Among Jelly Roll Morton’s most famous songs. He tape-recorded this rather late in his profession although he should have played it when he was a child playing piano in the New Orleans “play houses”.
There’s much debate about the significance of the tune … I discover the most plausible explanation in the book “Dead Male Blues” by Phil Pastras. The appropriate title should be “Winding Kid” as winding methods “turning the hips in dancing or in sexual relations”. The refrain of the tune includes a referral to Stavin’ Chain, a blues male well-known for the sexual material of his lyrics (and a possible referral to the attributes of his ‘devices’). Although Morton discussed Alan Lomax who recorded him at the Library of Congress that the song was about mixing red wine … ha ha
Jelly Roll tape-recorded this tune numerous times throughout his Library of Congress recordings (Rounder 11661-1898-2 – a must-have if you’re interested in JR Morton) with very specific lyrics.
I kept it tidy and patterned my variation to the one he tape-recorded for General (Last Sessions cd on Commodore). At that time Jelly was currently a sick man struggling with astma and a weakened heart, nonetheless these last recordings show him as a terrific singer and pianist. The variation of Winin’ Boy was just his best recording of the tune, his singing has plenty of melancholy, as if he knew his winin-days’ were a thing of the past.
I’m playing my “Arrenbie” archtop guitar, mahogany bs, moonspruce top.
I did another version on the ukulele
and a lesson
open the videodescription for info on tab etc
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