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.
Mood Indigo
Muggsy Spanier Lyrics
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You ain't never been blue,
Till you've had that mood indigo.
That feelin' goes stealin' down to my shoes
While I just sit here and sigh, "Go 'long blues".
I always get that mood indigo,
Since my baby said goodbye.
I'm so lonely I could cry.
'Cause there's nobody who cares about me,
I'm just a poor fool that's bluer than blue can be.
When I get that mood indigo,
I could lay me down and die.
You ain't never been blue; no, no, no,
You ain't never been blue,
Till you've had that mood indigo.
That feelin' goes stealin' down to my shoes
While I just sit here and sigh, "Go 'long blues".
The lyrics of "Mood Indigo" by Muggsy Spanier explore the depths of sadness and loneliness that come with heartbreak. The song opens by stating that the listener has never truly felt the depth of sadness until they have felt the "mood indigo." The feeling is not just a passing emotion, but something that can permeate down to one's shoes, leaving them feeling overwhelmed with sadness. The singer sits and sighs, telling the blues to leave them alone but knowing they won't go away so easily.
The singer then reveals that they always have this mood since their baby said goodbye. It is obvious that heartbreak is the cause of the sadness that permeates the song. The contrast between the singer's loneliness and the lack of care and concern from others for them is a stark reminder of the real pain that people can experience in love. The song ends on a note of desperation, with the singer stating they could lay down and die when they feel that mood indigo.
Line by Line Meaning
You ain't never been blue; no, no, no,
You have not experienced true sadness
You ain't never been blue,
You may have experienced sadness, but not to this extent
Till you've had that mood indigo.
Until you've had that feeling of complete melancholy
That feelin' goes stealin' down to my shoes
The feeling of sadness is overwhelming and affects every part of my being
While I just sit here and sigh, "Go 'long blues".
I am helpless in the face of this pain and can only try to push it away
I always get that mood indigo,
This feeling is a constant in my life
Since my baby said goodbye.
My sadness stems from the loss of my love
And in the evenin' when the lights are low,
My sadness is particularly acute in the quiet of the evening
I'm so lonely I could cry.
I am consumed with loneliness and despair
'Cause there's nobody who cares about me,
The absence of love and concern exacerbates my pain
I'm just a poor fool that's bluer than blue can be.
I am miserable beyond words
When I get that mood indigo,
When the full weight of my sadness is upon me
I could lay me down and die.
I feel like I cannot go on living
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Barney Bigard
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind