Cab Calloway - St. James Infirmary Blues - 1930's - Betty Boop

One of the first times Max Fleischer's rotoscoping technique is used to plug both Cab Calloway's voice and moving figure into an animated space; Allowing the performance to exist in a dark, surreal realm that taps into blues mysticism and the occult.  It's not hell but certainly grim, there's morphing body horror, drugs and boooooooozing. The song itself is sung from the perspective of a soldier who, after emptying his pockets on prostitutes, dies of a venereal disease :( It's a relative of an old english folk tune "The Unfortunate Rake." For good measure I'm including the Minnie the Moocher episode. Both are fantastical depictions of the horror embedded in Blues and Jazz music, and watching these characters do "the Buzz" is endlessly entertaining to me.

Continuing murder

Shirley and Dolly Collins- The Oxford Girl

One of my long time favourites. This is about a man who wishes to marry a young girl. He at least has the morality to accept she is too young. But then finds himself murdering her and floating her off down a river. And then goes on to say how self pitying he is. It wouldnt have happened if she was older I guess.. Silly girl tut tut. 
Its a good one. 


<3 Chloe

Murder ballads... Pretty Polly // Down in the Willow Garden

Different ballads, similar themes... 

I really love this folk tradition of horrific stories told as perky, sing-a-long melodies 

Down in the Willow Garden
"Down in the Willow Garden", also known as "Rose Connelly" is a traditional Appalachian murder ballad about a man facing the gallows for the murder of his lover: he gave her poisoned wine, stabbed her, and threw her in a river.

Pretty Polly 

"The song is a murder ballad, telling of a young woman lured into the forest where she is killed and buried in a shallow grave. Many variants of the story have the villain as a ship's carpenter who promises to marry Polly but murders her when she becomes pregnant. When he goes back to sea, he is haunted by her ghost, confesses to the murder, goes mad and dies."