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The term "Dixieland" refers to that musical STYLE which first developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and then spread to Chicago and New York City in the 1910s-'20s. While there are many songs specifically associated with "Dixieland", still almost any song can be played in the Dixieland manner. In it's beginning, "Dixieland Jazz" grew out of the polyphonic improvisation on the various brass band marches, French Quadrilles, ragtime and Blues that were being played in New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century. That STYLE of polyphonic improvisation can be applied to virtually any of today's tunes, which we could then call 'Dixieland'.

As mentioned, there is no such thing as a " definitive list" of Dixieland songs, never-the-less, the tunes presented here are deemed by most musicians to be part of the original "Dixieland" repertoire, -and most of these have been widely recorded by "Dixieland" groups.

Dixieland (traditional Jazz) standards include:

  "After You've Gone", (547 kb): "Johnny Dodds Black Bottom Stompers". He recorded this tune twice, and this is the version with a vocal refrain. (tune: Henry Creamer/Turner Layton)

  "Aunt Hagar's Blues ", (596 kb): The Jack Teagarden Orchestra, with Jack on trombone and vocal too. . Rec'd: July 19, 1939 in New York, NY. Columbia 35206. (Composer: W. C. Handy) Handy said he based the chorus of "Aunt Hagar" on a melody sung by a washerwoman "hanging britches on a line." He wrote the piece in Brownlee's Barber Shop in Chicago after which it was premiered the same night by Tate's Vendome Theater Orchestra (ca. 1921), . "Aunt Hagar" refers to the Biblical Hagar, whose lost children the Black race imagined themselves to be.

  " Baby, Won't You Please Come Home", (534 kb): McKinney's Cotton Pickers with vocal refrain.

  " Baby, Won't You Please Come Home", (649 kb): Perhaps a more traditional New Orleans type sound.

  "Ballin' The Jack", (537 kb): played by the Louisiana Rhythm Kings.

  "Ballin' The Jack", (474 kb): For a comparison, here's how the "King of Jazz" - Paul Whiteman - played the same tune. Vocal trio.

  "Basin Street Blues", (544 kb): Played by the Charleston Chasers with vocal. The name of this 1928 song celebrates the hub of New Orleans' nightlife. The name was derived from the "basin" formed by the excavation of building materials from that site by the city's early inhabitants.

  "Basin Street Blues", (567 kb): "Louis Armstrong's Hot Five" -with a young 'Satchmo' 'scatting' the vocal.

  "Beale Street Blues", (590 kb): Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers. W. C. Handy composed this tune in 1916 honoring of the Beale Avenue entertainment district in Memphis, Tennessee. The song later became associated with a dance called the "shimmy", due greatly to Gilda Gray's performances at Reisenweber's Restaurant in NYC and in Shubert's Gaieties of 1919. In the early 1920s, the Shimmy dance craze swept the country. . (composer: W.C. Handy) this version recorded June 10, 1927, Victor 20948-A 38661-1 Chicago, Illinois ( Also see below: "Shimmy-Sha-Wabble", and "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate" for more shimmy tunes )

  "Blanche Touquatoux", (446 kb): Kid Ory's Creole Orchestra. The "Kid" never forgot his roots, - listen to this tune with it's Creole vocal refrain. Rec'd: March 21, 1945 in Los Angeles, California. Decca 25134. (tune: Kid Ory , O. Ory) (" I THINK the vocalists are Kid Ory and his sister Cecile Ory . I do not know the meaning of "Touquatoux", -- if you know, please tell me. )

  "Big Butter And Egg Man", (556 kb): ' Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five', with Vocal Chorus By May Alix, and Louis Armstrong.. The title is a nickname that Chicagoans gave to wealthy Midwest farmers who came to Chicago in the 1920s, where they visited the bars and night clubs spending lavishly on girls, liquor, food, and entertainment.. Rec'd: Nov. 16, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois. Okeh 8423-A. (Composer: Percy Venable).

