Kokomo Arnold

Complete Recorded Works 17 May 1930 – 12 May 1938

Vol 2: (18th April 1935 to 21st February 1936)

Featuring the recordings of:

Kokomo Arnold, vocal / guitar. Kokomo Arnold, vocal / guitar; unknown, piano. Roosevelt Sykes (The Honey Dripper), vocal / piano; Kokomo Arnold, guitar.

Genres: Country Blues, Country Blues Guitar, Bottleneck-slide-guitar, Georgia Blues, Early Chicago Blues, Blues Piano, National Guitar

Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. By 1935 Kokomo Arnold was firmly ensconced in Chicago. He was still a country boy to many of his associates but, never an unworldly man; he was quickly getting wise to the big city and its ways. Despite his dedication to his basement bootlegging business and a strong desire to “go fishing instead” he had become a fixture on the local entertainment scene, working beside most of the big names in the blues at that time. The session on July 23th 1935 saw the first use of a piano to support his highly personal slide style and speculation among collectors has it that this was his first collaboration with Peetie Wheatstraw. It was during the period covered by this albujm that Kokomo returned to Milk Cow Blues; covering his own hit in an attempt to recreate its success. This concentration on a winning theme may have made sense commercially but artistically Kokomo had much more to offer. He drew his subject matter from all over and if in April he was celebrating that rural scourge/hero the boll weavil by July he was commenting on the big city preoccupation of Policy. The mysterious John Russell also reappears in the sub title to Big Leg Woman where he seems to be giving Kokomo considerable trouble. I wonder if this was a real person who Kokomo felt the need to castigate in song or a fictional character from black urban mythology.

DOCD-5038