand, people who are likely to read liner notes understand English anyway, on the other hand, we don’t need another obstacle to keep us from getting world famous.
Sons of the Desert are:
Diana Ponto: vocals, ukulele, washboard
Rainer Wöffler: vocals, hawaiian and standard guitars, mandolin, ukulele
Leopold Stepanek: vocals, tenor, hawaiian and standard guitars, mandolin, ukulele
Hans O. Graf: sousaphone, guitar, ukulele
Guests on this CD:
Reinhold Pelz: washboard, spoons, guajira
Ralph Stoevesandt: baritone, tenor & soprano saws
Bluesharp Slim: 1-row & 3-row diatonic accordions
Alex Woldt: congas
Charly Zimmermann: soprano & tenor saxphones
12th Street Rag
(Euday L. Bowman)
1915
Bowman sold Twelfth Street Rag together with some other of his compositions for a paltry $300 and it was not until 1942 that was able retrieve his copyright. It’s hard to believe that due to its syncopation, this was regarded as unplayable when it was first published and nobody ever talked about the title being unpronounceable. The guitar solo was heavily inspired by Tchavolo Schmitt.
Big Bamboo
(Cecil Anderson)
1952
"Big Bamboo" was originally a hit for Trinidadian calypso star Duke of Iron and later for the Hiltonaires from Kingston Jamaica
"The Big Bamboo" is not a song for the humor-impaired or prudish, but then if you’re one of these, why did you buy our CD in the first place??
Anyway, once you've heard it, you must admit: "The Big Bamboo" pleases one and all.
Calypso legend the Duke of Iron was born Cecil Anderson in Trinidad--the son of a musician father, in 1913 he teamed with Jules Sims to make the first-ever vocal calypso recordings, but little is known about the decade that followed. He came to the United States and made New York City his new home in 1923.
In 1940 he began playing professionally at the Village Vanguard, and after ten months he headed west, touring until a triumphant return to New York in 1943. From then on he was King of Calypso and toured college campuses for some time until returning to Trinidad. There, he formed a new band and headed to Europe for a tour. He returned to New York at the height of the calypso craze (1956, the year Belafonte's debut eclipsed Elvis') to begin a long stint as headliner of the Jamaican Room.
The Duke of Iron carried the true sound and many of the best calypso songs into the recording era, steadfastly refusing to modernize.
Sugar Mama
(Melvin Jackson)
1960
Sugar Mama comes from a Lil Son Jackson acoustic solo recording. We added all the instruments that he must have heard in his head. Lil' Son Jackson was a stylistic throwback from the moment he first turned up during the immediate postwar era. He was a Texas country bluesman of the highest order whose rustic approach appealed wholeheartedly to the early '50s blues marketplace.
Lucinda Williams has mentioned Lil' Son Jackson as one of her favorite musicians, but then she probably never heard of us. The song that Howlin’Wolf recorded in 1964 under the same title and that later was covered by both Taste and Fleedwood Mac has the first verse lyrics in common with Lil Son Jackson’s song, but apart from that they are about as different as two 12 bar blues can be.
Rainer really cooks on the 6W Supro amp with his National New Yorker lap steel, and in fact our sound engineer Jochen used the heat to fry some eggs for dinner.
Mr. Deep Blue Sea
(Gene Austin, James P. Johnson)
1935
Mae learned from the songs of the Blues Queens. She went to Harlem to see them and listened to their race records with more than passing interest. She tried to imitate them.
“Mr. Deep Blue Sea" comes from the Mae West film "Klondike Annie" (1936). This movie
was being dogged by censors in 1936, and the many cuts made in KLONDIKE ANNIE give it a choppy feel, with much of the motivation of West's character missing. It's a sad thing indeed to witness the weight of censorship clip the saucy strength, savage wit, and sultry persona of this incomparable sex goddess.
Nonetheless, the Legion of Decency found the film morally objectionable; worse, audiences were less than enamored of the story's structure, drama, and theme of a murderess who finds God and goes straight.