  "Bill Bailey (Won't You Please Come Home)", (515 kb): Kid Ory's Creole Orchestra. Rec'd: Oct. 16, 1946 . Columbia 37276

  "Black Bottom Stomp", (552 kb): Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers. Even before the 1920s, the "Black Bottom" was danced all over the South. However, the Black Bottom became a craze second only to the "Charleston" when it was introduced by Ann Pennington in George White's Scandals of 1926. Rec'd: Sept. 15, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois. Victor 20221-A

  "Black Bottom Stomp", (532 kb): Annette Hanshaw warbling.

  "Black Bottom Stomp", (169 kb): Johnny Hamp's Kentucky Serenaders. (Abreviated version)

  "(At The) Darktown Strutter's Ball", (534 kb): Played by the "Original Dixieland Jazz Band". (Composer: Sheldon Brooks). Brooks's smash hit was introduced in vaudeville, but popularized by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band's recording on January 30, 1917 .

  "(At The) Darktown Strutter's Ball", (615 kb): Red Mckenzie and his Mound City Blue Blowers

  "Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me", (503 kb): Jimmy Noone's Apex Club Orchestra. playing this 1919 comic song; (Tune: Arthur Swanstone, Charles K. McCarron, and Carey Morgan)

  "Bugle Call Rag", (535 kb): Albert E. Short's Tivoli Syncopators. In the 1920s, Short led his band at the Tivoli and Capitol theatres in Chicago. Recorded: May 1923 New York, NY. Vocalion B 14658 (Composers: Snyder, Jack Pettis, Brunels, Irving Mills).

  "Canal Street Blues ", (438 kb): King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band rec'd: April 5, 1923.
"Careless Love" -- see "Loveless Love" below.

  "Chinatown, My Chinatown", (535 kb): The Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. Rec'd: Oct. 3, 1930, New York, NY. Columbia 2329-D. (Composers: Jean Schwartz, Jerome)

  "Clarinet Marmalade", (460 kb): New Orleans Rhythm Kings. Rec'd: July 17, 1923, Richmond, Indiana. Gennett 5220-B. (Tune : Nick LaRocca, Eddie Edwards, Tony Sparbaro, Larry Shields)

  "Copenhagen", (437 kb): "The Wolverines". (composed by Midwest bandleader Charlie Davis and Walter Melrose)). rec'd: August. 1924, Gennett 5453 The title refers to the brand of Snuff that was used by Ole Olson, the tuba player in composer Charles Davis's band.

  "Creole Song (C'est L'Autre Cancan)", (465 kb): Kid Ory's Creole Orchestra with vocal refrain by Kid Ory. Rec'd: August 3, 1944, Los Angeles, California, Crescent 1 (CPM 10352A)

  " Darktown Strutters' Ball", (566 kb): The Original Dixieland Jazz Band. This tune was first introduced in vaudeville during 1917, and became a smash hit when recorded by the Dixieland Jazz Band. This version was recorded May 31, 1917, in New York, NY, Columbia A2297. (composer: Shelton Brooks)

  "Dipper Mouth Blues", (448 kb): King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band rec'd: April 6, 1923. (Tune: Joe Oliver and Louis Armstrong). Armstrong met his second wife, Lil Hardin, who was the pianist in the Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. In late 1924, Louis Armstrong joined Fletcher Henderson's orchestra in New York city, and introduced this song to Fletcher Henderson, Henderson's arranger, Don Redman, immediately added a couple of choruses, rearranged their sequence, and re-titled the tune "Sugarfoot Stomp." Then in 1926, King Oliver again recorded the number with his Dixie Syncopators, under the new title, but without Redman's changes. Some historians think that "Sugarfoot" possibly refers to Oliver's habit of washing down sugar sandwiches with prodigious draughts of sugar water.

  "Doctor Jazz", (613 kb): Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers, with vocal refrain. . (Tune: King Oliver, Walter Melrose). Rec'd: Dec. 16, 1926. Chicago, Illinois. Victor 20415-A
"Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans"

  "Eh La Bas" - ("Hey Down there") , (525 kb): Kid Ory's Creole Band, with vocal refrain. Rec'd: Oct. 21, 1946. Columbia 37275

  "Everybody Loves My Baby", (463 kb): Played by the "Red Onion Jazz Babies". with vocal Rec'd: Nov. 6, 1924 New York, NY Gennett 5594. (tune: Jack Palmer, Spencer Williams). "Red Onion Jazz Babies" were a group organized by Clarence Williams and featured Lil Hardin-Armstrong. The sessions were the first time that Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong recorded together.

