That one had a name, that was the "Salty Dog." That's the "Salty Dog" . . .
Do you know the words to some of that?
Huh? No, er, that wasn't mentioned in there . . .
"Let me be your salty dog . . ."
Yeah . . . No - it's the "Salty Dog."
Old salty dog,
Old salty dog,
Old salty dog.
That's about all the names there. That's all, all the words there was.
Old salty dog,
Old salty dog.
That's the way that Bill Johnson used to play - him and his three-piece organization. Er, Bill Johnson's a brother-in-law of mine - and is older than I am - very, very good-looking boy in those days. And my, and how did the girls take to him, and those bad chords on the bass fiddle. My, [laughs] they really taken to him, I'm tellin' you.
Was he the one that took the first jazz to New York?
Er, yeah, Bill Johnson was the first one that taken the first jazz band into the city of New York. Er, they played the Palace Theater. Well, I'm a little bit ahead of my story.
[inaudible comments]
Er, Bill . . . Bill wanted to come to California and, er, in the meantime, he wrote my wife a letter, and she financed the trip. He had a band. He'd composed this band formerly of some of the Tuxedo Orchestra, which was Freddie Keppard's old original orchestra, which was the first combination of what is known now as a Dixieland combination. But, of course, this band was augmented a bit - from the Dixieland combination. They had added, then, the guitar and the bass fiddle. Of course, Bill seen the opportunity, so he got into the band and got the bass fiddle and got the band for himself.
So he . . . we's financed the trip and came to Los Angeles. On entering Los Angeles, they made such a tremendous success that the Pantages Circuit signed them up immediately. That was the year of nineteen-thirteen. And they made the trip throughout the country of the Pantages Circuit, which was the largest circuit at that time in the world. And through this trip they came East, and they came into Chicago in early nineteen-fourteen. I happened to be there myself, with a similar combination of what Freddie Keppard used to have, which was considered a Dixieland . . . which is considered now a Dixieland combination.
They came to Chicago and turned the town upside down. Caused my trumpet player to quit, which was considered the best trumpet player in Chicago at the time. His name was Armstrong.
What?
But not Louie Armstrong. [laughs] It was John Armstrong of Louisville, Kentucky. And John couldn't play that kind of trumpet. And I had been teachin' him a little bit, and he was little stubborn, and when Freddie played, he wanted to hit me with a rack. When I mean a rack, that is something that's very . . .
Do you know the words to some of that?
Huh? No, er, that wasn't mentioned in there . . .
"Let me be your salty dog . . ."
Yeah . . . No - it's the "Salty Dog."
Old salty dog,
Old salty dog,
Old salty dog.
That's about all the names there. That's all, all the words there was.
Old salty dog,
Old salty dog.
That's the way that Bill Johnson used to play - him and his three-piece organization. Er, Bill Johnson's a brother-in-law of mine - and is older than I am - very, very good-looking boy in those days. And my, and how did the girls take to him, and those bad chords on the bass fiddle. My, [laughs] they really taken to him, I'm tellin' you.
Was he the one that took the first jazz to New York?
Er, yeah, Bill Johnson was the first one that taken the first jazz band into the city of New York. Er, they played the Palace Theater. Well, I'm a little bit ahead of my story.
[inaudible comments]
Er, Bill . . . Bill wanted to come to California and, er, in the meantime, he wrote my wife a letter, and she financed the trip. He had a band. He'd composed this band formerly of some of the Tuxedo Orchestra, which was Freddie Keppard's old original orchestra, which was the first combination of what is known now as a Dixieland combination. But, of course, this band was augmented a bit - from the Dixieland combination. They had added, then, the guitar and the bass fiddle. Of course, Bill seen the opportunity, so he got into the band and got the bass fiddle and got the band for himself.
So he . . . we's financed the trip and came to Los Angeles. On entering Los Angeles, they made such a tremendous success that the Pantages Circuit signed them up immediately. That was the year of nineteen-thirteen. And they made the trip throughout the country of the Pantages Circuit, which was the largest circuit at that time in the world. And through this trip they came East, and they came into Chicago in early nineteen-fourteen. I happened to be there myself, with a similar combination of what Freddie Keppard used to have, which was considered a Dixieland . . . which is considered now a Dixieland combination.
They came to Chicago and turned the town upside down. Caused my trumpet player to quit, which was considered the best trumpet player in Chicago at the time. His name was Armstrong.
What?
But not Louie Armstrong. [laughs] It was John Armstrong of Louisville, Kentucky. And John couldn't play that kind of trumpet. And I had been teachin' him a little bit, and he was little stubborn, and when Freddie played, he wanted to hit me with a rack. When I mean a rack, that is something that's very . . .