This was a more serious West than had been seen before, and audience response was predictably apathetic. Still, she manages to inject some wisecracks into the dramatic structure and serious story (penned by West from her own play). Songs include: "Mr. Deep Blue Sea", "I'm An Occidental Woman In An Oriental Mood For Love", "I Hear You Knockin' But You Can't Come In" and "This May Not Be Love But It's Wonderful” (Gene Austin, James Johnson),
Gene Austin had a big hit with “My Blue Heaven” before the great depression in 1924
A major break came Austin’s way in the summer of 1935 when close friend Mae West—aware that he had composed songs tailored to performers with a diversified array of styles, from Broadway belter Sophie Tucker to dance-oriented bandleader Ted Lewis—asked him to provide a sexy Oriental blues number for her upcoming film, Klondike Annie. Having been told that it was needed by the following afternoon, he immediately sat down and wrote "I’m an Occidental Woman in an Oriental Mood for Love." When West and producer William LeBaron heard the piece, Austin was given the assignment of writing the rest of the songs for the picture. By the time the film went into production on September 16, 1935, he was also penciled in as a performer, playing the organ and singing in a scene depicting a Nome, Alaska settlement house. The role seemed tailor-made in that it reminded him of his early days as a parlor-house professor.
Crow Jane
(trad. Arr. Sons of the Desert)
We were inspired by Skip James’ 1964 version, who obviously was inspired by Carl Martin’s 1936 version (on Yazoo 1013 Chicago, IL, Jul 27, 1936) who might have been inspired himself by Julius Daniels’ 1927 version (Atlanta, GA, Oct 24, 1927). Steve James might have had all the same inspiration. So you see how inspiration works.
The tenor guitar solo uses some licks made famous by Banjo Ikey Robinson.
Buddy Bolden Blues
(trad. Arr. Sons of the Desert)
A traditional tune from the storyville brothels also known as “Funky Butt”, this song was Buddy Bolden’s signature song and provided the basis for “St. Louis Tickle”, composed (or rather written down and copyrighted) in 1903 by Theron Catlen Bennett. Jelly Roll Morton recorded the definitive version in 1938 for Lomax. Our version is also inspired by Steve James and Sidney Bechet.
Na Moke Eha
(J. Kealoha)
Sol Ho’opi’I recorded this song in 1928 with the Andy Aiona Saxophone Quartet as “Hano Hano Hawaii”. The Four Islands, like many Hawaiian tunes, this is an acoustic post card depicting the beauty of the four islands mentioning their flowers and mountains. The names of the mountains by the way are Mauna Kea (Hawai'i), Haleakala (Maui), Ka'ala (O'ahu) and Wai'ale'ale (Kaua'i). Now see if you find out the flowers! This one came to us via Michael Dunn.
Honolulu How Do You Do
(Philip F. Phelps)
1932
We stole this arrangement in its entirety from the great version recorded by Sol Kekipi Bright Sr. on 8th of June 1934. This recording certainly represents the culmination of the athletic staccato style. Our favourite Hapa Haole song, we can’t stop smiling when we perform it.
Makin' Wicky-Wacky Down in Waikiki
(Layton & Johnstone)
1931
Sophie (The Last of the Red Hot Mamas) Tucker recorded this song with near-risque lyrics rendered with Mae West-type suggestiveness. The song is attributed to Lane, Hoffman, Curtis, Powell and Cavanaugh.
Honolulu Baby
(T. Marvin Hatley)
1933
From the movie “Sons Of The Desert” (aaaahh, that’s where the band name comes from). Unlike some other Laurel and Hardy features, “Sons of the Desert” did not rely upon an elaborate operatic score nor did they cast a singer in a supporting role. This movie was pure Laurel and Hardy, without extraneous elements that many may see as filler.
In this movie, Stan & Ollie play the ukuleles, cheat their wives and have a good time. Sound like it would fit us, we thought.
La Mangave
(Jo Privat, Willy Staquet)
Born in the working class quarter Ménilmontant of Paris, France (you didn’t think Paris Texas, did you?), Jo Privat (1919-1996, born as George Privat) will always be remembered as the house accordion player of the Balajo, the famous Bal Musette on Rue de Lappe, where he played for almost 50 years. He got his first accordion at age six from his brothel-madame-aunt for a Christmas present and was the youngest accordionist to play in the Bals Musettes. He was active right up to his passing. He will also be remembered as a composer of sophisticated Musette Waltzes that he delivered in a swinging style all colored with the world of the “gens du voyage” (the wandering people). They even used to call him “le gitan blanc” (the white gipsy). His approach to swing music was first met with reservation. As he recalled, "There were ‘No swing dancing' signs in musette ballrooms. Swing could provoke brawls. Guys who like to hold their girls tight didn't like that." If you want to hear Jo at his best, try to find an album called “Manouche Partie”.
The title of the tune means “to be on the scrounge”, “faire la mangave” being a French “argot” expression. Jo Privat learned this slang of the underworld when he was involved with gipsies and crooks as a rascal in his youth. We learned the tune from Peter Ostroushko, who learned it from French mandolin/guitar duo Georges Fisher & Patrick Couton. This is the way music should be learned.