  "Farewell Blues", (504 kb): King Oliver's Dixie Syncopators. Rec'd: Nov. 18, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois. Vocalion A 1152. Previously recorded by the 'New Orleans Rhythm Kings' (NORK) on August 29-30, 1922. (Composers: Elmer Schoebel, Paul Mares, Leon Roppolo)

  "Gut Bucket Blues", (493 kb): Louis Armstrong's Hot Five. (composer: Louis Armstrong) Rec'd: Nov. 12, 1925 in Chicago, Illinois. Okeh 8261-A. A "gut bucket" was used in "barrelhouses" to catch the "gutterings" or drippings from the leaky spigots of wine and beer barrels. A "barrelhouse saloon" was a low type of bar where the liquor was dispensed directly from the barrel.

  "High Society Rag", (675 kb): King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band (Tune: Porter Steele) Yale-educated Porter Steele, originally wrote this song as a novelty number. In 1901, "High Society" was originally published as a march. An orchestration of the piece was purchased by the John Robichaux Orchestra, a much celebrated New Orleans society band, whose clarinetist, Alphonse Picou, later claimed credit for adapting the piccolo part into the famous clarinet obbligato.

  "High Society", (550 kb): Kid Ory with Jimmie Noone Rec'd: March 1944, in Los Angeles, California. Carousel 2501 (MU 603)

  "High Society Blues", (523 kb): Red McKenzie and His Mound City Blue Blowers. Rec'd: Dec. 12, 1935, New York, NY. Champion 40103 Decca 1274 A. (Tune: A.J. Piron, Clarence Williams)

  "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate", (512 kb): Leona Williams and Her Dixie Band (actually : 'The Original Memphis Five'). Rec'd: Sept. 19, 1922 inNew York, NY Columbia A3713. (Composer: A.J. Piron) ( Louis Armstrong claimed that he composed the tune and engaged in a long-standing feud with Piron over it.). See also "Shimmy-Sha-Wabble" below. and also see "Beale Street Blues" above. The "Shimmy" was an early 1920s dance craze.

  "It's Tight Like That", (467 kb): Jimmy Noone's Apex Club Orchestra, with vocal refrain. Rec'd: Dec. 27, 1928, Chicago, Illinois. Vocalion 1238-A C-2710-A (Tune: Thomas A. Dorsey, Hudson Whittaker)

  "Jazz Me Blues", (466 kb): The Wolverines (Bix and Tram) (Tune: Tom Delaney) Rec'd: Feb. 18, 1924, Richmond, Indiana. Gennett 5408-B

  "(Back Home Again in) Indiana ", (625 kb): Played by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. song composed by Ballard MacDonald and James Hanley in 1917. Louis Armstrong opened every All-Stars performance with this song. .

  "(Back Home Again in) Indiana", (470 kb): Red McKenzie and His Mound City Blue Blowers, with vocal refrain. . Rec'd: May 9, 1935, New York, NY/ Vocalion 2973 A. (Tune: Ballard MacDonald, James F. Hanley)

  "King Porter Stomp", (455 kb): Zutty Singleton and His Orchestra. (tune: Jelly Roll Morton) rec'd: June 5, 1940, New York, NY Decca 5102-A Decca 18093 A

  "Livery Stable Blues", (545 kb): 'The Original Dixieland Jazz Band' playing the very first Jazz recording. The tune, composed by Nick LaRocca, was recorded on Feb. 26, 1917 coupled with "Dixie Jass Band One Step" for the Victor Talking Machine Company. Later, LaRocca told interviewers that "Livery Stable Blues" (copyrighted as "Barnyard Blues") originated on a Chicago dance floor in 1916 when he played a "horse whinny" on his cornet to accompany a "Jazz-crazed young lady." A rooster crow for the clarinet and a donkey bray for the trombone completed the musical menagerie, to which was added a melody LaRocca claimed to have composed years before in New Orleans. This record besides being the first ever Jazz record was wildly successful selling over one million copies.

