[Dixielandjazz] Struttin With Some Barbecue

[Steve Barbone]

on 5/5/07 2:43 PM, Robert Smith at robert.smith at tele2.no wrote:

> Dear Steve
> 
> Jos Willems in his complete discography of Louis Armstrong "All Of Me"
> indicates that it is settled. He quotes the composer as "Hardin".
> 
> Kind Regards
> 
> Bob Smith

Hi Bob:

Yes, I know that some say Lil, some say Louis, some say both. But then,
consider the following:

>From Louis' own writings, edited by Thomas Brothers, "Louis Armstrong, In
His Own Words" Oxford University Press, 1999, comes the following quote on
page 131 about the tune "Struttin With Some Barbecue":

"This tune was derived and thought of during the days when Zutty Singleton
and I were playing at the Savoy Ballroom on the South Side of Chicago . . .
And after the dance every night, Zutty and I would drive out to 48th and
State Street . . . There was an old man there who made some of the most
delicious barbecue that anyone would love to smack their chops on (their
lips). One order never was enough for Zutty and I . . . Some nights that
man's barbecue was so good, until I almost hurt myself from eating so much.
. . One night while Zutty and I were manipulating those "chime bones"
(barbecue), a thought came into my head . . . I said to Zutty -- Say Zoot,
as I sit here eating these fine tasting ribs, it dawned upon me that I
should write a tune and call it "Struttin With Some Barbecue". Zutty said,
Dush, that's a real good idea  . . . So then and there, "Struttin With Some
Barbecue" was born."

Laurence Bergreen's book talks about Lil demanding co-composer credit after
it was published with Louis as composer: Pages 377-8.

"For example when the sheet music for 'Struttin With Some Barbecue' was
published with Louis credited as composer, Lil claimed the song was actually
a collaboration between the two of them in their days with Joe Oliver. She
asked for $5000 in exchange for her rights but Glaser told Louis that she
demanded $100,000. (It would be decades until Louis discovered that Glaser
had lied to him about the amount).

Also from Bergreen's book (page 274) is:

"The collaborative nature of the enterprise (Hot 5/Hot 7) makes it nearly
impossible to assign credit for the songs, no matter whose name was
officially listed as composer, especially since many of the tunes were
adaptations of older models> Even when Louis wrote an original song, he left
it to Lil to put on paper - 'Louis would play the melody and Lil would write
it down as fast as Louis played,' said one musician who observed them in
action. This modus operandi gave Lil the impression that she was not just
Louis's transcriber but also his collaborator. Eventually, the impression
hardened into a conviction that prompted Lil to haunt Louis in court for
years to come."

As I see it, murky at best. Did Louis lie? Is Bergreen wrong? I don't know.
What do others think? Bill Haesler? Anton?

Cheers,
Steve