Mildred Bailey |
Mildred Bailey (born Mildred Rinker; February 27, 1907 – December 12, 1951)
She was a Native American jazz / blues singer during the 1930s, known as "The Queen of Swing", "The Rockin' Chair Lady" and "Mrs. Swing". She recorded the songs "For Sentimental Reasons", "It's So Peaceful in the Country", "Doin' The Uptown Lowdown", "Trust in Me", "Where Are You?", "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart", "Small Fry", "Please Be Kind", "Darn That Dream", "Rockin' Chair", "Blame It on My Last Affair", and "Says My Heart". She had three records that reached number one on the popular charts.
She grew up on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in Idaho, where her mother was an enrolled member. The family moved to Spokane, Washington when she was 13. Her younger brothers also became musicians. Her brother, Al Rinker, started to perform as a singer with Bing Crosby in Spokane and became a member of The Rhythm Boys. |
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W C Handy |
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Mississippi John Hurt |
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Blue Lu Barker |
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Sleepy John Estes |
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Robert Nighthawk |
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J. B. Hutto |
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| Featured album ... Me and Mr Johnson |
In my collection / studio there are literally hundreds of albums and thousands of tracks, in my car, just one - 'Me and Mr Johnson'.
Respectfully, and at the risk of being labelled a blues philistine, Mr Clapton isn't really at the top of my tree when it comes to the many blues artists, preferring, as I do, the more, earlier ones. However, this album a cover of Robert Johnson's songs is something special. If this one isn't in your collection, it should be. |
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Back to the Roots of the Blues ... Backtracking
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Latest release 9th Oct 2025 - Thank you for visiting with us, we cordially invite you to review and download the current production below. 'Backtracking' is a result of our research a journey of discovery that never ends, our love of the Blues and respect for the artists that left us this legacy of music.
All this simply because the music, the history and the culture of the blues never ends. We're honoured and privileged to share the music within the genre of the Blues back in time a hundred years and beyond, a genre so vast and so diverse.
Backtracking is streamed online and is broadcast worldwide. It's free to join the 'Backtracking' time machine - Get the authentic blues on your radio station ..... |
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Featured artist of the week .... Mississippi Sheiks
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The Mississippi Sheiks were a popular and influential group of the 1930s. They recorded around 70 tracks, primarily in the first half of the 1930s.Their 1930 blues single Sitting on Top of the World was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008.
The Mississippi Sheiks consisted mainly of members of the Chatmon family from Bolton, Mississippi. Their most famous member (although not a permanent member) was Armenter Chatmon, better known as Bo Carter, who enjoyed a successful solo career as well as playing with the Sheiks, which may have contributed to their success. When they first recorded, in 1930, the band consisted of Bo Carter, Lonnie and Sam Chatmon, and Walter Vinson. Papa Charlie McCoy (not Charlie McCoy, a later blues artist) later, when Carter and Sam Chatmon stopped playing full-time. Lonnie Chatmon and Vinson formed the core of the group.
Bo Carter's solo work is notable for his innuendo, suggestive songs, a style carried over to some extent to the group. They primarily earned their income as a itinerate band touring mostly throughout the South but they also travelled and performed in Chicago and New York
 Their last recording known session as the Mississippi Sheiks was in 1935. Bo Carter did a few more sessions on his own, up until 1938. When the band dissolved, the Chatmon brothers gave up music and returned to farming. Effectively bringing to an end the Mississippi Sheiks.
The Sheiks and related groups, such as the Mississippi Mud Steppers and the Blacksnakes, recorded about a hundred sides in the first half of the 1930s, among them original compositions (probably by Vinson), such as The world is going wrong and I've Got blood in my eyes for you (1931) and the topical objectionable Sales Tax (1934). Sam Chatmon made more recordings in the 1960s, and Walter Vinson contributed three selections (under the name of the Mississippi Sheiks) to Riverside's 1961 series Chicago: The Living Legends. |
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| Friends, When I first discovered Mammy Prater, I heard her story of indescribable depravation that she told us was 'her' blues. Mammy was born a slave in 1805. I ask you to join me and Mammy on a journey back to where the blues came from, we're going back 150 / 200 years. I ask because I believe this history and it music must never be allowed to die. At the foot of this section you'll see a link to an accompanying thesis which I hope will explain this subject and will act as a link back to the songs on our website that we have included to add colour to the narrative. |
Spirituals to Jazz and the Blues …. Spirituals are the work, and plantation songs that evolved into the blues and gospel songs for worship. In the 19th century, the word ‘Spirituals’ referred to essentially folk songs. Although they were often rooted in biblical stories, they also showed us the hardships of people who were the slaves from the17th century onwards, truly, the 'blues'. Many new music genres including what we now call the blues emerged from the spirituals but, as we shall see, the blues in an obscure form existed even before the spirituals, and in fact were an element of the Spirituals, only the format we’re familiar with was different. |
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Get in touch, How to contact ... PD Productions
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Every day we have the blues ..... PD Productions Video archive...
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| Welcome to the PD Productions video archive. We are delighted to receive video clips from our very good friends around the world to include in our 'Backtracking' program. Below is a list of the clips scheduled for the next few weeks ... |
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The Staple Singers - I'll Take You There |
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47th Street Jive - June Richmond with Roy Milton's band |
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B. B. King - The Thrill Is Gone |
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Diunna Greenleaf & Blue Mercy |
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Nina Simone - Ain't got no, I got life |
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Raymunda Dutch Blues - Pity the fool |
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Take Me to the River LIVE - Sharde Thomas and Rising Star |
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| Current clip: .... Diunna Greenleaf & Blue Mercy ... |
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| Play the current video |
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| Download from our server |
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| Diunna's website |
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| Legal / Copyright stuff |
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Myths and Legends of the blues ..... The Legendary Jug Bands
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The Legendary Jug Bands Memphis, Tennessee was ideally located to absorb bits of all the music and culture that flowed up and down the Mississippi river. New Orleans Jazz, Cajun from Southern Mississippi, Delta Blues, and every variation of folk and roots music from the rural South. Memphis existed to deal with the cotton trade and distribution by river or train. Memphis sits at the corner of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee on the Mississippi river. If it travelled by riverboat, it arrived in Memphis.
The early jug bands were made up of African American vaudeville and medicine show musicians, music for entertainment, street musicians without much money. The term ‘Jug Band’ comes from building a band around some jug players. The jugs could be earth-ware or glass — as long as you could get a variety of tones, including rich low notes. There could be several jugs, played like brass instruments. The sounds that could be made gave the impression of sliding notes (like a trombone). A good player could get two octaves out of a good-sized jug. |
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