Song: Grandma Plays the Numbers / I Feel That Old Age Coming On
Record Label: King Records 4276
Recorded: December 19, 1948
You’ll hear this song on Diamond City Radio with rousing brass and an instrumental oddly reminiscent of “Chicken Reel”.
The March 5, 1949 Billboard review calls this song “a rousing comic vocal” about an aged relative trying to hide the fact that she partakes in gambling, peaking at No.7 on the R&B charts.
Left to right: Wynonie Harris performing with Lucky Millinder
Though he would be later known for his singing, Wynonie Harris was first known for his soft-shoe as part of a dance team with Velda Shannon, performing around Omaha, Nebraska. He would hone his singing craft in the nightclubs based on blues shouters, becoming known as “Mr. Blues”.
In late 1943 in Chicago, Harris caught the attention of bandleader Lucky Millinder. By 1944, he performed the vocals with the band on “Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well”. Unfortunately, the 1942-1944 musicians’ strike and the wartime shellac shortage delayed the release of the record until 1945. I immediately peaked at No. 7 on Billboard and No. 1 on the R&B charts becoming popular with both black and white audiences.
However, Millinder and Harris had parted by this time over a salary dispute. By then, Harris had his pick of lucrative recording contracts before settling with King Records in 1947. Some of hits include a cover of Roy Brown’s “Good Rockin’ Tonight”, “ Drinkin’ Wine, Spo-De-O-Dee “, and “All She Wants to Do is Rock” cementing him as one of the biggest selling blues artists with his exuberant style and becoming an inspiration to singers the like of Elvis Presley.
Listen to the flip side “I Feel That Old Age Coming On” here.
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