[Dixielandjazz] "Camp Meeting Blues" (was Stolen changes oops!)

[Bill Haesler]

Jack Mitchell wrote:
> Many years ago the magazine RECORD RESEARCH had an article entitled I'VE HEARD THAT SONG BEFORE. It listed dozens of songs that were taken and retitled by other composers.

Dear Jack,
Do you have the date(s) for that/those Record Research article(s)? I seem to recall that it ran over several issues.
I have bound copies of nearly all the Record Research magazines here (as I think you know).

> And one of Duke Ellington's tunes came from a King Oliver recording - details forgotten, but it might have been CAMP MEETING BLUES.

Louis Lince raised this one with me 'off list' yesterday in connection with the "Night Train" thread.
The details are contained in Laurie Wright's 1987 bio-discography 'King Oliver'. (Pages 25-27).
The contents of a letter Oliver wrote to Victor Recording Lab. on 30 April 1928, claims that "Creole Love Call" was written by him and copyrighted on 11 Oct. 1923 (#570230) under the title "Camp Meeting Blues" and recorded by him for Columbia Records.
However, UK researcher Howard Rye discovered that the composition copyrighted under that number was "Temptation Blues" and the date was 11 August (not Oct) 1923. This indicates that the unrecorded "Temptation Blues" became "Camp Meeting Blues" by the time Oliver recorded it on 16 October 1923.
In 'Ellingtonia', the Newsletter Of The Duke Ellington Society, dated December 2004 Ben Pubols discusses "Camp Meeting Blues", "Temptation Blues," and "Creole Love Call" and Rob Bamberger's Hot Jazz Saturday Night program of October 30 devoted to the subject.
Mr Pubols based his commentary on Mr Bamberger's comments and his own listening to the recordings as follows: 

"The main theme of "Creole Love Call" (the one to which Adelaide HaIl supplies the countermelody) comes from a clarinet solo by Jimmy Noone, and the clarinet solo Rudy Jackson takes on "Creole Love Call" comes from a trombone solo by Ed Atkins on "Camp Meeting Blues." The latter was recorded in 1923 and Jackson spent some time with Oliver in 1924, although he never recorded with him. Apparently,when Duke put together "Creole Love Call" he was under the assumption that these two melodies were original with Jackson (who is given co-composer credit alone with Bubber Miley and Duke). Later on, in 1928, when Oliver learned of ''Creole Love Call," he complained to Victor Records and sued Duke, but lost in court because he had copyrighted "Camp Meeting Blues" under a different title, "Temptation Blues." As Bamberger noted, "the entire episode would sour Duke Ellington on Rudy Jackson, who would leave the band soon thereafter." ("Creole Love Call" was recorded in October, I927 and Jackson left in January, 1928, replaced of course by Barney Bigard.) Some of this is discussed, with musical comparisons, in Marl Tucker's 'Ellington: The Early Years' (1991, pp. 236-242).
As Tucker sums it up, "Adelaide Hall, Rudy Jackson, Bubber Miley, and King Oliver's Jazz Band were all important contributors to 'Creole Love Call'.''

Mr Bamberger's 'assumption' that Duke was 'sour' on Jackson (pre-January 1928) does not quite fit the dates above, as Oliver would probably not have sued Duke until after he had written to Victor (late April 1928). If there was a court case, I expect that Laurie Wright would have uncovered the details.
Laurie Wright also cites the Sippie Wallace Okeh recording of "Being Down Doesn't Worry Me" (20 Aug 1925) where Rudy Jackson uses the "Creole Love Call" theme behind Ms Wallace. 
I have just played this side and the theme occurs briefly in the second chorus.
Kind regards,
Bill.