nickname
A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...
Drive 'Em Down, was a
New Orleans blues
New Orleans blues is a subgenre of blues that developed in and around the city of New Orleans, influenced by jazz and Caribbean music. It is dominated by piano and saxophone, but also produced guitar bluesmen.
Characteristics
As a style, New ...
and
boogie woogie
Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, but already developed in African-American communities since the 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually ex ...
piano player. He never recorded, but has had a great influence on
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
and
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
.
According to
Champion Jack Dupree
William Thomas "Champion Jack" Dupree (July 23, 1909 or July 4, 1910 – January 21, 1992) was an American blues and boogie-woogie pianist and singer. His nickname was derived from his early career as a boxer.
Biography
Dupree was a New Orle ...
, who called Drive 'Em Down his "father" and cited him as "teaching me his style", Hall played in barrelhouses. His earthy song, " Junker's Blues", with its stories about needles and reefer and the Angola prison farm was recorded by Dupree in 1940. In 1949
Fats Domino
Antoine Caliste Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American singer-songwriter and pianist. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New Orl ...
reworked the song as " The Fat Man", the first of his 35
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
hits. The melody was used by
Professor Longhair
Henry Roeland Byrd (December 19, 1918 – January 30, 1980), better known as Professor Longhair or "Fess" for short, was an American singer and pianist who performed New Orleans blues. He was active in two distinct periods, first in the heyday o ...
for "
Tipitina
"Tipitina" is a song written and originally recorded by New Orleans pianist and singer Professor Longhair. His original version was recorded and released in 1953 by Atlantic Records. Although the nature of his contributions are unknown, recordi ...
" and by
Lloyd Price
Lloyd Price (March 9, 1933May 3, 2021) was an American R&B and rock 'n' roll singer, known as "Mr. Personality", after his 1959 million-selling hit, "Personality (Lloyd Price song), Personality". His first recording, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", was a ...
for "
Lawdy Miss Clawdy
"Lawdy Miss Clawdy" is a song by New Orleans singer-songwriter Lloyd Price that "grandly introduced '' The New Orleans Sound''".
It was first recorded by Price in 1952 with Fats Domino and Dave Bartholomew during his first session for Art Ru ...
."
Willy DeVille
Willy DeVille (born William Paul Borsey Jr.; August 25, 1950 – August 6, 2009) was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five-year career, first with his band Mink DeVille (1974–1986) and later on his own, DeVille created song ...
recorded the song in 1990 on his '' Victory Mixture'' album. The song also directly inspired the song "
Junco Partner
"Junco Partner", also known as "Junco Partner (Worthless Man)", is a blues song first recorded by James Wayne (R&B musician), James Wayne in 1951. first recorded in 1951 by James Waynes and later also widely covered by other musicians.