  "Loveless Love", (543 kb): played by a band led by the tune's composer " W. C. Handy's Memphis Blues Band". The tune was a huge Popular hit. (tune: W.C. Handy) Jan. 1922, New York, NY, Paramount 12011). First came "Careless Love", an old and popular traditional lament that was also known as "Kelly's Love." In 1926, the song was first (formally) published and arranged by W. C. Handy. It is known to have been one of the best known pieces in the Buddy Bolden Band's repertoire at the very start of the 20th century, and has remained a Jazz and Blues standard to this day. Hundreds of recordings of this tune have been made in the Folk, Blues, Jazz, C&W, and Pop genres; W. C. Handy's song "Loveless Love" uses the familiar melody of "Careless Love", with a slightly different lyric.

  "Careless Love", (510 kb): Kid Ory's Orchestra. Rec'd: August 5, 1945, Los Angeles, California. Crescent 5 (1009). (Tune: Traditional - W.C. Handy).

  "Maple Leaf Rag", (450 kb): Played by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings (Tune: Scott Joplin) rec'd: March 13, 1923, Gennett 5102-B, Richmond, Indiana

  "Melancholy Blues", (542 kb): Louis Armstrong's Hot Seven. Rec'd: May 11, 1927, Chicago, Illinois. Okeh 8496 . (Tune: Marty Bloom, Walter Melrose). (It had also just been recorded on April 22,1927 by Johnny Dodds's Black Bottom Stompers.)

  "Milenberg Joys", (530 kb): Played by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. (this is the Gennett 5217-A version recorded July 18, 1923.in Richmond, Indiana ). The piece is named for the (now defunct) "Milneburg Resort" that had been located on Lake Pontchartrain, five miles north of downtown New Orleans.

  "Milenberg Joys", (532 kb): a Vocal version by 'Husk O'Hare's Wolverines' playing in 1928. Milneberg, where many bands played, is now best recalled by this great Jazz tune (lyric: Walter Melrose; music: Leon Rappolo, Paul Mares, and "Jelly Roll" Morton). This 1928 version is interesting due to the vocal by Turk Savage. Curiously, all the various recordings and sheet music refer to the tune as "Milenberg Joys".

  "Muskrat Ramble", (469 kb): Louis Armstrong's Hot Five recorded in Chicago, IL in Feb. 26, 1926, by Okeh 8300-B. (Tune: Edward "Kid" Ory). In a 1971 interview Ory confirmed that the title on the original recording, "Muskat Ramble," was a misspelling of the name "Muskrat". He also said that Lil Armstrong, "Hot Five" pianist had provided the name. However, in a 1960s interview , Armstrong, claimed that he wrote the tune: "Ory named it; he gets the royalties; I don't talk about it". Subsequently, clarinetist Sidney Bechet identified the melody as one old New Orleans bands played called "The Old Cow Died" -- possibly the same tune as "The Old Cow Died and Brock Cried ," cited as a staple of the Buddy Bolden Band repertory.

  "Original Dixieland One-Step", (451 kb): The Original Dixieland Jass Band. (Tune: Nick LaRocca) Rec'd: Oce. 9, 1936, New York, NY. Victor 25502

  "Ory's Creole Trombone", (554 kb): Kid Ory's Creole Orchestra playing his own composition. (Tune: Edward "Kid" Ory) Rec'd: Nov. 1945, Los Angeles, California, Cresent 6 (1025). Originally recorded by "Ory's Sunshine Orchestra" in Los Angeles in June 1922 (possibly 1921), this song was possibly the first "Jazz" recording by a 'Black' band. Ory later recorded the number with Armstrong's Hot Five in 1927.

  "Panama", (464 kb): Johnny De Droit and His New Orleans Orchestra. Rec'd: Okeh 40240-B March 15, 1924 New Orleans, Louisiana (tune: William H. Tyers, 1912) Originally recorded by the 'New Orleans Rhythm Kings' on August 29-30, 1922, and possibly composed for the famous vaudeville act, "Aida Overton Walker and her Panama Girls."

  "Royal Garden Blues", (546 kb): The Original Dixieland Jazz Band. with vocal refrain. (Tune: Clarence Williams, Spencer Williams) Rec'd: May 25, 1921, New York, NY. Victor 18798-B. Royal Garden was the legendary 'South Side' Chicago dance hall where Bix Beiderbecke came with his Whiteman Band buddies to listen in admiration to 'King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band'.. Bix and Satchmo became great friends, and Bix was the only other man that Louis allowed to play his trumpet.

