Mamie Smith : Crazy Blues (1920)

Singer, pianist and actress, Mamie Smith, had already recorded a couple of sides for the Okeh label before she cut 'Crazy Blues', which is generally accepted to be the first vocal blues on record. Mamie Smith was one of the first 'Classic' blues performers and certainly one of the first commercially successful artists in this genre. These days, we tend to look back at the early Blues and think predominantly of male solo artists with a guitar and a sad song coming out of the Mississippi Delta; however, this is not what people were buying to play on their Victrolas in the 1920s. What people were spending money on were recordings by female artists such as Ma Rainey, Ida Cox or all the Smiths (no relation), Mamie, Bessie and Clara. These discs haven't been held in such high esteem by history as the sides by the likes of Robert Johnson, Son House or Skip James but they definitely sold a lot more units. 

James P. Johnson: Carolina Shout (1921)

As the music that we know of as 'jazz' began to take form there were other related styles that eventually fed into its melodic and rhythmic melting pot. Early on, there was 'Ragtime', probably made most famous through the music of Scott Joplin.Then along came 'Stride Piano', largely out of New York City. 'Stride', melding the syncopation and joy of 'Ragtime' with the greater technical demands of western formal styles, probably found its greatest exponent in James P. Johnson, a pianist and composer who came out of the so called Harlem Renaissance of black artists of the 1920s. 'Carolina Shout' was one of his most popular pieces and a challenge for any budding Stride player. This tune can be heard from original piano rolls but there's nothing like the master playing it himself.

Potato Head Blues: Louis Armstrong & His Hot Seven (1927)

Welcome, welcome to Rickety Rackety's Jazz and Blues Club. Where to start? Well, it makes sense to go right back to one of the foundation pieces of jazz by one of the great early combos, led by arguably the greatest horn player of all time, Mr. Louis Armstrong. 'Potato Head Blues' is a truly splendid tune, noteworthy not only for Pops' unbeatable tones but also the excellent stylings of Johnny Dodds on the clarinet. Consider this classic our theme tune.