"Ida Red" is an American traditional song of unknown origins that was made famous in the upbeat 1938 version by
Bob Wills and his
Texas Playboys. Wills' "Ida Red" served as the primary inspiration for Chuck Berry's first big hit "
Maybellene". It is chiefly identified by variations of the chorus:
:''Ida Red, Ida Red, I'm a plumb fool 'bout Ida Red.''
Verses are unrelated, rather humorous, and free form, changing from performance to performance. ''Ida Red's'' identity is unknown, but is feminine in most uses.
The earliest recording is a one by
Fiddlin' Powers & Family (Victor 19434, 1924), which includes vocals. There is also an early well-known instrumental by
Dykes Magic City Trio Dykes, Dyke or Dikes may refer to:
People
* Dyke (slang)
* Dykes Potter (1910–2002), an American professional baseball player
* Dykes (surname)
Places
* Dykes, Missouri
See also
* Dikes, diagonal pliers, also called side-cutting pliers, a ha ...
, (Brunswick 125, 1927).
Like his father and grandfather, Wills, renowned in parts of Texas for his fiddling talents before he formed the Texas Playboys, would have learned this tune in his earliest days of fiddling.
"Ida Red", the personage, appears in a number of other songs only distantly related to the song "Ida Red".
One, by
Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers
Charles Cleveland Poole (March 22, 1892 – May 21, 1931) was an American musician, singer and banjo player, as well as the leader of the North Carolina Ramblers, which was a string band that recorded many popular songs between 1925 and 1930.
...
whose "Shootin' Creek" (Columbia 15286-D, 1928), a version of "
Cripple Creek", contains verses from "Ida Red", i.e.:
:''Ida Red, she's a darned ol' fool,''
:''Tried to put a saddle on a hump-back mule.''
Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music of the 20th century. He was also a musician himself, as well as a folklorist, archivist, writer, sch ...
includes another in his collection of "Negro Bad Men" songs titled "Ida Red".
[ Other than the title, this song is in no way related to the folk song. This song is of a criminal feeling sorry for himself. In every verse he wails to his woman:
:''Oh, weep! Oh, my Ida!''
There are also several songs that share the same tune but unrelated subject matter. These include "Down The Road" and "Over The Road I'm Bound to Go".
]
Western swing
In the 1930s, Bob Wills took the old tune and set it to a 2/4 dance beat to be played by his Western swing dance band, the Texas Playboys. His 1938 recording (Vocalion 05079) became a hit. The song, as originally recorded by Wills, borrowed lyrics from an 1878 popular song written by Frederick W. Root ("Sunday Night"). The Wills version opens with:
:''Light's in the parlor, fire's in the grate,''
:''Clock on the mantle says it's a'gettin' late,''
:''Curtains on the window, snowy white,''
:''The parlor's pleasant on Sunday night.''
"Sunday Night" opens with:
:''The light is in the parlor, A fire is in the grate;''
:''The clock upon the mantle Ticks out "it's getting late"''
:''The curtains at the windows Are made of snowy white,''
:''The parlor is a pleasant place To sit on Sunday night, To sit on Sunday, Sunday night.''
Wills and his Texas Playboys performed this arrangement of "Ida Red" in two of his movies; Go West, Young Lady'' (1941) and ''Blazing the Western Trail'' (1945). It has been revived by the award-winning Western Swing band The Hot Club of Cowtown
The Hot Club of Cowtown is an American Western swing trio that formed in 1997.
History
The band's name comes from two sources: "Hot Club" from the hot jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli's Quintette du Hot Club de F ...
and features on four of their albums: ''Swingin' Stampede'' (1998), ''Continental Stomp'' (2003; live version), ''Four Dead Batteries'' (film soundtrack, 2005), and ''Best Of The Hot Club of Cowtown'' (2008).
"Ida Red Likes the Boogie"
In 1949, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys brought out a boogie woogie version of "Ida Red" called "Ida Red Likes The Boogie" (MGM K10570). In 1950, it spent 22 weeks on the charts, reaching #10. "Ida Red Likes The Boogie" has been recorded by other artists numerous times since.
"Maybellene"
In 1955, Chuck Berry's " Maybellene", adapted parts of "Ida Red" as recorded by Bob Wills in 1938 and is believed to be one of the first rock & roll songs ever recorded,
Bluegrass and country
Bluegrass and country versions, as performed by Bill Monroe
William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass".
The genre take ...
and Roy Acuff
Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...
, use the traditional humorous free floating verses, but in 4/4 time instead of following the easy going Appalachian tempo.
A version was recorded by Asleep At The Wheel
Asleep at the Wheel is an American Western swing group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception, released over twenty albums, and has charted more t ...
on their 2-time Grammy Award-winning 1993 Bob Wills tribute album.
References
Bibliography
*Laird, Ross. ''Brunswick Records: A Discography of Recordings, 1916-1931''. Greenwood Press, 2001.
*Lomax, John A. and Alan Lomax. ''American Ballads and Folk Songs''. Dover Publications (reprint), 1994.
*Pegg, Bruce. ''Brown Eyed Handsome Man: The Life And Hard Times Of Chuck Berry''. Routledge, 2005.
*Root, Frederic Woodman. "Sunday Night". Root & Sons Music Co., 1879. (Sheet music from Library of Congress)
*Whitburn, Joel. ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits''. Billboard Books, 2006.
{{authority control
1938 songs
Western swing songs
American folk songs
Bob Wills songs
Year of song unknown