  "Royal Garden Blues", (618 kb): "The Ethel Waters' Jazz Masters" (probably the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra)/ (Tune: Spencer Williams) . Rec'd: Sept. 1921, New York, NY, Black Swan 2035-A

  "San", (454 kb): Jimmy Noone's Apex Club Orchestra. Rec'd: July 1, 1930, Chicago, Illinois. Ace Of Hearts 84 C-5903-B.

Sometimes, "Dixieland Jazz" is referred to as "Good Time Music". Listening to Jimmy Noone's band playing "San" reminds one of that saying. Just to re-inforce that concept in your mind, listen now to a few other versions of this wonderful old tune:

  "San", (499 kb), The Tub Jug Washboard band recorded June 1928 in Chicago, IL, USA (Paramount 12671-A). Just your usual instruments, a "washtub" bass fiddle, the washboard, Bones, and banjo,

  "San", (358 kb), Husk O'Hare's Super Orchestra of Chicago. (December 1922. Gennett 5009-A, Rec'd: Chicago, IL, USA)

"SAN" (composed by (Lindsay McPhail, Walter Michels, 1920)

King San of Senegal Sat on the shore At Bulamay, Singing a sad refrain.
To his dear queen who'd gone away, This was his lay.

One day the queen came home Saw San in sadness on the shore,
Told him she'd no more roam. Only her San would she adore,
Then came this lore.

Oh, sweet heart Lona, my darling Lona, Why have you gone away?
You said you loved me, But if you loved me,
Why did you act this way? If I had ever been untrue to you,
What you have done would be the thing to do;
But my heart aches, dear,
And it will break, dear,
If you don't come back home again to San!

Oh, sweet heart Lona, my darling Lona,
Have you come back to stay?
You said you loved me, I knew you loved me,
I knew you'd come some day.
If I had ever been untrue to you,
What you have done would be the thing to do;
But now you're mine, dear,
For all the time, dear,
And you're forgiven by your loving San!


  "San", (662kb) A vocal version by the 'Alabama Red Peppers' (a pseudonym for Bob Haring and His Orchestra.) Arthur Fields on vocal, (Rec'd: Cameo 8109 mx 2788, in 1928). Jimmy Dorsey was on clarinet and alto sax, and Andy Sannella on clarinet, alto sax and steel guitar

  "San", (405 kb), Ted Lewis and His Orchestra. Jan. 8. 1930, (Columbia 2113-D). Music : Lindsay McPhail and Walter Michaels.

  "Satanic Blues", (685 kb): The Original Dixieland Jass Band. (Tune: Larry Shields, Emile Christian) Rec'd: August 13, 1919 in London, England. Columbia 759

  "Satanic Blues", (590 kb): The Benny Krueger Orchestra. (Tune: Larry Shields, Emile Christian) Rec'd: April 1921, New York, NY. Brunswick 2105-B

"Shake It and Break It" -- see "Weary Blues" below.


  "Shreveport Stomp", (529 kb): Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers (playing his own composition). It is very interesting to compare this version with the Nakchounian version below. Recorded: June 11, 1928 , New York, NY, Victor 21658-A 45623-2 In this Jelly Roll version, there is a second theme, played by the clarinet starting in a minor key and resolving to a major, which is completely absent from Gregoire Nakchounian's version.

  "Shreevepoort Stomp", (539 kb): Gregoire Nakchounian and his Russian North Star Orchestra Notice how, In his release, saxist/clarinetist Gregoire Nakchounian omitted the second theme, played by the clarinetist in the Jelly Roll Morton version above. (This release is exceedingly rare, and was probably recorded April/May 1928 in Leipzig or Berlin, Germany, by a band that were all native European musicians. Pianist Jean Paques later became well known on the Paris jazz scene.

