Muggsy led several traditional, "hot" jazz bands, most notably Muggsy Spanier and His Ragtime Band (which did not, in fact, play ragtime but, rather, "hot jazz" that would now be called Dixieland). This band set the style for all later attempts to play traditional jazz with a swing rhythm section. Its key members, apart from Muggsy, were: George Brunies - later Brunis - (trombone and vocals), Rodney Cless (clarinet), George Zack or Joe Bushkin (piano), Ray McKinstry, Nick Ciazza or Bernie Billings (tenor sax), and Bob Casey (bass). A number of competent but unmemorable drummers worked in the band.
The Ragtime Band's theme tune was "Relaxin' at the Touro", named for Touro Infirmary, the New Orleans hospital where Muggsy had been treated for a perforated ulcer early in 1938. He had been at the point of death when he was saved by one Dr. Alton Ochsner who drained the fluid and eased Muggsy's weakened breathing.
"Relaxin' At The Touro" is a fairly straightforward 12-bar blues, with a neat piano introduction and coda by Joe Bushkin. The pianist recalled, many years later: "When I finally joined Muggsy in Chicago (having left Bunny Berigan's failing big band) we met to talk it over at the Three Deuces, where Art Tatum was appearing. Muggsy was now playing opposite Fats Waller at the Sherman hotel and we worked out a kind of stage show for the two bands. Muggsy was a man of great integrity. We played a blues in C and I made up a little intro. After that I was listed as the co-composer of "Relaxin' at the Touro" (quoted by Richard B. Hadlock in the notes to the Bluebird CD 'Muggsy Spanier 1939 - The "Ragtime Band" Sessions', 07863 66550).
The (then) young pianist Joe Bushkin was in the Ragtime Band in 1939 and later said of Muggsy: "When he nailed something right, he stayed with it; he wouldn't fix it if it wasn't broke".
In his time, Muggsy made numerous Dixieland recordings that still serve as favorites today. Apart from the famous Ragtime Band, his other most important ventures were the quartet he co-led with Sidney Bechet (the 'Big Four') in 1940 and the traditional band he co-led with pianist Earl Hines at the Club Hangover in San Francisco in the 1950s. During the early 1920s he played with The Bucktown Five in Chicago.
Although Muggsy's real name was Francis Joseph Julian Spanier, he acquired the nickname "Muggsy" either because of his youthful enthusiasm for a baseball hero ("Muggsy" McGraw), or because of his obsession with King Oliver and Louis Armstrong. He was known to have shadowed and "mugged" both of them, copying their styles and incorporating them into his own music. He was allowed, on at least one occasion, to sit in with King Oliver's band (with Louis Armstrong on second cornet) at the Lincoln Gardens, Chicago, in the early 1920s.
He ended his days in the 1960s, leading a traditional jazz band that included old friends like Joe Sullivan (piano), Pops Foster (bass) and Darnell Howard (clarinet). He was not a great technician or virtuoso, but he could lead a traditional ensemble with fire and guts.
Beale Street Blues
Muggsy Spanier Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To the Mississippi
We'll take a boat to the land of dreams
Steam down the river, down to New Orleans
The band's there to meet us
Old friends there to greet us
Where all the proud and elite folks meet
Basin Street is the street
Where the best folks always meet
In New Orleans, land of dreams
You'll never know how nice it seems,
Or just how much it really means
Glad to be, oh yes-sirree
Where welcome's free and dear to me
Where I can lose, lose my Basin Street Blues
Basin Street, oh Basin Street
Is the street, mama
New Orleans, land of dreams
The lyrics to "Beale Street Blues" by Muggsy Spanier evoke a sense of adventure and excitement, as the singer invites the listener to journey with him to the Mississippi and explore the enchanting land of dreams that is New Orleans. The opening line sets the tone for the song, as the singer invites someone to accompany him on this adventure, promising a journey down the river to a magical destination.
As the song progresses, the singer describes the city of New Orleans as a place where old friends are waiting, and where the proud and elite meet. The use of the word "Heaven" to describe Basin Street emphasizes the beauty and wonder of this place, suggesting that it is both glamorous and otherworldly. The chorus repeats the idea that Basin Street is the place where the best people gather, and that it is a place of dreams that is impossible to fully understand or appreciate.
The final stanza reflects the singer's joy at being in this special place, where he can feel at home and lose himself in the music and the culture. The repetition of the phrase "Basin Street Blues" suggests that this feeling is both specific to this place, and universal in its ability to take people away from their troubles and connect them to something larger than themselves.
Overall, "Beale Street Blues" is a song that celebrates the joy of travel, exploration, and the power that music and community have to bring people together and lift them up.
Line by Line Meaning
Won't you come along with me
Would you like to accompany me?
To the Mississippi
To the river Mississippi.
We'll take a boat to the land of dreams
We will ride a ship to the place where dreams come true.
Steam down the river, down to New Orleans
We will travel by boat upstream the river to the city of New Orleans.
The band's there to meet us
Music group is waiting to receive us upon arrival.
Old friends there to greet us
We will be welcomed by friends from the past who live there.
Where all the proud and elite folks meet
A place where the wealthy and dignitaries always converge.
Heaven on earth, they call it Basin Street
Basin Street is a place of absolute bliss.
Basin Street is the street
Basin Street is a name of a street in New Orleans.
Where the best folks always meet
It's a place where the finest people in the society always gather.
In New Orleans, land of dreams
A state regarded as the land where dreams and aspirations come true.
You'll never know how nice it seems
You will never understand how good it truly feels.
Or just how much it really means
You won't comprehend the meaning and value of it.
Glad to be, oh yes-sirree
It's favorable to have a sense of joy and contentment.
Where welcome's free and dear to me
Being received warmly and hospitably here is delightful to me.
Where I can lose, lose my Basin Street Blues
A place to forget my sorrows, pain and hardships suffered in life.
Basin Street, oh Basin Street
A place named Basin Street.
Is the street, mama
This is the name of the street, mama.
New Orleans, land of dreams
New Orleans, a state of great hopes and opportunities.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: SPENCER WILLIAMS, ARRANGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind