"Farewell Blues" is a 1922
jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...
written by
Paul Mares
Paul Mares (June 15, 1900 – August 18, 1949), was an American early dixieland jazz cornet and trumpet player, and leader of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings.
Mares established himself as a respected bandleader over a group of wild and strong- ...
,
Leon Roppolo
Leon Joseph Roppolo (March 16, 1902 – October 5, 1943) was an American early jazz clarinetist, best known for his playing with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. He also played saxophone and guitar.
Life and career
Leon Roppolo (nicknamed "Rap" and ...
and
Elmer Schoebel
Elmer Schoebel (September 8, 1896 – December 14, 1970) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.
Early life
He was born in East St. Louis, Illinois, United States.
Career
Schoebel played along to silent films in Champaign, Illinoi ...
.
Background
The song was recorded on August 29, 1922, in
Richmond, Indiana
Richmond is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County and is part of the Dayton, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 36,812. Situa ...
and released as
Gennett
Gennett (pronounced "jennett") was an American record company and label in Richmond, Indiana, United States, which flourished in the 1920s. Gennett produced some of the earliest recordings by Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bix Beiderbecke, and ...
4966A, Matrix #11179, as by the Friars Society Orchestra under the direction of Husk O'Hara. It was first released by the
New Orleans Rhythm Kings
The New Orleans Rhythm Kings (NORK) were one of the most influential jazz bands of the early to mid-1920s. The band included New Orleans and Chicago musicians who helped shape Chicago jazz and influenced many younger jazz musicians.
History
The ...
under the name the Friars Society Orchestra and soon was covered by several jazz bands. A band called The Georgians recorded it in 1923, copying Roppolo's acclaimed
clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
solo note for note.
['' Jelly Roll, Bix, and Hoagy: Gennett Studios and the Birth of Recorded Jazz''. Rick Kennedy and Steve Allen. Indiana University Press, 1994. . p.56]
Cover versions
*
Joe "King" Oliver
Joseph Nathan "King" Oliver (December 19, 1881 – April 8/10, 1938) was an American jazz cornet player and bandleader. He was particularly recognized for his playing style and his pioneering use of Mute (music), mutes in jazz. Also a notable c ...
– ''Sugar Foot Stomp'' (1928)
*The Georgians (1923)
*Gus Mulcay (1926)
*
The Charleston Chasers
The Charleston Chasers was a studio recording ensemble that recorded music on Columbia Records between 1925 and 1931. They recorded early versions of songs such as " After You've Gone", " Ain't Misbehavin'", and "My Melancholy Baby". Their 1931 re ...
(1928)
*
Wingy Manone
Joseph Matthews "Wingy" Manone (February 13, 1900 – July 9, 1982) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, singer, and bandleader. His recordings included " Tar Paper Stomp", "Nickel in the Slot", "Downright Disgusted Blues", "There'll Come a ...
(1939)
*
Ted Lewis (1929)
*
Roy Smeck
Leroy Smeck (6 February 1900 – 5 April 1994) was an American musician. His skill on the banjo, guitar, and ukulele earned him the nickname "The Wizard of the Strings".
Background
Smeck was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. He started on the vau ...
(1931)
*Sol Hoopii (1938)
*
Abe Lyman
Abe Lyman (August 4, 1897 – October 23, 1957) was a popular bandleader from the 1920s to the 1940s. He made recordings, appeared in films and provided the music for numerous radio shows, including ''Your Hit Parade''.
His name at birth was Abra ...
(1932)
*Henderson's Dance Players (1923)
*
Isham Jones
Isham Edgar Jones (January 31, 1894 – October 19, 1956) was an American bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter.
Career
Jones was born in Coalton, Ohio, United States, to a musical and mining family. His father, Richard Isham Jones ...
Orchestra – ''Swinging Down the Lane'' (1930)
*
Cab Calloway
Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...
– ''Kicking the Gong Around'' (1931)
*
Benny Carter
Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...
– ''When the Lights Are Low'' (1936)
*
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...
– ''Blues on Parade'' (1937)
*
Eddie Condon
Albert Edwin Condon (November 16, 1905 – August 4, 1973) was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and bandleader. A leading figure in Chicago jazz, he also played piano and sang.
Early years
Condon was born in Goodland, Indiana, the son of J ...
– ''Dixieland All Stars'' (1939)
*
Glenn Miller
Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...
– ''On the Alamo'' (1941);
V-Disc
V-Disc ( "V" for Victory) was a record label that was formed in 1943 to provide records for U.S. military personnel. Captain Robert Vincent supervised the label from the Special Services division.
Many popular singers, big bands, and orches ...
334A; RCA Bluebird 10495B
*
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
– ''Blues by Basie'' (1942); Columbia 36712
*
Django Reinhardt
Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...
– ''Djangology'' (1948)
*
Danny Gatton
Daniel Wood Gatton Jr. (September 4, 1945 – October 4, 1994) was an American virtuoso guitarist who combined blues, rockabilly, jazz, and country to create a musical style he called "redneck jazz".
Career
Daniel Wood Gatton Jr. was born in ...
– ''Redneck Jazz'' (1978)
*
Alan Munde
Alan Munde (pronounced "mun-dee") (born November 4, 1946) is an American five-string banjo player and bluegrass musician.
Biography
Born in Norman, Oklahoma, Munde learned banjo from a well-regarded Oklahoman banjo player, Ed Shelton. He frequen ...
(1980)
*
Accordéon Mélancolique – ''Gratitude'' (2012); Sterkenburg Records stam010
Notes
See also
*
List of 1920s jazz standards
Jazz standards are musical compositions that are widely known, performed and recorded by jazz artists as part of the genre's musical repertoire. This list includes compositions written in the 1920s that are considered standards by at least one m ...
1922 songs
1920s jazz standards
Dixieland jazz standards
Songs written by Elmer Schoebel
Cab Calloway songs
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