Post 382: BUNK JOHNSON AND THE LIFEBOAT

Willie 'Bunk' Johnson was a legendary jazz trumpet player. He is believed to have been born in or after 1889; and he died in 1949. Bunk was a star in New Orleans during the early years of the Twentieth Century but later fell into obscurity, only to be re-discovered and encouraged to make recordings and give performances on tour during the years shortly before his death. So he was much involved in the revival of traditional New Orleans jazz in the 1940s.

Many of those tunes he recorded in the 1940s are still favourites with traditional jazz bands.

One of them that I decided to work out and learn is Lord, Let Me in the Lifeboat.

To my ear, it sounded like this. I have transcribed it - as I do with all the tunes I collect - into one of my mini filofaxes:

The tunes Bunk is believed to have recorded (supplied to me by a kind correspondent) are these:

2.19 Blues
827 Blues
Ace in the Hole
After You've Gone
Ain't Misbehavin'
Alabama Bound
Alexander's Ragtime Band 

Amour 

Arkansas Blues 

Baby I'd Love To Steal You 

Baby Please Come Home 

Ballin' The Jack 

Basin Street Blues 

Beautiful Doll 

Big Chief Battle Axe 

Blue As I Can Be 

Blue Bells Goodbye 

Blues In C 

Blues 

Bolden Medley 

Bolden's Style 

Boogie Woogie 

Bottle Up And Go 

Bucket's Got A Hole In It 

Bugle Boy March 

Bunk's Blues 

Bunk's Life Story 1,2,3 

Bye And Bye 

Careless Love (Blues) 

Carry Me Back To Old Virginny 

Chloe 

Clarinet Marmalade 

Coquette 

Darktown Strutters' Ball 

Days Beyond Recall 

Dear Old Southland 

Didn't He Ramble 

Dippermouth Blues 

Do Right Baby 

Do You Ever Think Of Me 

Does Jesus Care 

Don't Fence Me In 

Down By The Riverside 

Down In Jungle Town 

Dusty Rag 

Embraceable You 

Feetwarmers Stomp 

Fidgety Feet 

Franklin Street Blues 

Funeral Parade 

God's Amazing Grace 

Golden Leaf Strut 

Good Morning Blues 

Goodnight Ladies 

Happy Birthday To You 

Heartaches 

High Society 

Hilarity Rag 

Honey Gal 

How Long Blues 

I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody 

I Ain't Got Nobody 

I Can't Escape From You 

I Can't Give You Anything But Love 

I Don't Want To Walk Without You Baby 

I Found A New Baby 

I Know That You Know 

I Love My Baby 

I Never Knew 

I Travel With Jesus 

I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen 

I'm Alabamy Bound 

I'm Confessing 

I'm Making Believe 

I'm So Glad I'm Brownskin 

I've Got Everything 

In The Gloaming 

Indiana 

Ja Da 

Jazz Me Blues 

Just A Closer Walk With Thee 

Just A Little While To Say Here 

Kat's Got Kittens
Kinklets 

Lady Be Good 

Listen To Me 

Little Coquette 

Long Blues 

Lonesome Road 

Lord Let Me In The Lifeboat 

Lord You're Been Good To Me 

Lowdown Blues 

Make Me A Pallet On The Floor 

Mama's Gone Goodbye 

Maple Leaf Rag 

Margie 

Maria Elena 

Marie 

Maryland, My Maryland 

Memphis Blues 

Midnight Blues 

Milneberg Joys 

Moose March 

Muskrat Ramble 

My Life Will Be Sweeter Someday 

My Old Grey Bonnet 

My Old Kentucky Home 

Nearer My God To Thee 

Never No Lament 

New Iberia Blues 

Nobody's Fault But Mine 

Noon's Blues 

Of All The Wrongs 

Ole Miss 

One Sweet Letter From You 

Ory's Creole Trombone 

Out Of Nowhere 

Over In The Gloryland 

Pacific Street Blues 

Pagan Love Song 

Pallet On The Floor 

Panama 

Peg O'My Heart 

Perdido Street Stomp 

Pete Lala and Dago Tony's Tonks 

Pistol Packin' Mama 

Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone 

Plenty To Do 

Poor Butterfly 

Porto Rico 

Precious Love 

Riverside Blues 

Royal Garden Blues 

Runnin' Wild 

San Jacinto Stomp 

See See Rider 

Shake It And Break It 

Shine 

Sidewalk Blues 

Sister Kate 

Swanee River 

Sleepy Time Down South 

Slow Drag's Boogie Woogie 

Snag It 

Sobbin' Blues 

Some Of These Days 

Someday Sweetheart 

Sometimes I'm Happy 

Sometimes My Burden 

South 

Spicy Advice 

St. Louis Blues 

Star Dust 

Storyville Blues 

Streets Of The City 

Sugar Foot Stomp 

Summertime 

Swanee River 

Sweet Georgia Brown 

Sweet Lorraine 

Tell Me Baby 

Tell Me Your Dreams 

Temptation Rag 

That Teasin' Rag 

The Entertainer 

The Girls Go Crazy 

The Lord Will Make A Way Somehow 

The Minstrel Man 

The Sheik Of Araby 

The Waltz You Saved For Me 

The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise 

There's Yes Yes In Your Eyes 

Those Drafting Blues 

Thriller Rag 

Tiger Rag 

Till We Meet Again 

Tishomingo Blues 

Tony Jackson 

Twelfth Street Rag 

Two Jim Blues 

Ugly Child 

Up In Sidney's Flat 

Walking The Dog 

Wang Wang Blues 

Weary Blues 

When I Leave The World Behind 

When I Move To The Sky 

When The Moon Comes Over The Mountains 

When The Saints 

When You And I Were Young, Maggie 

When You Wore A Tulip 

Where Could I Go But To The Lord 

Where The River Shannon Flows 

Whispering 

Willie The Weeper 

Yaaka Hula, Hickey Dula 

Yellow Gal 

Yes Lord, I'm Crippled 

Yes Yes In Your Eyes 

You Always Hurt The One You Love

You Are My Sunshine 

You Got To See Mama Every Night 

You're Driving Me Crazy