Biography
The term “hokum” is thought to trace back to the older English phrase “hokey-pokey,” a word long employed on both sides of the Atlantic to signify mockery, absurdity, and the cheap ice cream once hawked on city streets. Over time the expression broadened to encompass flattery, insincerity, ridicule, trickery, nonsense, shoddiness, or any theatrical device calculated to rouse weary listeners. In musical contexts the label carried essentially the same range of implications. From 1929 through 1937 a succession of Chicago blues-and-jazz groups committed sides to disc under the names Hokum Boys or Famous Hokum Boys. During the summer of 1929 pianist Alex Hill joined guitarists Dan Roberts and Alex Robinson to record for Paramount as the Hokum Boys. By early fall the lineup had shifted to pianist Jimmy Blythe, guitarist Bob Alexander, and banjoist-clarinetist Bob Robinson. In November and December of that year Ikey Robinson cut a series of OKeh masters, first alongside Jimmy Blythe and later with Alex Hill. Throughout the latter half of 1929 the same musicians also worked with pianist Leroy Carr and guitarist Scrapper Blackwell; those collaborations appeared under the Famous Hokum Boys imprint. Big Bill Broonzy later appropriated the Famous Hokum Boys name, first in 1930–1931 and again from 1935 to 1937, when his sessions featured Washboard Sam, Black Bob, Casey Bill Weldon, clarinetist Arnett Nelson, bass saxophonist Bill Settles, and trumpeter Mr. Sheiks. Bob Robinson remained the sole participant from the original Hokum Boys ensembles to appear on Broonzy’s dates. Multiple reissue labels have since assembled every known track by these short-lived but lively aggregations.
Albums
