Artist: Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five
Author: Edward Kid Ory
Label: Okeh
Year: 1926
B-side of Heebie Jeebies. His first (double sided) smash under his own name. With composer Kid Ory on trombone; variation on his Room Rent Blues. Instrumental originally; lyrics (by Ray Gilbert) were added in 1950.
Covers:
Charley Patton [in Shake It And Break It (But Don't Let It Fall, Mama) and in '34 in Hang It On The Wall]
Benny Goodman's Boys [with Wingy Manone, Jimmy Dorsey and Glenn Miller]
Butterflies [in Dutch as Dixieland]
Joe McDonald & Ed Denson [as I Feel Like I'm Fixin To Die Rag; limited edition only sold at anti Vietnam demonstrations]
Country Joe & The Fish [idem; march version on Vanguard]
Country Joe McDonald [idem; solo at Woodstock; that's when Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records first saw real money coming in; he was entitled to the publishing since Joe recorded that first elemental version]
Title I Feel Like I'm Fixin To Die Rag inspired by Bukka White's Fixin' To Die Blues ('40 - Columbia). Babette Ory, Kid's daughter, sued Country Joe in 2001, much too late and in vain.
If you noticed blunt omissions, mis-interpretations or even out-and-out errors,
please let me know:
Arnold Rypens
Rozenlaan 65
B-2840 Reet (Rumst)