Between 1927 and 1934 various African-American musicians in the Memphis, Tenn., area grouped around singer, song writer, guitarist, and harmonica player Will Shade (also known as Son Brimmer). The personnel of this jug band varied from day to day, with Shade booking gigs and arranging recording sessions.
Among the recorded members were (at various times) Will Shade (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Charlie Burse (pronounced Bursey) (guitar, mandolin, and vocals), Charlie Nickerson (piano and vocals), Charlie Pierce (violin), Charlie Polk (jug), Tewee Blackman (vocals, guitar), “Hambone” Lewis (jug), Jab Jones (jug, piano, vocals ), Johnny Hodges/Hardge (piano), Ben Ramey (vocals and kazoo), Casey Bill Weldon (guitar and vocals), Memphis Minnie (guitar and vocals), Vol Stevens (vocals, violin, and mandolin), Milton Robie (violin), Otto Gilmore/Gilmer (drums and woodblocks), and Robert Burse (drums). Vocals were also provided by Hattie Hart, Memphis Minnie, Jennie Mae Clayton (Shade’s wife), and Minnie Wallace, with Charlie Burse often contributing beautiful harmony parts to Shade’s lead vocal lines. In the case of Memphis Minnie, the Memphis Blues Band accompanied her on two sides for Victor Records, recorded in 1930 when the band's career was "winding down".
The attributed names of the group led by Shade on various recording labels vary quite a bit, but recent scholarly consensus has led writers to compile all of these works under the over-arching rubric of the Memphis Jug Band. In addition to that name, alternative names found on record labels include the Picaninny Jug Band, Memphis Sanctified Singers, the Carolina Peanut Boys, the Dallas Jug Band, the Memphis Sheiks, the Jolly Jug Band and recordings credited to the individual performers Hattie Hart, Minnie Wallace, Casey Bill Weldon, Charlie Nickerson, Vol Stevens, Charlie Burse, “Poor Jab” Jones, and Will Shade, but actually performed with accompaniment by other Memphis Jug Band members.
Musically their large membership pool allowed the Memphis Jug Band the flexibility to play a mixture of ballads, dance tunes, knock-about novelty numbers, and blues. Some of their songs mention hoodoo magical beliefs, and some members also contributed to gospel recordings, either uncredited or as part of the Memphis Sanctified Singers.
The Memphis Jug Band has been described as having a remarkable sound due in part to the unusual instruments. Although most songs included a rhythm guitar and either a jug, a kazoo or a harmonica as a lead instrument or sometimes a mandolin or violin. The sound of the instruments ofen conveyed a "raspy, buzzing sound" that a Briish music scholar who did not know the band personally stated was close to the musical aesthetic of Africa, and in which, he said, the jug and kazoo represented the voices of animals or ancestral spirits. Shade never told scholars why he liked this sound, and since many of the performers were also part Native American, it is a good question as to which ancestors—if any—the kazoo was supposed to represent.
The Memphis Jug Band played wherever they could find engagements, and busked in local parks. They were popular among white as well as black audiences.
In total, they made more than eighty recordings, first for Victor Records, then—as the Picaninny Jug Band—for the Champion-Gennett label, and finally for OKeh Records. The Victor recordings were made in Memphis and Atlanta, Georgia between 1927 and 1930, the Champion-Gennetts in Richmond, Indiana in August 1932, while the final sessions on Okeh were held in Chicago in November 1934. By that time, their style of music was no longer in demand, and Shade was no longer able to keep the musicians assembled as a group, although many of the individuals carried on working around Memphis until the 1940s.
In 1963 Shade recorded one last time with another Memphian, 79-year-old Gus Cannon, former leader of Cannon’s Jug Stompers, another popular jug band. They recorded the album Walk Right In, on Stax Records, a result of The Rooftop Singers having made Cannon's "Walk Right In" into a number one single. Will Shade on jug and former Memphis Jug Band member Milton Roby on washboard perform a series of thirteen traditional songs, plus Cannon's great hit "Walk Right In," including "Narration," "Kill It," "Salty Dog," "Going Around," "The Mountain," "Ol' Hen", "Gonna Raise A Ruckus Tonight," "Ain't Gonna Rain No More," "Boll-Weevil," "Come On Down To My House," "Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor," "Get Up In The Morning Soon," and "Crawdad Hole." The album is almost an audio documentary tour through different corners of Cannon's life and career that, ideally, might've run to several volumes.
A Black Woman is Like a Black Snake
Memphis Jug Band Lyrics
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A black woman is like a black snake. She will strike and run
If you believe you'll have to hit her, she'll kill you and call it fun
I mean, and call it fun
All peach-sized (?) women, they come from different lands
All peach-sized (?) women, they come from different lands
When they get all busy (?) they got to do the best they can
I mean, the best they can
I wouldn't marry a black woman. I'll tell you the reason why
She's so black and evil she can't look you in your eye
Look you in your eye
The lyrics of the Memphis Jug Band's song "A Black Woman is Like a Black Snake" are a powerful illustration of the misogynoir that black women have faced and still face in various parts of the world. The first verse compares a black woman to a black snake, indicating that she is dangerous and unpredictable. It suggests that she is capable of violence, and if you try to defend yourself against her, she will kill you and find it fun. This is not only derogatory to black women but is also rooted in age-old stereotypes and fears surrounding black people as being more aggressive and violent. The metaphor also implies that a black woman is untrustworthy and elusive, so the idea of marrying one is out of the question.
The second verse paints black women as overworked and exhausted, having to do their best in different lands. This verse challenges the first verse and asks the listener to consider the hardships and challenges that black women often face while still maintaining their strength and resilience.
The final verse seals the deal on painting black women as undesirable partners. The singer claims that he would not marry a black woman because she is "so black and evil that she can't look you in the eye." This verse not only plays into beauty standards surrounding blackness but also suggests that black women are not trustworthy and cannot be counted on to be faithful or honest. Taken together, these lyrics are a powerful commentary on the marginalization and vilification of black women in American society.
Line by Line Meaning
A black woman is like a black snake. She will strike and run
Comparing a black woman to a black snake, emphasizing that once she's angered, she will attack and flee.
If you believe you'll have to hit her, she'll kill you and call it fun
Warning anyone against physically attacking a black woman, as she may retaliate severely and enjoy it.
All peach-sized (?) women, they come from different lands
Acknowledging that women of all shapes and sizes come from diverse places.
When they get all busy (?) they got to do the best they can
Suggesting that when women become preoccupied, they must do what they can to manage their tasks and obligations.
I wouldn't marry a black woman. I'll tell you the reason why
Explaining why the artist wouldn't marry a black woman.
She's so black and evil she can't look you in your eye
Ridiculing black women for their dark skin and alleged negative traits, without any factual basis or justification.
Contributed by Noah A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Michel Washbone
Hello this is a nice song " Black Woman-Black Snake" we play a similar sound here in germany but maybe you like it and you give us a comment