Comments on: So Young, So Cold , So Fair : The Saint James Infirmary Blues

By: Max Haymes

Max Haymes — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:15:10 +0000

Check out my 10,000 word dissertation on Dying Crapshooter’s BLues include 3 versions by Blind Willie McTell statring in 1940. I trace roots baxk to Dublin in 1760. Contact Lancaster University in UK in first instance or myself maxhaymes@talktalk.net

By: Tony Picco

Tony Picco — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 15:49:44 +0000

wow… what a treasure trove! My dad had an old old 78 of Cab Calloway covering the song in his earlier, high-pitched vocal days and he used to play it a lot when I was a kind n the 1950s… and I have loved this song ever since.

Thank you thank you thank you!!!

By: Alan

Alan — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:48:05 +0000

Hi, Great stuff — one of my all-time favorite songs. Can you get the version played by the Saturday Night Live Band around 1976-77 with Lily Tomlin on vocals?

By: Rick

Rick — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:58:52 +0000

104 by van morrison is truncated.

thanks, great collection.

By: Jari Oksanen

Jari Oksanen — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:42:33 +0000

I found here because Finnish Broadcasting Company had a literary discussion program on Albert Camus’s “The Plague”, and in that book they played the record (vinyl) “St James Infirmary”. My guess was that record should have been the *Oran* Hot Lips Page version because the book was staged in Oran, Algeria — but who knows.

A couple of things make me wonder among these wonderful files. Somewhere among my old vinyls I have a Blind Willie McTell version of “StJI”, but it sounds more similar to the standard one than the “Dyin’ Gambler” here. I think it was “Dyin’ crapshooter”, which sounds like the same, but it also had all these antiques about stetson hats and 20 dollar gold pieces, and the melody was also the same.

Koko Taylor’s “Insane Asylum” is the same thing (also in my vinyls), but I think it is too young to be here. Nice thing, though.

Thanks for this treasure! Cheers, Jazza

By: jimbo

jimbo — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:55:40 +0000

A Triumph!!! My hat is off!!!

By: Tkhan

Tkhan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:55:11 +0000

Missing this one: Complete Victors, Vol. 2 : King Oliver & His Orchestra. Number 4 song.
Here is the amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Victors-Vol-Oliver-Orchestra/dp/B000PLXFLK

This is what NPR plays if I am not wrong, usually Oct. 30th midnight!!

By: andychen

andychen — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 04:31:55 +0000

I am astounded that no one has written to you about the version that Allen Toussaint created for his latest (2009) album “The Bright Mississippi.” That version is what led me to your website. It’s a masterpiece!

By: N@

N@ — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:12:05 +0000

Outstanding effort – hearty thx and congratulations.

You might want to include a version by Baby Gramps as can be found here – http://www.babygramps.com/promo.htm

By: dru

dru — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:15:24 +0000

i love the blues and especial st james infirmary i can plat it myself in two keys and i love every version i can get my hands on idk if i got enough hard drive space i might need u to burn ur servers on cd or dvd for me lol jk thank alot thou i love this site!