St. James Infirmary

[Gordon Neill]

Oh dear, are Rob's posts becoming invisible? He's gonna turn green again and rend his shirt! He mentioned Bobby Bland's version near the start of this thread. And it was in a long list in one of my posts. Which is unfair to bury it in a long list as I agree with Garth (a) it is a great version, (b) yes, it is on his Two Steps From the Blues album (one of the truly great blues albums), and (c) yes, in my view, Bobby Bland is one of the greatest great singers - possibly a bit too smooth to fit in with some people's preconceptons of what a blues singer should sound like.

[Alan Balfour]

Excuse me if i'm skim reading but has no one mentioned Bobby Bland's superb reading of SJI? I believe it is on his seminal 2 Steps From The Blues album (but being in Catania right now i don't have it with me). BBB - one of the 20th C's greatest singers: any one else agree?

The writer credit on the 45 is to "J. Primrose" who I can only assume is another Roby type 'Deadric Malone" pseudonym.

In 1975 almost an entire issue of Living Blues magazine was devoted to an interview with Bland conducted by Jim O'Neal in which Bland admitted to being a "Tony Bennett, Perry Como, Andy Williams" admirer. "I try to do it in a ballad way, where it won't be strictly blues...but basically what I have to rely on is blues, but this is what I know and grew up with". When questioned by O'Neal on the subject of Roby/Malone Bland was terse, "Shit, Robey didn't write none of them"

[Leon Parker]

Normand

All Music web site listing of all those known who covered this song: Happy hunting.

http://wm07.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=a ... 384~1~T00A

[uiwangmike]

There's an English "St. James' Hospital" variant on R2's current (very so-so, I think) cowboy songs series (singer unidentified, but maybe Bert Lloyd?), segue'ed with Streets of Laredo, with the suggestion that the latter is a romanticized version of the song.
About 10 minutes in - available for one more day.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/musicclub/doc_cowboy.shtml

[tulsehill charlie]

There’s a fascinating essay on “St James Infirmaryâ€

[NormanD]

Thanks, TH Charlie, and others, for keeping this one alive. It's a dark, obsessive song that doesn't grow tiresome. In fact, most versions I have read it in ways that give it life every time. (Having said that, I've not heard the Tom Jones one, but I'm sure he's more than capable of giving it some).

I mentioned elsewhere that someone sent me a CD compilation of 20 different versions of "Ode To Billie Joe" (the same person sent me a similar number of versions and variants of "Sally Go Round The Roses", including the instrumental b-side of The Jaynetts single with the mysterious, ghostly vocal bleed - but that's another story). Multi-versions of SJI last much longer than these other songs.

For anyone interested, my top versions (probably 'til tomorrow) are Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bobby Bland and Josh White, and Marc Ribot really puts the evil back into it....

edit: changed it already. How could I have forgotten B"B" Bland (the most unlikely name for such a wunnerful singer)?

[nikki akinjinmi]

Norman, I've just heard Mark Lamarr playing a version of St James' Infirmary by Ted Taylor on Radio 2. I don't know this has already been mentioned, but it's a good version.

(I thought of George Sueref while it was playing - because the pitch of his voice). Anyway this Ted Taylor seems quite interesting - I've heard a couple of songs recorded by him, and for some reason they seem to "jump out" of the speakers and get my attention. I recall Charlie played something by him on when doing a programme on Radio 3 - that grabbed my attention. I think I'll have to check this singer out.

[nikki akinjinmi]

Anyway this Ted Taylor seems quite interesting - I've heard a couple of songs recorded by him, and for some reason they seem to "jump out" of the speakers and get my attention. I recall Charlie played something by him on when doing a programme on Radio 3 - that grabbed my attention. I think I'll have to check this singer out.

I've just learned that Ted Taylor was a member of one of my favourite groups - The Jacks/ The Cadets. (Apologies for diverting away from St. James' Infirmary)

[Chris P]

Snakefarm revamped their SJI for duo acoustic shows:

http://youtu.be/jZ5IZNbVsfM

[Alan Balfour]

There's a very useful book devoted to this topic which I think is in its second or third printing, see website link

http://www.stjamesinfirmary.ca/book.html

and blog

http://iwentdowntostjamesinfirmary.blog ... -results=4

Forgot to mention, my copy came with a 57 track double CD of SJI songs. Don't know if that's still the case now.

[Jamie Renton]

Captain Ska do a good version live (which they dedicate to the campaign to save the NHS). I couldn't find it on YouTube, but chanced upon this version from the Rotterdam Ska-Jazz Foundation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pnuyKT4wo4