Water Baby Blues

"Water Baby Blues"
Written by Merl Lindsay
Language English
Form Western swing
Original artist Merl Lindsay and His Oklahoma Nightriders
Recorded by (many other artists)

"Water Baby Blues"/"Water Baby Boogie" is a Western swing instrumental first recorded in 1946 by Merl Lindsay (4 Star 1117) and which became his signature song. Often recorded as "Water Baby Boogie" it became a popular dance tune.

A well-known version was recorded by the Maddox Brothers and Rose (4 Star 1507) in 1950.

Doyle Salathiel, Lindsay's brother and jazz guitarist who sometime played with the band,[1] wrote a set of novelty lyrics for the tune. Called "Singing Water Baby Blues" (Mercury 70119, 1952) it has such lyrics as:

Some are red and some are green,
But not the one that I have seen.
The one I saw was colored blue.
Supposed to bring good luck to you.

Other artists with recordings of "Water Baby Blues"/"Water Baby Boogie" include Joe Maphis (Republic 2006), Billy Jack Wills (4 Star X-11), Leon McAuliffe (Cimarron 4047) and Hank Thompson and the Brazos Valley Boys.

References

  1. ^ Coffey, Merl Lindsay and his Oklahoma Nite Riders, p. 10: "Among those who joined or rejoined during '49 was Lindsay's brother Doyle, who'd worked on and off with the band for years, invariably leaving because he and Merl just couldn't get along. In the meantime, Doyle Salathiel was building a formidable reputation as a jazz guitarist that included a stint with Lionel Hampton's band."

Bibliography