  "Shim-Me-Sha-Wabble", (530 kb): played here by the "Original Wolverines", that was a revival of the first Wolverine Orchestra. They added the "Original" to differentiate themselves from Husk O'Hare's Wolverines. Dick Voynow, who was the Wolverine Orchestra's original leader anf pianist, led this revival group too. Spencer Williams composed this tune in 1916 for African-American dancer, Snow Fisher, then performing at Chicago's 'Elite Cafe', where she had popularized the shimmy dance craze. This version was rec'd: Oct. 12, 1927, Chicago, Illinois. Brunswick 3707. (Composer: Spencer Williams). The 'New Orleans Rhythm Kings' had previously recorded the song on March 12-13, 1923.

  "Someday Sweetheart", (617 kb): Reb Spikes and His Minors and Majors. Jelly Roll Morton claimed to have gotten the basic tune of "Someday Sweetheart" from 'Kid' North, a pianist friend. The song, he said, "was practically wrote at the time Reb and I were working in a cabaret in Oakland [California], but they left my name off it." The Spike brothers also owned the 'Sunshine' record label which released only three records. However, one of those three was the first African-American Jazz record by a group from New Orleans. The orchestra was listed as 'Spikes Seven Pods of Pepper Orchestra' which in reality was 'Kid Ory's Creole Orchestra' The song was also recorded by King Oliver's Dixie Syncopators for Vocalion on Sept. 17, 1926. (Composers: John and Benjamin "Reb" Spikes)
"Some of These Days" was composed in 1910 and recorded by the "Original Dixieland Jazz Band" on January 3, 1923. Composer Shelton Brooks (1886-1975) had the melody running through his head, but was stuck for lyrics until he heard a young couple quarreling. The young woman warned, "Better not walk out on me, man, for some of these days you're gonna miss me honey," which were the very words Brooks was seeking. Vaudevillian Sophie Tucker so loved the tune she used it as her theme song. Here's Ethel Waters 1927 rendition, followed by the Quintet of The Hot Club of France in 1935.

  "Some Of These Days", (531 kb): Ethel Waters singing her heart out in 1927. Rec'd: Oct. 14, 1927, in New York, NY. Columbia 14264-D. (Composer: Shelton Brooks)

  "Some Of These Days", (427 kb): The Quintet of the Hot Club of France.. (composer Shelton Brooks) Rec'd: Sept. 1935.Ultraphone, Paris, France

  "South", (466 kb): Kid Ory's Creole Orchestra. (Tune: Bennie Moten, Hayes) August 3, 1944, Los Angeles, California . Crescent 1 (CPM 10331A)

  "South", 643kb. Oh Mama...ain't this Hot!! Benny Moten's Kansas City Orchestra, rec'd: Victor in Chicago, 1928. Moten recorded this same tune for Okeh Records in 1924, but it was only a so-so seller. If you would like to compare the two, here's the Original 1924 Version of "South"

  "South Rampart Street Blues", (518 kb): Played by the New Orleans Blue 5. Rec'd: :Nov. 2, 1926 New York, NY Victor 20653 (tune: Buddy Christian, Bob Fuller) NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS "South Rampart Street Parade".
"South Rampart Street Parade" South Rampart Street Parade* (Ray Bauduc and Bob Haggart) Recorded by Bob Crosby's Band in 1937. Bauduc, Crosby's drummer and a native of the Crescent City, originally enitled the piece "Bulls on Parade" after one of the more flamboyant black social clubs from New Orleans, but the head of Decca Records thought the title too esoteric for those outside the Crescent City.

  "St James Infirmary Blues", (463 kb): "Kansas City Frank and His Footwarmers" 'KC Frank' was pianist Frank Melrose, accompanied with Charles Melrose on the Accordion, Herb Morand on Cornet, Tommy Taylor on Drums and Slide Whistle, with an unknown musician playing Clarinet and Tenor Saxophone (Note: Some collectors may find this same record on the 'Broadway' label with the same band, but listed as "Harry's Reckless Five".
Originally founded about the time of the Norman Conquest of England. the St. James' hospital was for "maidens that were leprous". In 1533, King Henry VIII (who was also a avery active music composer) took possession of the hospita, which after it's rebuilding as 'St. James Palace', became the London residence of British sovereigns from 1697-1837. Some historians have noted that the song's origins probably stem from "The Unfortunate Rake", a late 18th century English folk song, that was a later adaptation of "Gambler's Dream" from the 1890s. However, the exact origin of the song's title remains clouded. Jack Stewart, a New Orleans historian, has claimed that it refers to the St. James Infirmary, a temporary facility in New Orleans during the American Civil War. Others haver noted that despite a reputed association with St. James Methodist Church, which may have offered first-aid services and modest hospital facilities during the war, the song has no connection with New Orleans whatever.

