An item on the Atlanta newspaper’s arts & culture blog lists some writers sharing thoughts on music that inspires them. Georgia writer Lauretta Hanon, author of a book called Cracker Queen: A Memoir of Jagged, Joyful Life, includes on her list:
“St. James Infirmary Blues,” Earl Hines Trio: Fatha Hines’ spare take on this classic will [...]
Archive for the ‘"St. James Infirmary"’ Category
Cracker Queen’s favorite “SJI”
Posted in "St. James Infirmary", Non-musical context on December 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
23-string Celtic Lap Harp version of “SJI”
Posted in "St. James Infirmary", Versions on November 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Either I’m an idiot, or it’s supremely annoying that WordPress won’t let me embed this video. Or both. Anyway, here is something described as: “Monet of HARPNOTIC plays St. James Infirmary on a 23 string Celtic Lap Harp.”
Blues in da Fog version
Posted in "St. James Infirmary", Versions on November 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Robert W. Harwood over at I Went Down To St. James Infirmary has the 411: “The fact is that I really like this.”
[NOT!] Leadbelly
Posted in "St. James Infirmary", Versions on October 24, 2009 | 1 Comment »
A fairly traditional treatment, but the sound is haunting and lovely. Enjoy.
UPDATE October 29: See the comments — seems that this is actually Josh White singing (although those are pictures of Leadbelly, I’m pretty sure.) A humiliating turn of events for no notes! Our thanks to Robert W. Harwood for setting [...]
The Preservation Hall SJI King Britt cartoon video (again, but apparently for real this time)
Posted in "St. James Infirmary", Versions on October 20, 2009 | 1 Comment »
–> Thx: G.K.!
A brief recap. An old Betty Boop cartoon by Max Fleischer is an astonishing and surreal piece of work, and happens to feature a Cab Calloway rendition of “St. James Infirmary.” Fleischer made several cartoons featuring jazz works. The 1933 Boop cartoon (considered a classic) features the character [...]
While we wait…
Posted in "St. James Infirmary" on October 15, 2009 | 3 Comments »
“SJI” … on ice??
Posted in "St. James Infirmary", Non-musical context on October 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Globe and Mail has an article about a Canadian TV show called Battle of the Blades, which I gather is like one of those silly dance-competition reality shows, but, with skating. Who cares? Well, I only know about it because of this:
On a recent show, one duo performed a routine to the music of [...]
King Britt Remix + Animation
Posted in "St. James Infirmary", New Orleans, Versions on October 1, 2009 | 1 Comment »
[UPDATE: That link's not working anymore because they've password-protected the video for now, per comments. Boooo! Oh well, we'll be patient.]
Fantastic! Loaded with great N.O. and SJI details that I’ll address more later. But for now, check it out:
Preservation Hall Jazz Band – St. James Infirmary (King Britt Remix) from Lantian Xie on Vimeo.
SJI remixed & re-animated
Posted in "St. James Infirmary", Versions on September 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Alex Rawls passes along this (obviously exciting!) news:
Preservation Hall Recordings is proud to present a brand-new, locally produced animated music video! Directed by Lafayette-based teacher and animator James Tancill, the music video for the Preservation Hall / King Britt remix of “St. James Infirmary” by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band is an animated romp [...]
“Let her go” cont’d (back to 1902)
Posted in "St. James Infirmary", Lyric deconstruction on August 31, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Actually: Speaking of the Toussaint/Costello tune “Ascension Day,” it’s the song that made me zero on the phrase “let her go” in “SJI,” because I assumed (and actually still believe) that “SJI” is what Costello was referencing when he dropped it into his lyrics.
A reader pointed out to me some time ago that the phrase [...]
“St. James Infirmary”
[Or: The Point of this Site]
A couple of years ago I did some research into the song "St. James Infirmary," wrote up what I found, emailed that essay to friends and posted it on my web site (as part of a series of "Letters From New Orleans," as I was living in that city at the time). Based on the feedback, I wrote a second version of the essay, and asked for more feedback. Based on that, I wrote a third version.And now, this site: A place to collect some of the links, leads, thoughts, and suggestions relating to the song that readers (from Finland, The Netherlands, Australia, Spain, England, Sweden, Canada, and all over the U.S.) have sent me. This may lead to a fourth and significantly expanded version of the essay, some day. Also on this site: Plenty of tangents.
Never heard "St. James Infirmary"? Start here.
The Essay
The most recent version of my "St. James Infirmary" essay is now a few years old. But it's still a fairly decent overview of what I know about the song, and why I'm interested in it. You can read it either in the book Letters from New Orleans (see below), or in the archives of The Gambit, the New Orleans weekly that published the piece as a book excerpt when LfNO came out.
Podcast!
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The Book
This site is a partial spinoff of the book Letters from New Orleans, published by the unstoppable Garrett County Press. My interest in "St. James Infirmary" is the subject of one essay in the book. All author proceeds from the book still go to post-Katrina relief efforts, so I think it's okay for me to say: You ought to buy it.
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