Week 32: Sundown Blues



Alec Johnson (with Kansas Joe McCoy)

The Men

Alec Johnson is yet another mystery of the blues. In November of 1928, in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, 6 tracks were recorded by “Alec Johnson”. That’s everything we know about him. Sam Chatmon later claimed that Alec’s real name was Ferdinand Chatmon, half brother to the Chatmon clan including Bo Carter and full brother to Charley Patton. Ferdinand was born in 1874, and was considerably older than the others in the Chatmon clan. No evidence has ever surfaced to support Sam’s claims.

Kansas Joe McCoy, on the other hand, is a well documented blues legend. With his younger brother Charles, the McCoy brothers were the number one accompanists of the day, each recording hundreds of tracks as side men. Although both released solo records, they were much more successful as backing musicians and are regarded as legends and pioneers of the Memphis blues sound.

Joe McCoy was born on May 11, 1905 in either Jackson or nearby Raymond right on the edge of the Mississippi Delta region. He was raised in Jackson and started playing guitar, banjo and mandolin in his teens. He taught his brother Charlie, born on May 26, 1909. Jackson had a thriving blues scene, featuring the offspring of Henderson Chatmon – Armenter, Alfonso and Sam – Walter Vinson, Skip James, Ishmon Bracey, Tommy Johnson and all of them were in awe of Rube Lacey. Lacey was only recorded twice, and only two songs survive, but he is the most influential of the early Delta musicians. Jackson is the largest city in Mississippi, and it’s blues scene, led by Lacey, attracted other up and coming country blues artists – Son House and Charley Patton both learned from Lacey.

Joe and Charlie both were under Lacey’s wing – Charlie would “follow him like [Lacey] was his daddy” – and soon they were playing with the Chatmons in local string bands. Around 1925, they decided to move to the big city of Memphis and its hugely popular music scene based around Beale Street. Joe joined several jug and string bands and became a regular in the Memphis scene. The Chatmons followed the McCoys to Memphis, who with Walter Vinson had formed the string band “The Mississippi Sheiks”. Alfonso was now known as Lonnie Chatmon; Armenter was known as Bo Carter. Charlie and Joe played were unofficial members of the Sheiks, but played with them most nights.

In November of 1928, needing a band to back Alec Johnson, Joe, Charlie and Bo Carter were hired. Joe played guitar, Charlie was on mandolin and Bo played the fiddle. They recorded the 6 tracks that is all we have of Alec Johnson. Johnson’s phrasing, lyrical choice and style suggest an older, educated man, likely an experienced vaudeville performer rather than the raw country style usually played by his backing musicians.

Back in Memphis, Joe was highly regarded in the blues scene. He met, fell in love with and married Lizzy Douglas, an up and coming older blues guitarist and singer. Lizzy had been previously married, and unlike the popular singers of the day Bessie Smith and Sippie Wallace, Lizzy performed a raw country style, with highly sexual lyrics and a swagger in her voice. She sang about guns, whiskey and men and never went to church. They performed as a duo in clubs and on the street, they were discovered playing outside a barber shop by a talent scout for Columbia Records and were sent to New York in 1929 to record. At the suggestion of Columbia, they changed their names to Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie.

Their first records sold okay, and in 1930 they recorded for Vocation. The first release was an unreleased track from Columbia’s New York sessions title “Bumble Bee Blues” which was a massive hit and is considered Minnie’s defining tune to this day – over her career she recorded and released 5 version of it. They follow year they released “When the Levee Breaks”, with Joe on vocals, which was covered in a absolute tour-de-force of blues by Led Zeppelin in 1971.

Joe and Minnie produced a series of successful recordings for the next 5 years, around 200 sides, before they divorced and ceased their partnership in 1934. Kansas Joe recording 28 solo sides during this period, but none matched the success of Memphis Minnie. She was the biggest blues singer of her time by a long way, and her style changed the way women in music were portrayed. Some say Joe’s jealously of his wife’s fame and success was the catalyst for their divorce.

In 1935, relocating to Chicago, Joe teamed up with his brother, now going by the name of Papa Charlie McCoy and recorded swing music under the name Harlem Hamfats. He adopted the solo name Hallelujah Joe, and was also known as Papa Joe, Big Joe and a host of other names – this was likely to get around contract issues regarding royalties for recording. The Hamfats were moderately successful, and Joe continued to record as a sideman for a host of artists.

In 1940’s, both Joe and Charlie tried to enlist for service in the Second World War, but Joe was rejected on the basis of a heart condition. He formed a band title “Big Joe and his Rhythm”, featuring a young Robert Nighhawk on harmonica. After completing his service, Charlie joined in on harmonica.

