Title of 'White House Blues'-Charlie Poole?

Subject: Title of 'White House Blues'
From: GUEST,Joseph Scott
Date: 21 Jun 16 - 06:34 PM

Did Charlie Poole make up the title "White House Blues"? Do we have any evidence that anyone ever used that title before he did? I notice that (1) the song "The Deal," a rag that Tyler Meeks taught to Poole, ended up with the word "Blues" in its title instead on Poole's record for no apparent reason, (2) Poole apparently knew the song "Hobo Jones" (another non-blues) under that title before he decided he'd switch its title to "Milwaukee Blues," again for no apparent reason, (3) when Poole recorded his version of the blues "Hesitation Blues," he did not include "Blues" in the title he used, and (4) other artists were still recording the song about McKinley under the title "McKinley" or "Mr. McKinley," or as such-and-such "To Washington," during 1929-1944.

(Obviously the folk song about McKinley itself goes back way before 1926. E.g. Edward Thomas performed it on stage in 1916. I'm specifically wondering when someone first gave it the title "White House Blues," and whether that someone was Charlie.)

Subject: RE: Title of 'White House Blues'-Charlie Poole?
From: Mark Ross
Date: 22 Jun 16 - 01:23 PM

HOBO JONES is a title that is unfamiliar to me, it's probably HOBO JOHN. Most people know it as JAY GOULD'S DAUGHTER, and it's one of the oldest hobo songs. It's a direct ancestor of the original CASEY JONES written by Wallace Saunders, who was Casey's fireman.

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: Title of 'White House Blues'-Charlie Poole?
From: GUEST,Joseph Scott
Date: 22 Jun 16 - 09:01 PM

According to Norm Cohen, it was "Hobo Jones" that Poole wrote, crossed out, and changed to "Milwaukee Blues."

Subject: RE: Title of 'White House Blues'-Charlie Poole?
From: Richie
Date: 22 Jun 16 - 09:08 PM

Hi

And. . .Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues. Kinney Rorrer, Poole's biographer, couldn't find Poole's source. As far as I know, it's Poole's title or one of his bandmates. May have been constructed from "Delia's Gone." Lunsford learned it in 1923, predating Poole.

Hobo Jones, Poole's original title has verses from Kassie Jones.

Trying to understand Poole is like trying to understand white lighnin'- which is something Poole understood well!

He apparently though adding blues to the tile sold records.

Richie

Subject: RE: Title of 'White House Blues'-Charlie Poole?
From: Richie
Date: 22 Jun 16 - 09:28 PM

Hi,

I know Kinney and his brother Doug, both from Eden, North Carolina. Doug played at a concert we did in that area with Doc Watson in the late 1990s. Doug is an awesome guitar picker. I spent some time talking Charlie Poole with Kinney- see his book "Rambling Blues; The Life and Songs of Charlie Poole."

Charlie was from the area when it was called two towns- "Draper" and "Spray," NC before they called it Eden.

Richie