Thinks happen: The Story Behind the Photograph

Things ain't what they used to be. (In fact, they never was.)
The Profile (more than you really wanted to know) is here.

Not sure why these lyrics popped into my head when I saw this photo.

Bessie couldn’t help it any more than you could, or I could
Bessie couldn’t help it though she tried to be good, Oh! So good.
She was pretty as the heavens above
Oh! Boy but how that girl could love
Bessie had affection that was simply wonderful, wonderful!
But Bessie couldn’t help it any more than you could or I could.
When she smiled you were bound to fall, that’s all
A boy kissed Bessie in the back seat one night
Why, oh why did she yell with delight?
Bessie couldn’t help it any more than you could, or I could

(C. Bayha / J. Richmond / B. Warner)

Louis Armstrong & His Hot Five - 1930
Hoagy Carmichael & His Orch. (vocal: Carmichael) - 1930
Billy Cotton & His Band (vocal: Nat Gonella) - 1930
Slatz Randall - 1930
Keith Nichols Cotton Club Orchestra - 1991
Jack Hylton & His Orch;
San Francisco Starlight Orchestra;
Digby Fairweather & The New Georgians;
Roy Evans with Rube Bloom & Bayou Boys.

My favorite is the Hoagy Carmichael version which I have. His “Orch” was Bix Beiderbecke, Ray L’Odwig, Jack Teagarden, Boyce Cullen, Jimmy Dorsey, Pee Wee Russell, Arnold Brilhart, Bud Freeman, Joe Venuti, Irving Brodsky, Eddie Lang, Min Leibrook, and Chauncy Moorehouse.

I also have a more contemporary version by Pee Wee Hunt, I think. If I can find it.

The card according to the POST CARD site is from 1925. The hat is from Peter Pan I think…

The girl is a handsome lass. If you look at the original size, you can see that she had some eye problems.

Barnacle Bill (as I read somewhere) was just something they thought of in the studio because they were short a side. So they took the old barroom song and cleaned it up a bit and arranged it and recorded it. Some of the background vocals are interesting on it. On the old 78RPM records you couldn't tell it but on modern restored versions you can hear quite clearly that someone is NOT saying Barnacle Bill the "SAILOR" but something quite different. Most blame Joe Venuti who was a prankster extreme. By all means, time for a CD version for you, just for that one experience alone.

Benny Goodman and Jimmy Dorsey are BOTH in the band on that cut. Of course they were all just kids then.

Barnacle Bill is also reputed to be the LAST Bix recording