My Daddy Rocks Me

Just had one of those little moments that other jazz fans may identify with, where things get connected up for you in a surprising way. Actually it may be old news to all you, but it was a little "aha" for me. Bear with me...what follows is a bit stream-of-consciousness...

Most dancers are probably familiar with the tune Six Appeal, played by the Benny Goodman Sextet with Lionel Hampton and Charlie Christian (EMusic, Amazon, iTunes). Even if you don't recognize the name, you've probably heard it many times at dances. If not, download it immediately and tip off your local DJ's, because it's an incredible recording. It's both laid back and driving at the same time, devious, moody, and yet playful. Though it's a only a small group, and for large portions of the arrangement only three instruments are playing at any given time, in my experience it will still raise the energy in the room. By the way, there's also a good recording by Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five, a little slower and using a little fuller instrumentation (Amazon, iTunes).

So what I've just realized is that the tune comes from a blues song called "My Daddy Rocks Me." The lyrics are simple, bawdy fun:

My daddy rocks me with one steady roll.
There's no slippin' when he once takes hold.
I looked at the clock and the clock struck one.
I said "Now Daddy, ain't we got fun."
He kept rockin' with one steady roll.

My man rocks me with one steady roll.
There's no slippin' when he once takes hold.
I looked at the clock and the clock struck three.
I said "Now Daddy, you a-killin' me!"
He kept rockin' with one steady roll.

My man rocks me with one steady roll.
There's no slippin' when he once takes hold.
I looked at the clock and the clock struck six.
I said "Now Daddy, you know a lot of tricks!"
He kept rockin' with one steady roll.

My man rocks me with one steady roll.
There's no slippin' when he once takes hold.
I looked at the clock and the clock struck ten.
I said "Glory! Amen!"
He kept rockin' with one steady roll.

I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff. I found the lyrics on a 1938 recording with vocals by Trixie Smith, accompanied by Sidney Bechet (available on EMusic, Amazon, iTunes--don't miss that there are two parts). This is a pretty awesome recording too--the vocals are gritty, Bechet's fills are plaintive and intricate, and it all pushes forward enough that I could play it at a dance if the moment called for blues.

I should say, hat-tip to Steve from Australia/Norway for recommending the track that connected the dots for me. He suggested a recording of "My Daddy Rocks Me" by Benny Goodman, featuring a nice Slam Stewart bass solo (available here on Emusic and Amazon--couldn't find it on iTunes). As I was listening to it I realized that it was the same tune as "Six Appeal" and from there I found the vocal version from Trixie Smith. This recording is cool too--its slow for lindy hop, about 100 bpm, but you could certainly play it at a dance. I'll have to report back once I test it out on some dancers.

So there you have it: four track recommendations for the price of one--five if you count the two parts of the vocal version separately.