If you’ve been a consistent reader of Curt’s Blues Blog (and I certainly hope you have been), then you know that I am an unapologetic fan of jug band music.  There is just something so appealing to me about the rhythms and cadences of the jug band format, all made with instruments including the guitar, banjo, harmonica, jug, spoons, bones, washtub bass, mandolin, violin, kazoo, washboard, tissue and comb, and other home-produced implements, as well.

The spontaneous and energetic nature of the jug bands, who find their early development encompassing a meld of jazz, blues, and ragtime, trace their inceptions to two primary locations, Louisville, Kentucky and Memphis, Tennessee.

The Kentucky jug outfits were the first such bands to record their music, featuring a music that was rooted in ragtime, jazz, and string band motivations, while the Memphis units leaned more into country blues, hokum (songs that make use of lengthy analogies or inoffensive terms to make silly sexual insinuations), and other African American musical forms.

But Kentucky and Tennessee were not the only breeding grounds for jug band music, as Cincinnati, Ohio, Bolton, Mississippi, and Brimingham, Alabama are only three of the additional areas spread far-and-wide that had notable jug bands originate in their locales.

This week I found myself in a joyous euphoria listening to the exciting work of the Memphis Jug Band.  The band was led by the famed Will Shade, a man who was a renowned singer, washtub bass player, harmonicist, and guitar player.  Many individuals came and went from the Memphis Jug Band, including jug player Hambone Lewis, harmonica giant Walter Horton, guitar man Casey Bill Weldon, singer and guitarist Memphis Minnie, fiddle player Milton Robie, and guitarist, mandolin player, ukelele specialist, and vocalist Charlie Burse, among other revolving door band members. 

The Memphis Jug Band laid down an astonishing 70 tunes in total for both the OKeh and Victor imprints in the years 1927-1934.  They are best known for their enduring compositions “On The Road Again,” “K.C. Moan,” and “Stealin’ Stealin’.”  To this blues blogger, though, there was an element of joy in each song they did.  It was as if the band decided that wit was an important part of each piece of work.  This clearly shows through on the whole of the body of their creations.

The band also was one of those aggregations where many of its members used their tenure in the group as a catalyst to strike out on their own and establish their individual solo careers.  Such were the fruits of having played in the Memphis Jug Band.

As I enjoyed the music of the Memphis Jug Band a few nights ago, I was especially taken by the cut entitled “Bottle It Up And Go.”  The song was originally released on the OKeh label (OKeh 8959).  The song can be found on the Document Records CD entitled Memphis Jug Band – The Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order 1932-1934 (Document BDCD-6002).  Particularly, the guitar work.  The guitar player on that cut is Charlie Burse, and since he piqued my interest with his work on this stellar selection, now seems to be a good time to present a brief overview of his life and career.

Where to start the story of a jug band musician who was said to be a rough living, intense drinking, wicked tempered person?  He was also indicated to be uncontrollable, and to have a quick and vile tongue.  The beginning, I suppose.

Burse came from a family of ten, born in late August, 1901 in Decatur, Alabama.  His father was a cook in a hotel.  Not much is known about his mother, but with eight children, one can only speculate that her family was her life’s work.  It has been said that the family moved from Decatur to Sheffield, Alabama at some point, a locale in the state’s upper northwest in Colbert County.

Little in the way of detail unfurls regarding Burse’s earliest influences, life- and music-wise, but what is known is that he had first learned to play both the guitar and banjo.  It remains unclear if he was self-taught or was tutored on the instruments.  Eventually, Burse would also become proficient on the ukelele, spoons, piano, and the saxophone. 

At some point in the 1920s, Burse made a move to Jackson, Alabama and met a woman by the name of Birdie Crawford, married her, and eventually went on to have three children with her.

In his 27^th year, in 1928, Burse moved his family to Memphis, Tennessee.  This move proved to be fortuitous to Burse’s musical aspirations, as Will Shade had moved to Memphis from Nashville, Tennessee a couple of years prior, carrying with him the jug band sound and format he specialized in.  In Memphis, Shade named his band the Memphis Jug Band, and Burse’s broad musical versatility was an ideal fit for a group because as mentioned previously, the outfit had a lineup that seemed to often be in flux.

Whereas Will Shade was very regimented and completely linear in his business affairs, as stated earlier, Burse was a hot tempered, big drinking, and hard living individual.  But somehow, the two men meshed well, and Burse established himself as a right-hand man for Shade, being a key man in the Memphis Jug Band.

On many of the group’s recordings and in performance, and while Burse kept steady timing with his spoons work, was definitely a solid contributor on guitar, singing in an assured manner, but his ukelele efforts are remembered as his most important musical contribution to the band.

As a vocalist and someone whose instrumental contributions to the Memphis Jug Band were varied and uniformly strong, Burse appeared on in excess of 60 songs with the group.  As expressed previously, the Memphis jug bands tipped more toward country blues, hokum, and other African American musical forms.  It was the Memphis Jug Band’s good-timey hokum blues tunes that rendered them immensely popular, and as such, they were a very favored “live” performance group.  Folks were drawn to their casual, happy-go-lucky nature.

However, as time marched into the 1930s, the jug band style of music waned in public popularity, and Will Shade disbanded the Memphis Jug Band.  As by this time, Burse has acquired various nicknames including the “Uke Kid,” “The Ukelele Kid,” “Uke Kid Burse,” and “Laughing Charlie.  After the demise of the Memphis Jug Band, Will Shade and the Uke Kid busked for money by performing together on Memphis’ famed Beale Street area, one a hotbed for music.

In 1939, Burse decided to start his own band.  The group, The Memphis Mudcats, featured a more modern sound as it eschewed the jug in favor of both the harmonica and saxophone, plus the use of drums for percussion.  The band did perform some jug band era music, but they were known for their hokum output.  The assemblage did record for the Vocalion label, and their hokum compositions were good sellers. 

When World War II came about, Burse ended the band, and once again returned to playing on the streets for a living.  There was always money to be made playing for crowds of people.  And yet again Will Shade was his partner while entertaining on the streets.  Years later in 1956, Burse and Shade were found by noted blues researcher, musicologist, and producer Sam Charters.  Due to this rediscovery, Burse and Shade yet again recorded with various members of the famed Memphis Jug Band. 

Much has been made so far on Burse involvement with the Memphis Jug Band, The Memphis Mudcats, and his enduring partnership with Will Shade.  However, Burse also claimed a couple of other interesting twists in his life.  In the 1930s, Burse also was involved with the Schlitz Jug Band, a group named after Schlitz Beer, a product that was the band’s sponsor.  Also, and even more interesting, a night spot operator in Memphis indicated that Burse was wholly responsible for the leg shake that became a big part of Elvis Presley’s on-stage act.  The nightclub proprietor indicated that Burse used to jiggle and wobble his leg in performance, and that a young Presley lifted the move directly from Burse, as he had seen him perform many times.

In late December, 1965, Burse passed away from the effects of heart disease.  He was buried in Memphis.  And he was still married to Birdie up until the end.  His three children survived him, and he had seven grandchildren.

Charlie Burse is yet again one of those fabulous, multi-instrumental talents whose work flies under the radar of most blues fans.  Seek out the work of the Memphis Jug Band, including those with the many remarkable contributions of Charlie Burse, and hopefully thereafter you’re a convert to his vast skill set, and that of the jug band style.