"Corrine, Corrina" (sometimes spelled "Corrina, Corrina") is a 12-barcountry blues song in the AAB form. "Corrine, Corrina" was first recorded by Bo Carter (Brunswick 7080, December 1928).[3] However, it was not copyrighted until 1932 by Bo Carter (under his real name, Armenter Chatmon), along with his publishers Mitchell Parish and J. Mayo Williams.
The song is familiar for its opening verse:
Corrine, Corrina, where you been so long?
Corrine, Corrina, where you been so long?
I ain't had no lovin', since you've been gone
The Mississippi Sheiks, as the Jackson Blue Boys with Papa Charlie McCoy on vocals, recorded the song in 1930 under the title "Sweet Alberta" (Columbia 14397-D), substituting the words Sweet Alberta for Corrine, Corrina.[4] "Corrine, Corrina" has been recorded in a number of musical styles, including blues, jazz, rock and roll, Cajun, and Western swing. The title varies from recording to recording, but is most often spelled "Corrina, Corrina".
History
"Corrine, Corrina" may have traditional roots, however, earlier songs are different musically and lyrically. One of the earliest is the commercial sheet music song "Has Anybody Seen My Corrine?" published by Roger Graham in 1918. Vernon Dalhart (Edison 6166) recorded a vocal version in 1918,[5] and Wilbur Sweatman's Original Jazz Band (Columbia A-2663), an instrumental version the same year. Graham's song contains sentiments similar to "Corrine, Corrina":
Has anybody seen my Corrine?
No matter where Corrina may be
Tell my Corrina to come right back to me
I want some lovin' sweetie dear
Blind Lemon Jefferson recorded a version of "C.C. Rider" in April 1926 entitled "Corrina Blues" which contains a verse in a similar vein:
If you see Corrina, tell her to hurry home
I ain't had no true love since Corrina been gone (3×)
In 1934, Milton Brown and his Musical Brownies recorded the song under the title "Where Have You Been So Long, Corrinne," as a Western swing dance song.[7] Shortly thereafter, Bob Wills adapted it again as "Corrine, Corrina," also in the Western swing style. Following his recording with the Texas Playboys (OKeh 06530) on April 15, 1940, the song entered the standard repertoire of all Western swing bands, influencing the adoption of "Corrine, Corrina" by Cajun bands and later by individual country artists.[8]
"Corrine, Corrina" is also an important song related to Western swing's pioneering use of electrically amplified stringed instruments. It was one of the songs recorded during a session in Dallas on September 28, 1935, by Roy Newman and His Boys (OKeh 03117).[9] Their guitarist, Jim Boyd, played what is the first use of an electrically amplified guitar found on a recording.[10]
Cliff Bruner's Texas Wanderers also recorded an early version of Chatmon's song on February 5, 1937 (Decca 5350).
Folk music revival recordings
"Corrina, Corrina" entered the folk-like acoustical tradition during the American folk music revival of the 1960s when Bob Dylan began playing a version he titled "Corrina, Corrina". Although his blues-based version contains lyrics and song structure from "Corrine Corrina", his melody is lifted from "Stones in My Passway" (Vocalion 3723) recorded by Robert Johnson in 1937. Dylan's version, found on his second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, also borrows lyrics taken from Johnson's song:
I got a bird that whistles, I got a bird that sings (2×)
The Rising Sons, featuring Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder, recorded the song as "Corinna, Corinna" before breaking up in 1966. Taj Mahal then recorded another version in 1968 titled "Corinna". Michael Cooney included it under the title "Weeping Willow (Corrina)" on his 1976 album on Front Hall Records, Singer of Old Songs. Joni Mitchell covered the song in 1988 on her album Chalk Mark in a Rain Storm, with the title "A Bird That Whistles (Corrina Corrina)", and adding a flight-evoking Wayne Shorter soprano sax solo. Other artists who have recorded the song include Eric Clapton, who sings it as "Alberta, Alberta", Willie Nelson, Steve Gillette, Leo Kottke, and Conor Oberst. The English roots band Show of Hands also performed the song on their live album As You Were, released in 2005 under the duo's own label Hands on Music. The Band (featuring Miranda Sykes as a special guest for this part of the album) used the Dylan/Johnson version of the song.
^Cheseborough, "Carter, Bo", p. 186: "Carter's [Bo Carter and the Mississippi Sheiks] 1928 recording of 'Corrine, Corrina' is the earliest known version of that song, which has become a standard of American music.
^Clayton, The Roots of Texas Music, p. 23: "For example, 'Corrine, Corrina,' now considered a Cajun standard, probably was originally an African American blues song. In the 1930s, it was adapted to western swing by Bob Wills, and, from there, worked its way into the standard Cajun repertoire, changing slightly with each transformation."
^Govenar, Deep Ellum and Central Track, p. 243: "Dallas, September 28, 1935 ... DAL 181, Corrine, Corrina, Vo/OK 03117."
^Dempsey, The Light Crust Doughboys Are on the Air, p.120: "[Jim] Boyd, who played bass and guitar in his on-and-off career with the Doughboys that continued into the 1990s, receives credit from some researchers with what may be the first recorded use of an electric guitar. It occurred in a September 1935 session with the group Roy Newman and His Boys, who played on Dallas radio station WRR. They recorded 'Shine On Harvest Moon,' Corrine, Corrina' and 'Hot Dog Stomp'."
^Whitburn, Joel (2013). Hot Country Songs 1944–2012. Record Research, Inc. p. 28. ISBN978-0-89820-203-8.
Bibliography
Cheseborough, Steve. "Carter, Bo". Encyclopedia of the Blues pp. 185–186, edited by Edward M. Komara. Routledge, 2005. ISBN0-415-92700-5
Clayton, Lawrence. The Roots of Texas Music. Texas A&M University Press, 2005. ISBN1-58544-492-8
Dempsey, John Mark. The Light Crust Doughboys Are on the Air: Celebrating Seventy Years of Texas Music. University of North Texas Press, 2002. ISBN1-57441-151-9
Dixon, Robert M.W. Blues & Gospel Records, 1902–1943. Storyville Publications, 1982. ISBN0-902391-03-8
Ginell, Cary. Milton Brown and the Founding of Western Swing. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1994. ISBN0-252-02041-3
Govenar, Alan B.; Jay F. Brakefield. Deep Ellum and Central Track: Where the Black and White Worlds of Dallas Converged. University of North Texas Press, 1998. ISBN1-57441-051-2
