The early 1900s produced breakthroughs in music, dance, photography, painting, film, and culinary arts, all feeding off each other, and all feeding off jazz, born in New Orleans.
The most important early jazz artist was Louis Armstrong, whose career began in the 1920s and lasted 50 glorious years. In 1927 he made his first recording of many of the iconic tune โStruttinโ with Some Barbecueโ, an instrumental written by his wife and pianist at the time, Lil Hardin.
Iโve often wondered how the song got itโs name. Who struts down the street with a rib or a pulled pork sandwich? The answer came from Cab Callowayโs โJive Dictionaryโ. Calloway was the ultimate hip cat. The band leader and scat singer reigned on the 1930s and 1940s in his signature white zoot suit, pencil mustache, and slick black hair was best known for his unforgettable tune โMinnie the Moocherโ famously reprised in the movie โThe Blues Brothersโ in 1980. He was also clearly a food lover. Just listen to his tune โEverybody Eats When They Come To My Houseโ from 1947.
Calloway was also a lexicographer and his โJive Dictionaryโ contains definitions of the hipsterโs language. Calloway defines โjiveโ as โto kid along, give a girl a lineโ, and โbarbecueโ is a โgirl friend, a beautyโ. Lil was writing about struttinโ with something saucy and delicious alright, but not pork! This double entendre was typical of early jazz. Songs were frequently loaded sexiness, especially those by women. Just listen to Bessie Smith.
In 1941, 14 years after Lil wrote the music, a young songwriter, Don Raye, added some lyrics to the tune. Raye was best known for the songs he wrote for the Andrews Sisters including โBoogie Woogie Bugle Boy.โ My favorite title of his is โFry Me Cookie, with a Can of Lard.โ
Struttinโ with some barbecue,
Swinginโ with the band.
Like the happy people do,
Way down in Dixieland.
Hear that olโ trombone
And the trumpet ad lib.
Love to hear the lick,
While I do my pickinโ on a juicy rib.
Cause Iโm struttinโ with some barbecue,
Feelinโ mighty grand.
Pass another helpinโ please,
Of that good olโ Dixieland.
And mister waiter if you please,
Another rib or two.
And Iโll go strut, strut, struttinโ,
Struttinโ with some barbecue.
Clearly Rayeโs lyrics are about food when Lilโs intent was probably to portray herself as the beautiful woman on her man Louisโ arm. But she and Louis separated in 1929 and later divorced. One can only wonder what she thought of Rayeโs words added to her music and played often by her ex.
Click here to see a performance of Struttinโ with Some Barbecue on YouTube. In this 1953 arrangement Louis Armstrong plays his trumpet with his All Stars including Trummy Young on trombone, Cozy Cole on drums, Marty Napolean on piano, Arwell Shaw on bass, and Bob McCracken on clarinet. The woman is not Lil.
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