My Good-For-Nuthin’ Man
CD Document DOCD-5366
When we look at the record production from March 1925, a hundred years ago, we find Clara Smith in there with a couple of recordings. She made many interesting and good ones in her recording career that spanned over eleven years, starting in 1923. This is a bit different from the rest because it has a country blues flavor, substituting the usual piano accompaniment with guitar played by Harry Meyers and the harmonica playing of Herbert Leonard.
I used to sing this song myself, first at the piano and later with my band, because I had heard it with Leroy Carr, and it comes as a surprise that it’s not a composition of his. Lyrics and melody are the same with the word “man” changed to “gal.”
Clara was not related to Bessie Smith, but they did some successful and unique duets together where their contrasting styles are evident. They recorded their last duet in the same year as the one we’re listening to today. I happened to look in the comments on the CD, and oops (!), the gossip of the day:
Still in 1925, the two singers were at a house party in New York, and being drunk, both of them had an argument that ended in a fistfight. It’s said that “Bessie won handily.”