Thursday, January 25, 2018

Where's The 5?



I picked up a collection of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup originals. You might recognize his name as the man who wrote "That's All Right, Mama" and "My Baby Left Me," among other blues standards. I was enjoying every track, yet every track made me stop and think, "What the...?"

Now I'm just a drummer, so as you know, I can barely write my name in the ground with a stick, let alone talk "shop" with guitar players, but...I do know how to play a 1-4-5 blues.  "Big Boy" never resolves. He never hits that third chord. Is this a technique? Is "Big Boy" Crudup known for this?

What I find amazing, and maybe I am the last to notice this is, Elvis plays "That's All Right" and "My Baby Left Me" with the 5. The third chord. But the originals, by the guy that wrote them, does not. So how does that happen? Did Sam Phillips say, "Hey cats, don't do it like that, do it like this?" Does this mean these two blues standards, not to mention just about everything on the Crudup collection, was rewritten with the 5?

Before all you axemen start sending me your cards and letters correcting my terminology, you can blame my friend and band mate. I called him and discussed this with him, confirming both what I was hearing and how to explain it.

Listen to these tracks.It's unnerving.










12 comments:

soundsource said...

It's in the trunk of my car. I could of sworn i gave it back after i borrowed it from him but I must have forgotten. But it sure was interesting that he made all those records without it and everyone else put it back in. I guess they had a spare 5 in their cars too.

Shriner said...

The vocal melody resolves to the 5, but maybe the guy only knew 2 chords? It is kind of weird, isn't it?

Noam Sane said...

The "Nashville Numbering System" is usually written using Roman numerals, with capitals signifying major chords and small-case indicating minor chords. So, this blues progression is usually written I - IV - V.

The reason it unnerves you is because the V chord traditionally leads back to the I, which provides resolution.

Most of the old blues guys did use the V, but often on their own terms - take Jimmy Reed, for example. He'd get there, but not necessarily within the 12-bar form, and even this would vary from verse to verse. Lightnin' Hopkins is another great example of a guy who didn't give a shit about form, but they all did it to an extent.

It's ultimately an issue of tension vs release which informs all music. The reason it bugs you is that it's all tension, no release.

buzzbabyjesus said...

I believe T-Model Ford wrote mostly one chord blues. There is plenty of two chord rock n roll out there. Jonathan Richman's "Roadrunner" is an example. "96 Tears" is another".

Sal Nunziato said...

I think "The Beat Goes On" is only C. But my point isn't to draw attention to songs with only two chords. We all know these Crudup songs as three chord blues, done by everyone else, yet the originals are two. So Sam Phillips, or anyone since, has taken it upon themselves to assume they should be played with the third chord that the writer does not play?

Shriner said...

Laziness (or indifference) to sticking to the blueprint on the cover versions, would be my guess? I-IV-V is expected, so why not give the people what they want?

Bombshelter Slim said...

As Shriner pointed out, he sings the V, plays the IV (or I)... they had do dumb down the blues to a strict 12-bar I-IV-V progression so the white kids would get it. Your hearing of the original as "incorrect", so to speak, is merely a cultural artifact. If you spend a LOT of time listening to "primitive" rural & urban blues, the "modern" stuff starts to sound too predictable at times.

Sal Nunziato said...

I'm not "hearing" it, Bombshelter. It's there. I am not saying it was incorrect, either. What I am saying is, doesn't anyone find it a bit curious that 70 years of "That's All Right" and "My Baby Left Me" covers, all go to the V, but the original does not? This isn't even a footnote in Crudup's history.

buzzbabyjesus said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
buzzbabyjesus said...

wiki:

"During an uneventful recording session at Sun Studios on the evening of July 5, 1954, Presley, Scotty Moore (guitar) and Bill Black (string bass) were taking a break between recordings when Presley started fooling around with an up-tempo version of Arthur Crudup's song "That's All Right, Mama". Black began joining in on his upright bass, and soon they were joined by Moore on guitar. Producer Sam Phillips, taken aback by this sudden upbeat atmosphere, asked the three of them to start again so he could record it."

Maybe they just added the "V" because they weren't reading charts and that's how music usually goes.

Dr Wu said...

Nothing to contribute other than my thanks - this is a really interesting topic with great responses. Best of luck on the new blog, sir.

Michael Giltz said...

I second Dr Wu. I've always been afraid to comment on specific musical questions since like most "critics" I can't read music or play an instrument so mostly I talk about the words. (That's easier anyway than describing sound and to be fair to me, I do have a lovely singing voice.) Some black artist once mentioned how square white folk always clapped on the 1-3 and not the 2-4 (or the other way around) and I've been paralyzed ever since. Do I instinctively tap along to songs a la Pat Boone or please god let me be a little hip? And I have no idea what they mean by 1-3 or 2-4 and I'm probably screwing even their evisceration of my too square to be hip ways. Gotta go -- lawrence welk is on.