“St. James Infirmary ” is an American blues and jazz standard that emerged, like many others, from folk traditions. Louis Armstrong brought the song to lasting fame through his 1928 recording, on which Don Redman is named as composer; later releases credit “Joe Primrose,” a pseudonym used by musician manager, music promoter and publisher Irving Mills. The melody is eight bars long, unlike songs in the classic blues genre, where there are 12 bars. It is in a minor key, and has a 44 time signature, but has also been played in 34. Like many traditional songs, this one represents a confluence of many sources. Different commentators have differing view of the importance of their respective contributions to the song we know today.Variations typically feature a narrator telling the story of a young man “cut down in his prime” (occasionally, a young woman “cut down in her prime”) as a result of morally questionable behaviour. For example, when the song moved to America, gambling and alcohol became common causes of the youth’s death.
In 1927 Fess Williams and his Royal Flush Orchestra became the first to record the song (under the name “Gambler’s Blues”) crediting Carl Moore and Phil Baxter. As “St. James’ Infirmary,” the song became all the more popular after Armstrong’s recording and the promotional efforts of Mills Music, Inc. By 1930 at least twenty different recordings had been released, many of the early hit recordings were by clients of Mills Artists, Inc. The Duke Ellington Orchestra recorded the song multiple time under names like “The Ten Black Berries”, “The Harlem Hot Chocolates”, and “The Jungle Band.” In 1933, Cab Calloway’s version anchored a classic Betty Boop cartoon and his instrumental version introduced another that featured Calloway’s related hit song Minnie the Moocher.
The country music singer Jimmie Rodgers covered the song in 1930 (as “Those Gambler’s Blues”). In 1932 Rodgers recorded “Gambling Bar Room Blues,” co-written with Shelly Lee Alley, with a similar melody but new lyrics and themes of alcohol abuse, violence and despair. Cajun string band the Dixie Ramblers recorded “Barroom Blues” in 1935, with lyrics largely matching Rodgers’ “Those Gambler’s Blues”.
In 1961, Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland released a version of “Saint James Infirmary” on the flip side of his No. 2 R&B hit “Don’t Cry No More” and included it in his album Two Steps from the Blues. In 1967, the French-American singer Joe Dassin recorded the song. In 1968, Don Partridge released a version on his self-named album, as did Eric Burdon and the Animals on their album Every One of Us. Dock Boggs recorded a version of the song entitled “Old Joe’s Barroom” (1965).
More recently, the song has been performed by cabaret surrealists The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo in Southern California; the band’s vocalist and songwriter, Danny Elfman, citing Cab Calloway as his inspiration. The White Stripes covered the song on their eponymous debut album; the White’s first encounter with the song having been the Betty Boop cartoon. In 2012, Trombone Shorty and Booker T. Jones performed the song (with musical references to Minnie the Moocher) for President Obama and guests at the White House “Red, White, and Blues” concert.
