Born Lizzie Douglas in Algiers, Louisiana, she was one… Read Full Bio ↴Memphis Minnie -
Born Lizzie Douglas in Algiers, Louisiana, she was one of the most influential and pioneering female blues musicians and guitarists of all time. Minnie recorded for forty years, virtually unheard of for any woman in show business at the time, and possibly unique among female blues artists. A flamboyant character who wore bracelets made of silver dollars, she was the biggest female blues singer from the early Depression years through World War II. One of the first blues artists to take up the electric guitar, in 1942, she combined her Louisiana-country roots with Memphis-blues to produce her unique country-blues sound; along with Big Bill Broonzy and Tampa Red, she took country blues into electric urban blues, paving the highway for giants like Muddy Waters, Little Walter, and Jimmy Rogers to travel from the small towns of the south to the big cities of the north. She was married three times, and each husband was an accomplished blues guitarist: Joe McCoy (a.k.a. "Kansas Joe") later of the Harlem Hamfats, Casey Bill Weldon of the Memphis Jug Band, and Ernest Lawlers.
After learning to play guitar and banjo as a child, at the age of thirteen she ran away from home to Memphis, Tennessee, playing guitar in nightclubs and on the street as Lizzie "Kid" Douglas. The next year, she joined the Ringling Brothers circus. Her second marriage and recording debut came in 1929, both with Kansas Joe McCoy, when a Columbia Records talent scout heard them playing in a Beale Street barbershop in their distinctive "Memphis style", and their song "Bumble Bee" became a hit. In the 1930s she moved to Chicago, Illinois with Joe. She and McCoy broke up in 1935 and by 1939 she was with Little Son Joe, with whom she recorded nearly 200 records. In the 1940s she formed a touring Vaudeville company. From the 1950s on, however, public interest in her music declined and in 1957 she and Little Son Joe returned to Memphis. In 1961, Joe died and Minnie suffered a stroke which forced her to spend the rest of her life in nursing homes until she died in 1973.
Kansas Joe McCoy (May 11, 1905–January 28, 1950)-
Joe McCoy played music under a variety of stage names but is best known as "Kansas Joe McCoy." Born in Raymond, Mississippi, he was the older brother of blues accompanist Papa Charlie McCoy. As a young man, he was drawn to the music scene in Memphis, Tennessee where he played guitar and sang vocals during the 1920s. He teamed up with future wife Lizzie Douglas, a brilliant guitarist known as Memphis Minnie, and their 1929 recording of a song called "Bumble Bee" on the Columbia Records label was a hit. In 1930, the couple moved to Chicago where they were an important part of the burgeoning blues scene. Following their divorce, McCoy teamed up with his brother to form a band known as the Harlem Hamfats that performed and recorded during the second half of the 1930s.
In 1936, the Harlem Hamfats released a record with the song "The Weed Smoker's Dream" on it. McCoy later refined the tune, changed the lyrics and retitled the new song "Why Don't You Do Right?" for Lil Green, who recorded it in 1941. It was covered a year later by Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee, becoming Ms. Lee's first hit single. "Why Don't You Do Right?" remains a jazz standard and is McCoy's most lasting composition.
At the outbreak of World War II Charlie McCoy entered the military but a heart condition kept Joe McCoy from service. Out on his own, he created a band known as "Big Joe and His Rhythm" that performed together throughout most of the 1940s. In 1950, at the age of 44, Joe McCoy died of heart disease only a few months before his brother Charlie. They are buried in Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.
Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant took his and Memphis Minnie's recording of "When The Levee Breaks," which was in his personal collection, and presented it to guitarist Jimmy Page, who revamped it and slightly altered it lyrically, and produced it on their 1971 album Led Zeppelin IV. It is a favorite of many Zeppelin fans, and a highlight of the album.
Bumble Bee Blues
Memphis Minnie & Kansas Joe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Please come back to me
Bumble bee, bumble bee
Please come back to me
He got the best old stinger
Any bumble bee that I ever seen
He stung me this morning
He stung me this morning
I been looking for him all day long
Lord, it got me to the place
Hate to see my bumble bee leave home
Bumble bee, bumble bee
Don't be gone so long
Bumble bee, bumble bee
Don't be gone so long
You's my bumble bee
And you're needed here at home
I can't stand to hear him
Buzz, buzz, buzz
Come in, bumble bee
Want you to stop your fuss
You're my bumble bee
And you know your stuff
Oh, sting me, bumble bee
Until I get enough
Bumble bee, bumble bee
Don't be gone so long
Bumble bee, bumble bee
Don't be gone so long
You's my bumble bee
And you're needed here at home
I don't mind you going
Ain't going to stay so long
Don't mind you going
Don't be gone so long
You's my bumble bee
And you're needed here at home
I can't stand to hear him
Buzz, buzz, buzz
Come in, bumble bee
I want you to stop your fuss
You's my bumble bee
And you know your stuff
Oh, sting me, bumble bee
Until I get enough
The song "Bumble Bee" by Memphis Minnie tells the story of a woman who is desperately searching for her lover, a bumble bee, who has the best stinger she has ever seen. She recounts how he stung her that morning and how she has been searching for him all day long. She pleads with him to come back to her and not be gone for too long as he is needed at home. Despite her frustration with his constant buzzing, she cannot help but be drawn to him and begs him to sting her until she can get enough.
The song can be interpreted as a metaphor for an abusive relationship, with the bumble bee representing a partner who hurts their significant other but who they cannot help but return to. The woman's pleading for the bumble bee to return to her despite the pain he has caused her reflects the cycle of abuse and the difficulty of leaving an unhealthy relationship.
