The MultiMedia Page

Several areas of the  Popular Culture Excavation Site  provide access to mp3 music files, mpeg-1 movie clips, or both.  As these files are quite large, the question arises as to how well (or even whether) your computer will play them.  Those with high-speed connections will have the best experience.  Those using dial-up modems will encounter the usual delay in downloading a large file.

To improve your chances, a Windows Media Player is provided on this page.  You should be able to hear a music file or view a movie clip simply by clicking the little black right-pointing arrowhead in the media player.  If this doesn't work, click the highlighted title of the song or video to open the viewer that is associated with your computer.  If this fails, it's time to consult your browser or computer help files.


It is my pleasure to present two songs in mp3 format, neither of which you are otherwise likely to hear today:


Easy Ridin' Papa
A terrific number by Milton Brown and the Musical Brownies, recorded in New Orleans on March 3, 1936.  That's Bob Dunn on the steel guitar.  If you can listen to this tune and not experience that good feeling, you may want to consider professional help.  The easy ridin' Milton Brown died as a result of an automobile accident at age 32, a mere six weeks after making this recording.


Red's Tight Like That
For something a little more obscure, here's a number by the Tune Wranglers, recorded in San Antonio, Texas, in 1936.  Scholars often declare that Rock and Roll emerged in the 1950s as a fusion between black blues and white country, but in truth this fusion had occurred some 20 years earlier.  Witness this rendition of Tampa Red's 1928 hit "It's Tight Like That."  Follow the trail through Bill Haley and it is clear that Western Swing made its own contribution to Rock and Roll.  And, yes, risque recordings preceded the Midnighters by many years: "I'm not the butcher, I'm the butcher's son.  I can cut . . . ."  Well, listen for yourself.  That's Red Brown scorching the banjo.  That's him on vocal too.


Return to the Western Swing page.