Dorothea Trowbridge

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Dorothea Trowbridge
Bornc. 1914
(possibly) Dublin, Georgia, United States
OriginSt. Louis, Missouri, United States
Diedunknown
GenresBlues
Occupation(s)Singer

Dorothea Trowbridge (born c. 1914),[1] first name also spelled Dorthea,[2] Doretha,[3] was an American blues singer active in St. Louis in the 1930s. A few recordings by her remain, at least one of which includes lyrics on the theme of "grinding".

Career[edit]

Trowbridge is thought to have been born in Dublin, Georgia.[1] She became a singer in St. Louis in the early 1930s, and she was taken to Chicago in 1933 to record a number of songs.

One of her recording sessions was with James "Stump" Johnson on August 2, 1933,[4] during which she recorded a version of the raunchy "Steady Grinding".[2] It is likely that she is identical with Dorothy Baker,[5][6][7] who recorded the song "Steady Grinding Blues" with Roosevelt Sykes[6] in 1930[8] and/or 1934 (Decca 7080).[9]

Ain't but the one thing that makes me sore,
When you grind me one time and just won't do it no more.

Dorothea Trowbridge, "Steady Grinding"

She is credited for the words and music of the song "Bad Luck Blues", which she recorded in 1933; it is registered in the US Copyright Catalog for January 24, 1935.[10]

Steady grindin' now, you can't come in,
Take the key outta the hole 'cause it's too bad Jim.

Dorothy Baker, "Steady Grinding Blues"

In his memoir, Henry Townsend recalled that she was at one time the girlfriend of pianist Roosevelt Sykes and that she got to record through Sykes, or possibly through Jesse Johnson, the brother of "Stump" Johnson; he also mentioned that in the early 1930s she was singing in many places around town, and had recorded with St. Louis pianist Pinetop Sparks ("Slavin' Mama Blues").[11] "Slavin' Mama Blues" is included in an anthology of Barrelhouse blues, Barrelhouse women 1925-1933 (1984).[12] In recent scholarship, the explicit lyrics for "Steady Grinding" (and those for "Steady Grinding Blues", "grind" meaning "to copulate"[13]) have drawn attention for the statements they make about female sexuality and empowerment among African American women of the early 20th century; among those early blueswomen scholars find "numerous open declarations of erotic desire".[14]

Recordings[edit]

  • August 2, 1933, Chicago: "Grinding Blues", with James "Stump" Johnson, Bluebird B-5159[4]
  • August 2, 1933, Chicago: "Slavin' Mama Blues"/"Bad Luck Blues", with Pinetop Sparks, Bluebird 5431[11]
  • 1933: "Bad Luck Blues", with Pinetop Sparks[15]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues - A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara: Praeger Publishers. p. 103. ISBN 978-0313344237.
  2. ^ a b Winsby, Meghan; Fairweather, Abrol (2012). "'The Blue Light Was My Baby And The Red Light Was My Mind': Religion and Gender in the Blues". In Jesse R. Steinberg (ed.). Blues - Philosophy for Everyone: Thinking Deep About Feeling Low. Abrol Fairweather. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 153–75. ISBN 9780470656808.
  3. ^ Layne, Joslyn. "Dorethea Trowbridge - Music Biography, Credits and Discography". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  4. ^ a b Oliver, Paul (1989). Screening the blues: aspects of the blues tradition. Da Capo Press. p. 272 n.29. ISBN 978-0-306-80344-4.
  5. ^ Blues Unlimited. BU Publications Limited. 1982. p. 11.
  6. ^ a b Dixon, Robert M. W.; Godrich, John; Rye, Howard (1997). Blues and gospel records, 1890-1943. Clarendon. p. 33. ISBN 9780198162391.
  7. ^ Belford, Kevin (2009). Devil at the confluence: the pre-war blues music of Saint Louis Missouri. Virginia Pub. p. 92. ISBN 9781891442490.
  8. ^ Calt, Stephen (2009). Barrelhouse Words: A Blues Dialect Dictionary. U of Illinois P. p. 275. ISBN 9780252033476.
  9. ^ Ruppli, Michel (1996). The Decca Labels: The eastern & southern sessions (1934-1942). Greenwood. p. 5.
  10. ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1936. p. 133.
  11. ^ a b Townsend, Henry (1999). A blues life. U of Illinois P. pp. 57, 119. ISBN 9780252025266.
  12. ^ "Table of Contents: Barrelhouse women 1925-1933". Brown University. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  13. ^ Calt, Stephen (2009). Barrelhouse Words: A Blues Dialect Dictionary. U of Illinois P. p. 112. ISBN 9780252033476.
  14. ^ Garon, Paul (1996). Blues and the Poetic Spirit. City Lights. pp. 109–10. ISBN 9780872863156.
  15. ^ Silvester, Peter J. (2009). The Story of Boogie-Woogie: A Left Hand Like God. Scarecrow. p. 140. ISBN 9780810869332.
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