However, the song can also simply be interpreted as a lighthearted tale of a woman who is infatuated with a bumble bee and cannot bear to be without him. The playful tone and catchy melody showcase Memphis Minnie's signature style of blending blues and folk music.
Line by Line Meaning
Bumble bee, bumble bee
Memphis Minnie is calling out for her bumble bee, whom she dearly misses.
Please come back to me
She wants her bumble bee to come back to her, possibly because he has left her.
He got the best old stinger
Minnie admires her bumble bee because he has the most impressive stinger she has ever seen.
Any bumble bee that I ever seen
Compared to all the other bumble bees Minnie has encountered, her bumble bee stands out.
He stung me this morning
Minnie reveals that her bumble bee has stung her earlier in the day.
I been looking for him all day long
Minnie has been searching for her bumble bee for the whole day.
Lord, it got me to the place
The sting has affected Minnie emotionally, and she now feels brokenhearted.
Hate to see my bumble bee leave home
Minnie does not want her bumble bee to leave her.
Don't be gone so long
Minnie pleads for her bumble bee to come back quickly.
You's my bumble bee
Minnie reaffirms that this bumble bee is exclusively hers.
And you're needed here at home
Minnie needs her bumble bee to be present with her.
I can't stand to hear him
Minnie is annoyed by her bumble bee's buzzing.
Buzz, buzz, buzz
This is the sound that bumble bees make when they are flying.
Come in, bumble bee
Minnie calls out to her bumble bee to come inside.
Want you to stop your fuss
Minnie wants her bumble bee to stop making noise.
And you know your stuff
Minnie believes her bumble bee is an expert in what he does.
Oh, sting me, bumble bee
Minnie wants her bumble bee to sting her repeatedly.
Until I get enough
Minnie wants to be stung enough times that it satisfies her.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MINNIE MCCOY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@deirdreryan6147
"Bumble bee, bumble bee, please come back to me
Bumble bee, bumble bee, please come back to me
He got the best old stinger any bumble bee that I ever seen
He stung me this morning
I been looking for him all day long
He stung me this morning
I been looking for him all day long
Lord, it got me to the place
Hate to see my bumble bee leave home."
@chuckheppner3374
Memphis Minnie - Bumble Bee 🐝
https://youtu.be/RKBzv5lWLQs
Memphis Minnie's lyrics for her songs entitled Bumble Bee:
[Columbia]
Bumble bee, bumble bee, please come back to me 2x
He got the best old stinger any bumble bee that I ever seen
He stung me this morning, I been looking for him all day long 2x
Lord, it got me to the place, hate to see my bumble bee leave home
Bumble bee, bumble bee, don't be gone so long 2x
You's my bumble bee and you're needed here at home
I can't stand to hear him buzz, buzz, buzz
Come in, bumble bee, want you to stop your fuss
You're my bumble bee and you know your stuff
Oh, sting me, bumble bee, until I get enough
Bumble bee, bumble bee, don't be gone so long 2x
You's my bumble bee and you're needed here at home
I don't mind you going, ain't going to stay so long
Don't mind you going, don't be gone so long
You's my bumble bee and you're needed here at home
I can't stand to hear him buzz, buzz, buzz
Come in, bumble bee, I want you to stop your fuss
You's my bumble bee and you know your stuff
Oh, sting me bumble bee, until I get enough
[Vocalion]
Bumble bee, bumble bee, won't you please come back to me 2x
He got the best ol' stinger any bumble bee that I ever seen
He stung me this morning, I been looking for him all day long 2x
He had me to the place once, I hate to see my bumble bee leave home
I can't stand to hear him buzz, buzz, buzz
Come in, bumble bee, I want you to stop your fuss
You're my bumble bee and you know your stuff
Oh, sting me, bumble bee, until I get enough
Hmmm, stinger long as my right arm 2x
He stung me this morning, I been looking for him all day long
Sometimes he makes me happy, then sometimes he makes me cry 2x
He had me to the place once, I wish to God that I could die
[No. 2]
Bumble bee, bumble bee, where you been so long 2x
You stung me this morning, I been restless all day long
I met my bumble bee this morning as he flying in the door 2x
And the way he stung me, he made me cry for more
Hmmmm, don't stay so long from me 2x
You is my bumble bee, you got something that I really need
I'm gonna build me a bungalow just for me and my bumble bee 2x
Then I won't worry, I will have all the honey I need
He makes my honey, even now makes my comb 2x
It's all I want now my bumble bee just to stay at home
@murph3001
She's so wonderful __ should be considered as one of great blues singers EVER
@pauljeavons4350
she was accepted as a true blues player by the best male blues players of that era and the truth is the blues belong to women, they are the ones that suffer the most . listen to fado or morena
@WocklessGamingforAnimeMoms
@pauljeavons4350 she's one of my favorite Blues Guitarists alongside Ali Farka Toure,Boubacar Traroe,Barbacue Bob,John Mayall,Slim Harpo,and Lighting Slim.
@JeffreyWilliams-dr7qe
It's funny but she could play some guitar as well.
@fairygodmomma2313
Oh I LOVE this!!
@marthaaskins1439
Oh this is a keeper
Theres alot going on in this song and alot that could be done with it
@coravisser3846
This is such a beautifull one she was great a real great legende.Thank you so much for uploading Novonine
@gj3072
this lady had a great singing voice, I love it.
@wailflower
Driving groove...RIP Minnie
@SammieKay-ll8dr
Ms B I coming over to listen to the music