From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Fri Feb 15, 2002  1:14 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Kokomo Arnold
 
KOKOMO ARNOLD

Born James Arnold, 15 February 1901, Lovejoy's Station, Georgia
Died 8 November 1968, Chicago, Illinois

Blues singer / guitarist

Arnold developed an unorthodox method of playing guitar. He held the
instrument flat, using a slide to create an eerie, ringing sound. Unlike
the relaxed and often casual approach of many of his contemporaries,
Arnold's was an urgent, aggressive style. He achieved remarkable results
with his unusual method of guitar playing and the curiously high-pitched,
often unintelligible, singing that accompanied it. Interspersed in these
wailings would be sudden bursts of vocal clarity that gave his statements
great authority. Arnold (a left-handed player) did not record until 1930,
when he released "Paddlin' Blues" and "Rainy Night Blues" under the
name of Gitfiddle Jim, on Victor. He continued to record throughout the
30s, all his further work appearing on Decca Records. His biggest hit
was the double A-side "Old Original Kokomo Blues" (named after a
brand of coffee) and "Milk Cow Blues", the latter of which he recorded
in no less than five numbered versions. It was picked up by other bluesmen
and enjoyed a second vogue when it was recorded by rock 'n' rollers such
as Elvis Presley and Eddie Cochran in the 50s.
Arnold ceased recording in 1938 following disagreements with Mayo
Williams of Decca Records. In the early 60s he made a few appearances
in Chicago, during the revival of interest in his brand of folk blues.
For all his rather fleeting moments in the limelight, Arnold was an
influence on Robert Johnson, who was, in his turn, one of the most
seminal of the second-generation blues singers, and whose legacy
helped to shape rock music.

CD: Old Original Kokomo Blues (UK Catfish, 1999). 23 tracks.