  "St James Infirmary Blues", (546 kb): Alphonso Trent Orchestra --fast version

  "St. Louis Blues", (544 kb): " Handy's Memphis Blues Band", the composer's own band. According to ASCAP, this song was "the most recorded song of the first half of the 20th Century", outdone in the entire century only by "Silent Night". (composer: W.C. Handy) Rec'd: Jan. 1922 , New York, NY, Black Swan 2053-A

  "Sweet Georgia Brown", (540 kb): Ethel Waters and Her Ebony Four. Rec'd: May 13, 1925, New York, NY, Columbia 379-D. (Tune: Maceo Pinkard, Ben Bernie, Ken Casey). This 1925 Dixieland standard is today better known as the theme song of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. .

  "That's A Plenty", (514 kb): The New Orleans Owls. (Tune: Lew Pollack, Ray Gilbert) Rec'd: April 15, 1926, New Orleans, Louisiana Columbia 1547-D. A hit from 1914.

  "The Chant", (551 kb): Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers. Rec'd: Sept. 15, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois. Victor 20221-B 36241-2 ( Composer: Mel Stitzel )

  "The Pearls", (604 kb): Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers. Recorded: June 10, 1927. ( Composer: Jelly Roll Morton)

  "Tiger Rag", (443 kb): The Wolverines. (Tune: Nick LaRocca). Rec'd: July 20, 1924, Richmond, Indiana. Hot Record Society 24

  "Tiger Rag", (633 kb): Phil Napoleon and His Orchestra. (Tune: Nick LaRocca, Eddie Edwards) rec'd: Dec. 23, 1926, New York, NY, Edison 51908-R

  "Tin Roof Blues", (452 kb): played by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings in 1934. The song's authorship is also attributed to them,.
Circa 1910, The Tin Roof Cafe at Washington and Claiborne in New Orleans was converted into a vinegar factory. According to George Brunies, "Tin Roof Blues" began life as a song called "The Rusty Rail Blues", which the NORK often performed at Chicago's 'Friars Inn'. Brunies continued: " Walter Melrose came along looking for publishable properties. He liked the tune and gave us a $500 advance on it, and said `You don't mind if I do anything with it do you?'" But he needed a better title, something evocative of New Orleans, so they named it after the 'Tin Roof Cafe' on Baronne Street, later known as the 'Suburban Gardens'. NORK put all their names on it, "because we didn't figure it was going to do anything". A generation later, -much to he surprise of the surviving musicians - the tune, complete with a new title, lyric,and added eight-bar release, made the 1953 Pop charts as "Make Love to Me". Unfortunately, , the presence of eight names on the composer credits (including that of Melrose) guaranteed that no one person would get rich on royalties.

  "Tishomingo Blues", (538 kb): Originally a 1917 hit, is played here by the "Washingtonians", a group originally known as 'Elmer Snowden's Washington Black Sox Orchestra'. The band soon became known as 'Duke Ellington and his Kentucky Club Orchestra' although they also continued to record as the Washingtonians up until 1929. (Tune: Spencer Williams) . Rec'd: June 25, 1928, New York, NY. Tishomingo is a northeast Mississippi town. In recent times, the song served as Garrison Keillor's theme song for his "Prairie Home Companion".show. .

