Annotation:Memphis Shakedown

Find traditional instrumental music

Back to Memphis Shakedown


MEMPHIS SHAKEDOWN. Old-Time, Ragtime Blues. The tune was recorded in Chicago on November 8, 1934, by guitarist Will Shade and the Memphis Jug Band (with Charlie Pierce playing fiddle). Dick Spottswood, writing of the recording in more modern times, points out that the title of the song suggests that it "combines the idea of the hillbilly breakdown with the African American shake or shimmy-shake."

Source for notated version:

Printed sources:

Recorded sources: OKEH 8960 (78 RPM), Memphis Jug Band (1934). Rounder 0113, Trapezoid - "Three Forks of Cheat" (1978. Learned from a recording of the Memphis Jug Band). CD JSP-CD7752, "Memphis Shakedown: More Jugband Classics" (2005. Various artists). Yazoo 2059, "The Best of The Memphis Jug Band: Classic Recordings from the 1920s."

See also listing at:
See/hear the Carolina Chocolate Drops perform the tune on youtube.com [1] [2]
Hear the Memphis Jug Band's recording on youtube.com [3]




Back to Memphis Shakedown