Washboard Blues

About Washboard Blues

"Washboard Blues" is a 1926 popular song written by Hoagy Carmichael, Fred B. Callahan and Irving Mills. On November 18, 1927, it was recorded in Chicago by Paul Whiteman and his Concert Orchestra, featuring piano and lead vocals by Carmichael, and was released as Victor 35877-B (the B-side of "Among My Souvenirs")The song is an evocative washerwoman's lament. Though the verse, chorus, and bridge pattern is present, the effect of the song is of one long, cohesive melodic line with a dramatic shifting of tempo. The cohesiveness of the long melody perfectly matches the lyrical description of the crushing fatigue resulting from the repetitious work of washing clothes under primitive conditions. more »