[Dixielandjazz] Worn Out Blues/Wore Out Blues

[Bill Haesler]

[This is going to bore a few listmates, so hit 'delete' now.]
Bob Rubin wrote [in part]:
> Now I'm confused. Are you saying that the fast
> one is "Whip Me..."

Dear Bob,
I was only stirring the pot a little in an attempt to start a new 
thread after what seemed like a week of Chicken Dancing.
8>)
"Whip Me With Plenty Of Love" (Williams-Urquhart) [mx 403972] and "Worn 
Out Blues" (Rogalle) [mx 403973] were recorded by Clarence Williams 
Washboard Band on 23 April 1930 and issued on Okeh 8790. It was 
reissued on English Parlophone R2203 and Odeon ONY36083.
On all the 78s "Whip Me...." is the slow tune and "Worn Out Blues" is 
the fast one.
Both tunes are different but both have a 16 bar verse and 32 bar 
chorus. Neither is a 'blues'.
At some time someone (thinking logically) decided that the tunes had 
been reversed by Okeh, notwithstanding that the master numbers in the 
wax for each matched that shown on the relevant label.
Some DJMLers will recall that Eddie Condon claimed (in his 1948 book 
'We Called It Music') that this same reversal thing had happened with 
Fats Waller's "Minor Drag/Harlem Fuss".
The only other issued 78 records of the tunes were made by a very 
popular Australian band from Melbourne, Frank Johnson's Dixielanders :
"Worn Out Blues" [slow] recorded on 9 Aug 1949.
"Whip Me With Plenty Of Love" [fast] recorded on 8 Oct 1951.
 From that point on all Australian bands have played the fast tune as 
"Whip Me...". Our band still does.
(I can't see Oz groups changing over after all at this time either!)
Both the Clarence Williams' tunes were reissued in the early 50s on a 
10" English Columbia LP 33S1067.
Although I had this at the time I can't now recall if the tune appeared 
with "Whip Me...." as fast or slow.
In the 1960s, when both Williams' sides were reissued on Swaggie JCS 
33714 and S1282, Nevill Sherburn and I accepted the reversed theory and 
'corrected' the title of the fast tune to "Whip Me With Plenty Of Love".
This was acknowledged in Storyville magazine No. 27 (Feb 1970) which 
notes that "All 78 isues are titled in reverse...." and "The Swaggie 
microgroove has corrected this."
The late Tom Lord (not the 'Jazz Discography' man) in his definitive 
1976 bio-discography of 'Clarence Williams' disputes the tune reversal 
theory and cites Thornton Hagert (Vernacular Music Research) who 
managed to locate the Lou Urguhart manuscript for "Whip Me With Plenty 
Of Love" in the Library of Congress and stated in a letter dated March 
1974 "comparison with the recording (mx 403972-A) indicates that the 
titles are NOT reversed."
So far as I know, all CDs (plus the great Red Hot Jazz Archive site) 
use the original 78 version with "Whip Me..." (the slow tune).
Now for the queries:
1.  Is "Whip Me..." on the English Columbia 10" LP slow or fast?
2.  From the 1980s on the Hot Antic Jazz Band, European Classic Jazz 
Band, Hot Frogs, New Black Eagle Jazz Band and West Jesmond Rhythm 
Kings have all recorded "Whip Me With Plenty Of Love".
But which version? Fast or slow?
3.  If Audrey Van Dyke, our DJML Angel, is 'tuned in', have you managed 
to locate the Urquhart manuscript in the LoC?
There may be two versions:  31 July 1928 and 28 May 1930 both published 
by Clarence Williams Music Publishing Company.
Kind regards,
Bill.