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St James Infirmary Blues


“St. James Infirmary Blues” is a public domain jazz blues song with a storied past. Its earliest origins date back to a late 18th century English folk song “The Unfortunate Rake.” Later it assumed American variations that included a cowboy ballad and even later in the south as a jazz blues tune that was recorded by many including Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith. There are so many versions of the lyric that we simply selected and tweaked a few we liked for this production.

Janice - Vocals and arrangement.
Bud - Production tips, arrangement, vocal recording engineer, liner notes and mixing assistance.
Peter - Guitar, arrangement and mixing.

The Band:
RealTracks in song: 564:Bass, Electric, Blues Monday Sw 065
RealTracks in style: 675:Organ, B3, Background Blues Monday Sw 065
MIDI SuperTracks in song: 1886:Piano, Solo-Accompaniment Bluesy12-8John Sw 060
RealDrums [in Song:BluesMondaySw8^06-a,b:Snare, HiHat

ST. JAMES INFIRMARY BLUES

It was down in Old Joe's barroom
On the corner by the square
They were serving drinks as usual
And the usual crowd was there

On my left stood Big Joe McKinney
His eyes were bloodshot red
As he looked at his friends all around him
These were the words he said:

"I went down to the St. James Infirmary
I saw my baby there
Laid out on a long white table
So young, so cold, so fair"

Let her go, let her go
God bless her, wherever she may be
If I search this wide world over
I’ll never find another true love for me

So when I die just bury me
In a fine suit with a Stetson hat
Put a twenty dollar gold piece on my vest
Let my friends know I died standin’ pat

I want six of my friends for pall bearers
A pretty girl to sing me a song
A jazz band to lead my hearse wagon
Everybody singing as we roll along

Everybody singing as we roll along
Let’s roll…

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I've always loved this song! Didn't realize it was public domain.

I really like the arrangement on this, Peter, the way you start off with just the piano until the third verse. Nice way to bring in that solo at 3:24! And nice to hear you stretch out a bit there too.

Guitar sounds great, and of course Janice sounds great too.

Good job on the mix, love those drums! What are you running that midi piano through if you don't mind my asking?

Very, very good smile

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Peter / Janice / Bud,

Wow! This is over the TOP good...

A classic song and a searing guitar line against Janice's smokey vocal - it does not get better than that.

The arrangement and mix is so beautifully textured. You all have remade a classic and made it yours.

More of this please!

Bob

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Peter, Janice and Bud,

This is a very nice song. A good build up.
Strong performance. And the voice of course!
So, a successful collaboration the three of you

Hans


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cant go wrong with a voice like that .Superb and the mix and arrangement are top notch


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What a tune! As always, Janice's voice on this is stunning - but I love those smoky vibes on the instrumentation as well. I thought the slow progression throughout the tune was perfectly executed also. The way it builds and builds makes for a really inviting listen.

Not a thing I'd change - thanks for sharing smile


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Originally Posted By: BlueAttitude
I've always loved this song! Didn't realize it was public domain.

I really like the arrangement on this, Peter, the way you start off with just the piano until the third verse. Nice way to bring in that solo at 3:24! And nice to hear you stretch out a bit there too.

Guitar sounds great, and of course Janice sounds great too.

Good job on the mix, love those drums! What are you running that midi piano through if you don't mind my asking?

Very, very good smile


Thank you Dave!

Janice


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Hi Peter, Janice and Bud,
It is never easy to play or to sing a famous song.
And you did it your own way very well. Congratulations. Christian

Last edited by Chris37; 06/19/19 08:04 AM.
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Peter, J&B,
Starting with the ending... WOW! I thought Janice had wrapped it up with that moody
"let`s roll" but you top it off with steamy guitar: a really sweet arrangement!
The lyrics on this are good - makes this non-jazzy guy curious about other versions.
Janice`s vocals are so right.
A fine,fine collaboration.

Robert

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Great collaboration...
The plaintive vocals from Janice...
Quality backing tracks, production, & mix...
Topped of with some mighty tasty guitar work...
All very well done on this classic!


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I also did not know this was PD... nice work


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PB&J,

Super all around.

Excellent arrangement. The upright (I assume?) is the perfect piano sound for this. The drums sound great. Good mix.

The guitar outro/solo is gorgeous - musical, lyrical!

The vocal is typical to-die-for-Janice-making-it-look-easy... Star.

Excellent.

fj

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I love this song. It has such a familiar sound to it. May have heard it in another arrangement a long time of it. Just couldn't put my finger on it. So glad you and Janice did it because it is a very neat song. Vocal was awesome and the backtrack was very cool. Drums were very cool. Such a neat mix.... Guitar was just perfect for the song. The solo just soared over the backtrack. So very well done. Great collaboration....


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Absolutely stunning vocals, mix and production.
I was hoping that you would have went back to the verse..

"I went down to the St. James Infirmary
I saw my baby there
Laid out on a long white table
So young, so cold, so fair"

After the instrumental at the end to finish, would also love to hear you record your own backing vocals to accompany your lead vocals.

Again all round Fantastic.

Thanks


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Never heard it done better. Hey, J&B, is "Frankie and Johnny," PD ?? If it is, I have a request smile


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Hello Peter, fantastic choice of instrumentation on this. This sounds very full and rhythm is easy to follow. Great effects on the vocals. Nice work!


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Originally Posted By: rsdean
Peter / Janice / Bud,

Wow! This is over the TOP good...

A classic song and a searing guitar line against Janice's smokey vocal - it does not get better than that.

The arrangement and mix is so beautifully textured. You all have remade a classic and made it yours.

More of this please!

Bob


Thank you Bob! I was happy to be invited in.

Janice


Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more.
If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks!
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Really great collaboration you guys!


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Loved it.


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I've heard literally scores of versions, this was one of the best.


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