Well if it isn't our old friend Bessie again! This time it's Bessie 'unplugged', as it's just her voice and the piano. This song came out in 1931 and was part of a genre known as 'dirty blues' (the same genre that gave us the term 'rock 'n roll'). Since we've already learned about Bessie in a previous post and there's not a whole lot of info on the song itself, let's get to the reviews:
Holly:
Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl (Bessie Smith): 4/5 “I need a little hotdog between my rolls”. Oh, Bessie! I’m so glad there’s another Bessie Smith recording on this list, because this one does a way better job of portraying Bessie Smith as a singer. She has the exact perfect voice for this dirty, innuendo-filled blues song! It’s so weird that it’s countered by this prim and proper piano playing, though. I have to say, I find this song way dirtier than the overtly sexual songs that are on the top 40s today. Thanks, Bessie, this song thoroughly entertained me.
Kelly:
OH MY GOD THIS SONG IS DIRTY. And I like it. Hearing it for the first time left me blushing and a little gobsmacked at how overtly sexual it is and that it only came out in 1931. How was the public at large not totally scandalized by this? Possibly it didn't get a lot of airplay back then. I agree with Holly that this is a much better showcase of Bessie's voice and the power behind it. I like that it's only her and piano and I would be interested to hear what it would have sounded like with a raunchy horn section backing her up! 'Tired of being lonely' - me too Bessie. Me too. 3.5/5
FILTHY:
Need A Little Sugar in My Bowl
OK we all have this mental image of a buttoned down prim and proper society (at least on the surface) until the 60's came along. Remember the big cafuffle with the censors over allowing the word "damn" to be used in the film Gone With The Wind and that was 9 years after this performance. It doesn't take much digging to find that there was quite a lot of these "lets see what we can get away with" double entendre numbers being done back then. The amazing thing is how they got marketed and how some of them survived until today. Zero radio play is a given, so it must have been wink/wink nudge/nudge word of mouth marketing to a very limited clientele, ergo a very limited production run.
ReplyDeleteEnough about the novelty of the number, what about the performance. Bessie Smith ,nuff said . As you know or will find out I'm a minimalist and this is the roots of "the sit down, can't cry, O'Lord gonna die blues" done by a master. 4.5/5
RD