On The Wall
(Louise Johnson)
1930 famous Grafton, Wisconsin recordings
Mississippi Mud Steppers, Jackson Stomp, Cow Cow Blues (Cow Cow Davenport), lyrics from Charley Patton’s
Uncle Jo
(Wilmoth Houdini)
Wilmoth Houdini, who was born Wilmoth Hendricks (aka Edgar Leon Sinclair) on Trinidad recorded this 31st July 1928 for Okeh in New York, where he had settled by then. He lost some credibility among his fellow Calypsonians who had stayed behind in Trinidad but still sang about local Trinidadian events that took on the status of major legends as he tells of them---the revolt of the prostitutes (No More Bench and Board) and a world class bender (Arima Tonight) for example. Our arrangement borrows heavily from Bob Brozman, whose CDs are indispensable listening.
My Old Flame
(Sam Coslow, Arthur Johnston)
This comes from the Mae West movie “Belle Of The Nineties” from 1934. She said: “When I'm good I'm very, very good, but when I'm bad, I'm better.” My Old Flame is probably Mae West’s baddest vocal performance. When she recorded it commercially, she had the Duke Ellington Orchestra back her up. Diana needs nothing but a guitar and a sousaphone. Thanks to Ralph for his otherworld saw.
Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me
(N. Swanstone, Charles R. McCarron and Carey Morgan) 1919
We learned this one partly from a Cliff Edwards radio transcription disc and partly from a Firehouse 5+2 red vinyl 45. Cliff Edwards
They don’t write tunes like that anymore, maybe because there are not enough naughty sweeties around anymore.
Persian Rug
Neil Moret / Gus Kahn
1927
Everyone loves the Oriental Fox-Trots of the teens and twenties! Camel songs, they call them sometimes. Somehow they always seem to intertwine all the Eastern countries in the "mix" and transition sections. They're not picky, every country is welcome...if they fill the need for the score! Great number about slave men and slave girls and fantasizing on a Persian Rug!
This was the summer hit of 1928, recorded by the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra (with Carl Kress on guitar), Ernie Golden's Orchestra, Charlie Straight & His Orchestra, The California Ramblers under their The McAlpineers pseudonym and Louisiana Sugar Babe. We learned it from Robert Crumb’s Cheap Suit Serenaders. It’s not the only song in our repertoire learned from them, but it’s the only one of those that we dare to perform before midnight.
Neil Moret was a pseudonym for Charles N. Daniels.
Charles N. Daniels, better known as the composer Neil Moret, was President of the Villa Moret Publishing company. As Neil Moret, he first came to prominence in 1901 when John Philip Sousa turned his tune, "Hiawatha," into an international sensation. At the time, Daniels was a young upstart publisher in Kansas City, Missouri. The success of "Hiawatha" led to a stunning career in Detroit as editorial director for Jerome H. Remick, Inc. Daniels helped turn that firm into one of largest sheet music publishers in the world, but in 1913, due to the failing health of his five-year-old daughter, Daniels resigned and moved his family to California in an unsuccessful attempt to save his daughter's life.
During the teens, San Francisco was the only real musical center in California, so Daniels opted to start afresh there. He created several hits with Harry Williams, a Remick lyricist ("Under the Shade of the Old Apple Tree" etc.) who had moved to California to direct silent films for Mack Sennett.
In 1918 the two originated the idea of using pop music to promote a film. They wrote a title song for Mack Sennett's "Mickey," starring Mabel Normand, turning the tune into a nationwide hit a full year before the release of the highly successful film. Thus began Hollywood's interest in the pop tune business, eventually resulting in an enormous migration of east coast songwriters to Hollywood.
On May 15, 1922, Harry Williams, age 43, died unexpectedly while visiting the Daniels' home in Oakland. Already devastated by the negative effect WWI and the influenza epidemic had on music sales, Daniels sold his firm and worked as a free-lance composer with his two friends, Art Hickman and Ben Black. They succeeded in placing tunes with good publishers, but that wasn't enough for Daniels. Determined to create "a distinctly Western music publishing house to encourage and give voice to Western musical genius," Daniels spent the next two years amassing capital to start Villa Moret.
Some Cold Rainy Day
(Bertha Hill)
Some Cold Rainy Day comes from a 1931 Bertha Chippie Hill recording, with Thomas Dorsey on piano and Tampa Red on bottleneck guitar. Thomas A. Dorsey became famous later in his life for his spiritual songs, but that doesn’t mean he got better.
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