Comments on: Willie The Weeper

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:55:35 +0000

does anyone know the origin/history of the song and can you let me know?

thanks,
mike

By: Locus

Locus — Tue, 01 May 2007 18:46:22 +0000

Cab Calloway actually based his “Minnie the Moocher” on “Willie the Weeper” (which is a traditional standard) - not the other way around.

By: oliver

oliver — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 01:26:11 +0000

Thank you very much for helping me to find a song that I’ve been searching for for years.
My dad used to sing me to sleep with the song of “Willie the Weeper” (Ernest Rodgers version).
Dad left us when I was quite little, and I seem to remember me demanding this song at night, and Mum not really being able to do it justice. She was a musiscian and Dad was a scientist, but he somehow sang it better. Probably he just remembered the words with more gusto. But actually I remember he did a great deep moan (bass? baritone? - sorry, Mum never taught me music fully) where Ernest does his wail between verses. And then he added a brilliant “BOM-BOM”. I think Dad’s version would be a hit now, maybe with Andre3000 singing and Pavarroti doing the backing.
Anyway, I loved the song then and love it now. I’d never heard the Frankie Jaxon version before - having heard both, there is no doubt for me Ernest’s is better, but it’s virtually a different song. You give some information about Frankie, but to me he sounds really like a woman singer. Can you tell us more? It can’t have been easy for an effeminate man back then…
And funnily enough, although the song is obviously a paean to drugs (and to illicit sex), neither me nor Dad have been strongly tempted by the former (I dabbled because of my epoch; Dad never, despite being a sixties lefty). About the sex, I only know about me…
Sorry for my self-indugence, but you have really helped me in my search. Your site is being saved in my favourites as we speak!
ps - I’m from Liverpool in England and now live in Kiev, Ukraine, so please be aware that you are truly international.
pps - thanks to Mr. Geoffrey Smith too! for the link and comments…

By: Jeremy Taylor

Jeremy Taylor — Sat, 31 Dec 2005 19:33:36 +0000

Very nice! I’m putting you at my favourits. right Opponents will Double Mistery without any questions: http://www.aintitcool.com/ , Grass can Roll Cards Roll Boy is very good Player , Universal Cosmos Roll or not Opponents can Expect Plane

By: Winston

Winston — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 15:48:55 +0000

Got the Half Pint this time. Thanks! Now to check out those 78s on Archive.org.

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 14:27:34 +0000

I have what sounds like the same track on the excellent When Hemp Was Hip compilation CD. Sounds like that version transcribed from the 78 at a slightly higher speed than the one posted here. (No idea which is correct.)

Thanks, Geoff, for the reference to the Ernest Rodgers version!

By: Peter Patnaik

Peter Patnaik — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 03:38:24 +0000

I hadn’t heard that version before. it’s really great though,thanks!

also, try redownloading the half-pint. i was able to download it in full from several different computers.

By: fshurrat

fshurrat — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 01:27:05 +0000

Thanks for the Half-Pint Jaxon.

By: Geoffrey Smith

Geoffrey Smith — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 22:49:30 +0000

Hey
Thanks so much for WILLIE THE WEEPER. It’s just great. I hope you’ve heard Ernest Rodgers version. It’s the oldest version I know of. If not you can find it at http://www.archive.org. Plus lots of other tunes. Check it out it’s quite a site.
Thanks again keep ‘em commin’
Geoff

By: Winston

Winston — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 15:12:34 +0000

Thanks for the tipoff on eMusic. I was using Audio Lunchbox and had just about exhausted that resource. eMusic has a lot of the same stuff, but the Shanachie and Riverside labels are worth checking out. They have the Ghost World soundtrack!

Half Pint might be truncated. I only got a few seconds of Willie the Weeper.