  "Original Tuxedo Rag", (466 kb): Oscar "Papa" Celestin's "Original Tuxedo Jazz Orchestra". Rec'd: 23 January 1925.New Orleans, Louisiana Okeh 8215

  "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans", (529 kb): played by Bix Beiderbecke and Frankie Trumbauer in an interesting version because they play as it was originally meant to be played - in slow tempo - and not as a stomp,

  "Weary Blues", (553 kb): Louis Armstrong;'s Hot Seven.- "Weary Blues" is also known under the alternative title "Shake It and Break It"

  "When the Saints Go Marching In", (647 kb): Louis Armstrong's band in 1938
Back in Old New Orleans,a familiar hymn would be used in New Orleans funerals, which began with a solomn procession to the graveyard and concluded with a joyous return home. Although "When the Saints Go Marching In" may perhaps be the best known of all the "Dixieland" traditional Hymns, there were many others. Here are a few more that were popular "cemetary" songs,

  "Down By The Riverside", (551 kb): Sam Morgan's Jazz Band - with vocal refrain, playing this traditional hymn. Rec'd: Oct. 22, 1927, New Orleans, LA, Columbia 14267-D

  "Over In The Gloryland", (615 kb): Sam Morgan's Jazz Band playing this traditional Hymn. Rec'd: Oct. 22, 1927 New Orleans, Louisiana Columbia 14539-D

  "Just a Closer Walk with Thee", (356 kb): A modern group, David Littlefield's "The Sheiks of Dixie" (trio) playing this old hymn.

  "Just A Little While To Stay Here", "Played by the New Orleans Delight"
For those visitors who enjoy broadband access to the web, this is a 7 minute, (1267428 byte): download. (uptempo - they were on the way 'Back" from the cemetary.
From a Jazz Gospel concert in Denmark featuring the 'New Orleans Delight' in performance at Korup Kirke, Denmark, Nov. 20, 2004, with guest stars Greg Stafford on trumpet, (from New Orleans), and Brian Towers on trombone (from Toronto, Canada), along with the group's standard members Kjeld Brandt, clarinet/leader, Hans Pederson on piano, Erling Lindhardt on banjo and guitar, , Stefan Karfve on bass, and Claus Lindhardt on drums. File courtesy: Berty Bloggs

For our visitors who would like to sing along :(The vocalist -African-American trumpeter Greg Stafford, does not use this particular version.)
:
Verse 1:

Soon this life will all be over
And our pilgramage will end
Soon we'll take our heavenly journey
Be at home with Christ our friend
Heaven's gates are standing open
Waiting for our entrance there
Some sweet day we're going over
All the beauties there to share

Verse 2:

Soon we'll meet all the redeemed ones
And we'll take them by the hand
Soon we'll press into our bosom
Over in the promised land
Then we'll be at home forever
Through out all eternity
What a blessed, blessed morning
That eternal morn will be

Chorus:

Just a little while to stay here
Just a little while to wait
Just a little while to labor
In the path that's always straight
Just a little more of troubles
In this low and sinful state
Then we'll enter heaven's portals
Sweeping through those pearly gates


  "Weary Blues", ( kb): Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven. Rec'd: May 11, 1927, Chicago, Illinois, Okeh 8519. (Tune: Artie Matthews)

  "West End Blues", (619 kb): King Oliver Orchestra. Rec'd: 1928 (Victor V-38034-B)

  "Wild Man Blues", (571 kb): Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven. Rec'd: May 7, 1927, Chicago, Illinois, Okeh 8474. (Tune: Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton)

  "Willie The Weeper", (574 kb): Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven. Rec'd: May 7, 1927, Chicago, Illinois, Okeh 8482. (Tune: Walter Melrose, M. Bloom)

  "Wolverine Blues ", (521 kb): One of Benny Goodman's first recording (Jan. 23, 1928). The label said " Benny Goodman's Boys with Jim and Glenn. ". The Jim was Jimmy McPartland and the Glenn was Glenn Miller The label also attributes the song to Benjamin Spikes and John Spikes, however many Jazz historians suggest that their involvement in the authorship of songs may have been only as the publisher. Unfortunately, there is now way to know for sure.

  "Yellow Dog Blues", (534 kb): Paul Biese adn His Novelty Orchestra. (Tune: W.C. Handy). Rec'd: Dec. 1919. New York, NY. Okeh 4061-B. "Yellow Dog" was a nickname for the 'Yazoo Delta Railroad'. Handy's 1914 blues tells the story of Susan Johnson's lover who, forced to leave town precipitously, fled to where the "Southern (RR) crossed the Yellow Dog" in Morehead, Mississippi. Originally called "Yellow Dog Rag," the title was changed in 1919 to "Yellow Dog Blues" for a recording by Joseph C. Smith's orchestra.