"Dear Old Southland" is a 1921

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 List ...

. It was composed by

Turner Layton Turner Layton (July 2, 1894 – February 6, 1978), born John Turner Layton, Jr., was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. He frequently worked with Henry Creamer. Life Born in Washington, D.C., United States, in 1894, he was the son of ...

, with lyrics by

Henry Creamer Henry Sterling Creamer (June 21, 1879 – October 14, 1930) was a popular song lyricist and theater producer. He was born in Richmond, Virginia, and died in New York. He co-wrote many popular songs in the years from 1900 to 1929, often collaborat ...

. It uses basically the same melody as the song '' Deep River''. Popular recordings in 1922 were by

Paul Whiteman Paul Samuel Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was an American Jazz bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violinist. As the leader of one of the most popular dance bands in the United States during the 1920s and early 193 ...

and by

Vernon Dalhart Marion Try Slaughter (April 6, 1883 – September 14, 1948), better known by his stage name Vernon Dalhart, was an American country music singer and songwriter. His recording of the classic ballad " Wreck of the Old 97" was the first country son ...

. Jack Mills published sheet music for it.

Other recordings

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

recorded the song on April 5, 1930, for

Okeh Records OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

(catalog No. 41454). Armstrong recorded the song again in 1956 for the album ''Satchmo: A Musical Autobiography''. *

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

and His Orchestra – December 4, 1933 for

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...

(catalog No. 24501). *

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

and His Orchestra – June 25, 1935 for Victor Records (catalog No. 25136). *

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...

– September 26, 1939 for Victor Records (catalog No. 26741). *

Sidney Bechet Sidney Joseph Bechet ( ; May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important Solo (music), soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Ar ...

's Blue Note Quartet – March 27, 1940 for the

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

label (catalog No. 13). *

Al Hirt Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java (instrumental), Java" and the accompanying album ''Honey in the Horn (album ...

released a version on his 1963 album, '' Our Man in New Orleans''. *

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descr ...

released his own arrangement of Dear Old Southland (credited under

Raymond Bloch Raymond Arthur Bloch (August 3, 1902 – March 29, 1982) was an American composer, songwriter, conductor, pianist, author and arranger. He is best remembered as the arranger and orchestra conductor for ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' during its entire run ...

), as a duet between a dominant piano part and a lamenting trumpet part (played by Nickholas Payton), on his jazz album of 2009 '' The Bright Mississippi''."The duets with the horn players are utterly irresistible. On “Dear Old Southland”, Nick Payton gets the call, starting as a balladeer of lament, then developing a more-hopeful tone as Toussaint comes to life beneath him. The leader’s accompaniment sounds sculpted the way a hit record often is — with the dynamics, variety and specificity all carefully mapped. When Toussaint plays his solo, unaccompanied, the logic and composition inherent in his improvisation reminds us of how meandering the solos on “regular” jazz records sometimes become"
A review of the album by Will Layman
as published on April 29, 2009 in

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

(retrieved September 2, 2021)

Lyrics

The lyrics of the 1921 version, which is out of copyright, are: Chorus :Dear old Southland, :I hear you calling me. :And I long how I long to roam, :Back to my old Kentucky home. Verse 1 :Dear old Southland, :For you my heart is yearning, :And I long just to see once more, :The land I love the Swanee shore. Verse 2 :I want to stray the town I was born, my home town, my little home town. :I want to play in the cotton and corn, to feel it, I used to steal it. :I want to hear dear old mother each morn. :Saying 'go long', 'go long', 'go long, 'go long to school :I want to be where the levee is near the water, I love the water. :I want to see Mammy Jinny so dear, I love her, Because I oughta. :I want to hear pick a ninnies in tune, :Singing 'go long', 'go long', 'go long', 'go long yo' mule!

References

1921 songs 1920s jazz standards Songs with lyrics by Henry Creamer Songs written by Turner Layton {{1920s-jazz-composition-stub

Other recordings

Lyrics

See also

References