[Dixielandjazz] the washboard rhythm kings

[Katie Cavera]

Hello! I'm glad you posted this Jack because this brings up a lot of good 
questions for me!  I get the DJML in digest form so please forgive me if these 
questions and answers have already been posted - I'm usually a little behind...

In 1930 Victor released a recording  as "Wilton Crawley And The Washboard Rhythm 
Kings" and on that session we have:
Henry Allen - t , Wilton Crawley - cl & v, Charlie Holmes - as, Jelly Roll 
Morton - p, Teddy Bunn - g, Pops Foster - sb, Bruce Johnson - wb.
If anyone wants to hear what that sounds like you can find them here on the Red 
Hot Jazz Archive:
http://www.redhotjazz.com/crawleyrk.html
I'm checking Brian Rust right now to see if they did anything else and Rust 
tells me that it was only this one record: Victor 2334.  Although the same band 
recorded Victor 23292 but maybe it was just released under Wilton Crawley's 
name?  I'm not sure - I get a little confused looking at Rust sometimes.

Ok so now lets flip forward in the Rust and find Washboard Rhythm Kings.  And 
yes, their first session is April 2nd 1931.  And the people are different on 
that session then the above Victor session.  But now here's what's interesting 
to me and I'm hoping you can help me out here Jack.  The big question on my mind 
is: Who are the Washboard Rhythm Kings?  The personnel on the recordings listed 
in Rust changes nearly every session.  If I'm reading my Rust right (say that 
five times fast) Teddy Bunn did not record on the first session on April 2nd but 
he does play on the next two sessions: May 8th and June 4th.  I was always under 
the impression that The Washboard Rhythm Kings were purely a studio band.  That 
they did not really tour and play gigs - they just recorded for Victor and 
cranked out records at the height of the washboard craze.  And that's why the 
personnel changes so frequently.  And look at this - Valaida Snow even recorded 
with them in '32 - that's really cool.

They keep changing the name of the band too it looks like.  The first session 
they went as the Five Rhythm Kings, then we have Washboard Rhythm Kings, then 
The Rhythm Kings, then Georgia Washboard Stompers, then Chicago Hot Five, then 
Washboard Rhythm Boys...  did I get them all? I do have the collectors classics 
5 volume set on my iTunes and wow there's a lot of stuff here...  On Volume 5 
they also include 10 tracks by the Washboard Serenaders which again our pal 
Teddy Bunn is on.  These recordings may have just been included for 'interest'? 
 It seems to be a different band and they actually recorded in 1930 - before the 
WRK.  Well it's all really interesting to me.  And now I have to go find out 
more about Wilton Crawley.  Oh and I started looking on YouTube a bit to see 
what might come up and I found a couple nice clips:

This is listed under Washboard Rhythm Kings but I'm thinking it may actually be 
the Washboard Serenaders:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig9rs5-hMeY

And then this one is listed as Washboard Serenaders:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh7ozAfUKl4

Fun stuff !
Katie

http://www.katiecavera.com
http://www.youtube.com/kcavera



----- Original Message ----
From: Jack Mitchell <fjmitch at westnet.com.au>
To: Katie Cavera <kcavera at sbcglobal.net>
Cc: djml <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Mon, March 7, 2011 2:52:47 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz]  the washboard rhythm kings

From: "Katie Cavera" <kcavera at sbcglobal.net>
> Here's a link to the Reynolds Brothers website where Ralf posted a short page 
>on
> the history of Washboard Bands:
> 
> 
http://www.reynoldsbrothers.net/index.php/site/about/washboard_bands_1925-1935/
> 
Don't bother to visit that link - it's full of errors - Louis never recorded 
with the Alabama Washboard Stompers, the disc released as by Louis Armstrong And 
His Original Washboard Beaters is actually by Clarence Williams' Washboard Four.

Henry Allen and Jelly Roll Morton never recorded with the Washboard Rhythm Kings 
in 1930 or any other year - the first WRK session was in April, 1931. I could go 
on, but why bother.

The Reynolds brothers should not have stopped taking their pills.

Best wishes
Jack Mitchell