On January 28, 1950, Joe suffered a major stroke and passed away in Chicago. Charlie had returned from the war in poor health, and on July 26 of the same year he too passed away in Chicago. Both brothers were buried in Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, a suburb of Chicago. On October 3, 2010, a tribute concert has held in memory of the legacy the McCoy brothers left the blues. This event raised funds to purchase each brother a memorial headstone for their previously unmarked graves. Each reads “Blues Pioneer” – the only apt description of the influence of the McCoy brothers on the blues.



The Song

Sundown Blues is a fantastic example of Kansas Joe McCoy’s restrained, melodic style. It is an 8 bar in the key of G. It was likely played in an open tuning, or half Spanish, but I’ve transcribed it here in standard tuning. The original recording features just Kansas Joe on guitar and Alec Johnson singing.

Very unusually the song consists of just 2 chords – G and C – played in open position. Joe’s melody lines are relatively simple, but really show that less is more when it comes to music. He uses a few ‘grace’ type notes to add momentum going into each bar. The main feature – and this is really unusually – is that the phrasing of the change to the IV chord is delayed by half a bar. It’s really unnatural to do, but once you get your head around it it really creates the slightly unsettling nature of what is a nice and sweet guitar part.



The Lyrics

G I hate to see the evening sun go down G That's the time my baby left this town G C G I get the blues when the evening sun goes down She was the meanest gal for miles around Made me love her then she called me down I feel so sad when the evening sun goes down Mmmmmmm Now everybody's scorned me, with a frown Since my baby left me broke in town I sigh and cry when the evening sun goes down My friends are scarce and they can not be found 'Cause my gal she quit and left this town Oh, how I grieve when the evening sun goes down Straight for the madhouse I'm surely bound Thinkin' 'bout the gal who left this town How I despair when the evening sun goes down Mmmmmmmmmm When shadows spread that dreary hue around From afar I hear a doleful sound My soul just weeps when the evening sun goes down

The Intro



$3.0 | $6.3.$2.0 $4.0.$2.1 3 $6.3 $4.0 $3.0 | $6.3.$2.0 $4.0.$2.1 3 $6.3 $4.0 $3.0 | $6.3.$2.0 $4.0.$2.1 2 3.$6.3 $4.0 $3.0 | $6.3.$2.0 $4.0.$2.1 3 $6.3 $4.0.$2.0 $3.3 | $6.3 $4.0.$3.2 0 $6.3 $5.3.$4.2.$1.0 0 | $5.3.$4.2 $5.3.$4.2.$1.0 $2.3 $5.3.$4.2 $3.3 0 | $6.3 $4.0.$3.0.$2.0.$1.3 $4.2.$3.0 0.$4.1 | 0.$3.0 $4.0.$3.0.$2.0.$1.3 $2.0.$1.3 $4.0 $4.0 $3.0 | Straight into the main riff of the song, the intro is nearly identical to the regular progression except for the timing of the C chord. Here Joe holds it for an extra 2 beats, adding the 7th on the last beat which resolves nicely to the G.

The Progression



G / / / / $6.3.$2.0 $4.0.$2.1 3 $6.3 $4.0 $3.0 | $6.3.$2.0 $4.0.$2.1 3 $6.3 $4.0 $3.0 | $6.3.$2.0 $4.0.$2.1 2 3.$6.3 $4.0 $3.0 | $6.3.$2.0 $4.0.$2.1 3 $6.3 $4.0.$2.0 $3.3 | G C / C G / / / $6.3 $4.0.$3.2 0 $5.3.$4.2 $5.3.$4.2.$2.1.$1.0 0.$2.1 | $5.3.$4.2 $5.3.$4.2.$1.0 $2.3 $6.3 $4.0.$2.0 $3.0 | $6.3 $4.0.$3.0.$2.0.$1.3 $4.2.$3.0 0.$4.1 | 0.$3.0 $4.0.$3.0.$2.0.$1.3 $2.0.$1.3 $4.0 $4.0 $3.0 | The progression is essentially the intro with more clearly defined chord changes. The weird phrasing of the change to the IV chord on beat 3 for 4 beats is the defining part of the song. The thumb is also crucial to the sound – have it hitting on the beat, and alternating strings except on the IV chord and the last bar. That last bar only using the open D string on the bass really sets up the main melody line in the first 4 bars. There’s a really soft open G string note on the last shuffle beat of the progression that leads back into the fist bar – this is really important to the melody. It’s essentially a 4 note riff with this G note being the first note – hit it quietly and let it ring to create a nice harmony with the notes on the B string.

The Outro