[Dixielandjazz] Rinehart

[Bill Haesler]

Joe Carbery wrote:
> In the version of *Somebody Stole My Gal *recorded on 8th August 1940 by Jimmy Rushing with the Basie band, he sings "Rinehart's brokenhearted lonesome pal...."
> I had long assumed that Rinehart had made his way into that song from the lyrics of *Harvard Blues *("Rinehart, Rinehart, I'm a most indifferent
> guy....") Yet *Harvard Blues *was recorded by Basie and Rushing on 21 January 1942 and an article in the Harvard Magazine (Sept-Oct 2002) says that George Frazier, who wrote the lyrics, "in 1941 regaled his friend Basie with a sadsack version of the legend."
> If Basie first heard the lyrics in 1941, where did Jimmy Rushing hear of Rinehart?

Dear Joe,
The easy answer is that Jimmy Rushing didn't sing: "Rinehart's brokenhearted lonesome pal....".
He sang "Find a brokenhearted lonesome pal....".
Listen to the Count Basie Orchestra version issued on Columbia 35550:  
   https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Jazz%2C+Count+Basie%2C+Somebody+Stole+My+Gal

I also have a Jimmy Rushing recording of it from 27 February 1958, based on the Basie routine, where the subject lyric is much clearer:
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqqvNi-gLIQ 

However, you have opened up a proper can of worms here.

•Jimmy Rushing recorded "Somebody Stole My Gal" with the Count Basie Orchestra (issued on Columbia 35550) on 20 March 1940.  
Where did your 8 August 1940 date come from?

•I have Basie's "Harvard Blues" with its odd lyrics and vaguely recalled the Rinehart story; so went a-googling this morning.
    http://harvardmagazine.com/2002/09/i-love-my-vincent-baby-html
It was recorded on 17 November 1941 (not 21 January 1942).
The copyright "Harvard Blues" was registered on 4 April 1942 by George Frazier, Tab Smith and Count Basie.
Probably about the time the recording was released on Okeh 6564.

There is also a Rinehart/Harvard Blues connection in Ralph Ellison's book 'Invisible Man', as you probably know.
   http://intl-nq.oxfordjournals.org/content/54/2/181.extract
that suggests we should really be looking for another Jimmy Rushing recording with the lyric:
	Rinehart, Rinehart
	It's so lonesome up here
	On Beacon Hill.
Very kind regards,
Bill.