Biography
Being linked to an iconic creation from Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith amounts to receiving a banana split, drawing on one of the classic blues diva Smith's favorite comparisons. Adding reed organ or harmonium to achieve the effect prompted reviewers to resort to vivid terms such as "wheezing" or "full throttle." Although piano and organ formed Fred Longshaw's core instruments across roughly twenty sessions that spanned fewer than ten years from 1924 onward, reissues and compilation appearances multiply the count considerably, with Armstrong and Smith figuring most often yet Lonnie Johnson also documenting Longshaw's involvement. While unconventional instruments and sonic devices were hardly rare on 1920s classic blues dates, Longshaw attained particular command in the area through his role on W.C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues," a recording widely regarded as the Mona Lisa of the blues. The performance lends itself equally to comparison with an intimate stage work performed by a trio consisting of Louis Armstrong on trumpet, Bessie Smith delivering the vocal, and Fred Longshaw stationed at the reed organ.
The notion that wheezing can convey authority receives a far darker illustration from the menacing figure portrayed by Ross Martin in Experiment in Terror, yet Longshaw directed Smith's vaudeville ensemble, known fully as Fred Longshaw & His Birmingham Dance Orchestra and featuring trumpeter Shelton Hemphill, without any hint of coercion. Songwriting occupied additional time, none of it suggesting composition while crouched before a harmonium, and recurring themes of romantic entanglement and letdown aligned the output with the preoccupations of the classic blues audience. Several pieces function as direct counterparts: "Poutin' Papa" answers "Papa If You Can't Do Better (I'll Let Another Papa Move In)," while "I Used to Be Your Sweet Mama" follows logically from "I've Been Mistreated and I Don't Like It." Among less typical entries stand "At the Christmas Ball," first cut by Smith and later taken up by Dixieland groups, and "Nashville Woman Blues," another standout collaboration between Smith and Armstrong.
The notion that wheezing can convey authority receives a far darker illustration from the menacing figure portrayed by Ross Martin in Experiment in Terror, yet Longshaw directed Smith's vaudeville ensemble, known fully as Fred Longshaw & His Birmingham Dance Orchestra and featuring trumpeter Shelton Hemphill, without any hint of coercion. Songwriting occupied additional time, none of it suggesting composition while crouched before a harmonium, and recurring themes of romantic entanglement and letdown aligned the output with the preoccupations of the classic blues audience. Several pieces function as direct counterparts: "Poutin' Papa" answers "Papa If You Can't Do Better (I'll Let Another Papa Move In)," while "I Used to Be Your Sweet Mama" follows logically from "I've Been Mistreated and I Don't Like It." Among less typical entries stand "At the Christmas Ball," first cut by Smith and later taken up by Dixieland groups, and "Nashville Woman Blues," another standout collaboration between Smith and Armstrong.