Erika Lewis is fond of the recordings made in the 1930s by Georgia White.
There seem to have been several tunes with the title 'Blue and Lonesome'; but the one Tuba Skinny have featured, with Erika Lewis singing, is the song composed in the late 1930s by Georgia White and her pianist Richard M. Jones.
There seem to have been several tunes with the title 'Blue and Lonesome'; but the one Tuba Skinny have featured, with Erika Lewis singing, is the song composed in the late 1930s by Georgia White and her pianist Richard M. Jones.
It is a fine song to add to the repertoire of any band with a good singer. And it is somewhat unusual in being a 24-bar tune, so it makes a welcome change from those with a conventional 32-bar a-a-b-a structure.
In fact, I am struggling at the moment to think of any other 24-bar tune performed by traditional jazz bands (apart from 12-bar blues with two themes, and Midnight in Moscow, which is really a 16-bar tune with the second eight repeated). The Chorus of Over in the Gloryland also comprises 24 bars. So does the Chorus of Sing On - and the Chorus of Tailgate Ramble. Also there was a fashion in the first two decades of the Twentieth Century for songs that had VERSES of 24 bars, even though the better-known CHORUS had a conventional 32 bar-structure. Examples are San and I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles.
In fact, I am struggling at the moment to think of any other 24-bar tune performed by traditional jazz bands (apart from 12-bar blues with two themes, and Midnight in Moscow, which is really a 16-bar tune with the second eight repeated). The Chorus of Over in the Gloryland also comprises 24 bars. So does the Chorus of Sing On - and the Chorus of Tailgate Ramble. Also there was a fashion in the first two decades of the Twentieth Century for songs that had VERSES of 24 bars, even though the better-known CHORUS had a conventional 32 bar-structure. Examples are San and I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles.
You can see and hear Tuba Skinny perform I'm Blue and Lonesome on YouTube at
Or, if you prefer an indoor performance (this is quite something!), with Shaye on piano rather than cornet, go to
