Cat. No. 2343: THE DEEP RIVER BOYS ~ THE EARLY YEARS: 1937-50. ACROBAT MUSIC ACMCD 4372. (IMPORT).

1 AVAILABLE

THE DEEP RIVER BOYS WERE FORMED IN 1936 AND WERE ORIGINALLY KNOWN AS THE HAMPTON INSTITUTE JUNIOR QUARTET PERFORMING A-CAPPELLA. THE GROUP AUDITIONED FOR “EMPORER JONES” AT SUFFERN SUMMER THEATRE AND WON A FIVE-MINUTE PRE-PERFORMANCE SPOT SINGING TRADITIONAL SPIRITUALS FOR $40 A PIECE PER WEEK. THEY THEN JOINED REX INGRAMS “GREEN PASTURES” TOUR WHERE THEY WERE BILLED AS THE DEEP RIVER BOYS. CAUGHT UP IN THE DEPRESSION THE BOYS HAD DIFFICULTY FINDING WORK SO THEY DECIDED TO CHANGE THEIR REPERTOIRE TO INCLUDE STANDARDS AND POPULAR SONGS. THIS CD IS AN EXPANDED VERSION OF AN ALBUM, NOW NO LONGER AVAILABLE. IT INCLUDES RADIO TRANSCRIPTIONS, WHICH MIGHT ACTUALLY COME FROM THE LATE '30s PLUS SOME LESSER KNOWN A-CAPELLA RECORDINGS FOR THE SMALL PILOTONE LABEL AND SOME OTHER RECORDINGS ACCOMPANYING OTHER ARTISTS.

TRACK LISTING: Carmena Waltz Song * / Who’ll Jine De Union * / I Am Seeking For A City * / I Am Bound For Sweet Canaan Land * / I Got A Home In Dat Rock * / In Dat Great Getting Up Morning * / You Talk Too Much * / A Zoot Suit * / Cousin Jedidiah * / A Little Jive Is Good For You * / Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child (with Bea Wain) / By The Light Of The Silvery Moon (with Fats Waller) / My Guy’s Come Back (with Thelma Carpenter) / Get On Board Little Children / We Are Walking The Light / Swing Low Sweet Chariot / Go Down Moses / Oh Freedom / Honey, Honey, Honey / Castle On The River Nile / I’m Trampin’ / That Chick’s Too Young To Fry / Charge It To Daddy / Get Up Them Stairs Mademoiselle / It Had To Be You / What Did He Say / Purgatory / Two Blocks Down Turn To The Left / Ain’t Misbehavin’ / That’s What You Need To Succeed / Wrapped Up In A Dream / Tuxedo Junction. *Denotes radio transcript

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