Feature Song: “St. James Infirmary”
Yet another classic song that has been covered by many, some doing it justice, some taking it to another level. As with many of these American blues and jazz standards, as they are called, “St. James Infirmary” is also derived from folk traditions. I have read at least four, and I am sure there are more, different names bandied about as the author/composer/writer of this song, not to mention a variety of different claims to when it was first recorded as it has had different names, especially in its early years. One thing that most people agree on is that it was Louis Armstrong’s “cover,” in 1928, that brought the song its lasting fame, with some of the credit given to the promotion of the song by Mills Music Inc. One source suggests that the tune “first appears as ‘Charleston Cabin,’ on a 1924 disc by the California Ramblers, in which it was intermixed with another tune reminiscent of ‘Swannee River,’ suggesting a possible inspiration.” In 1927, Fess Williams and his Royal Orchestra became the first to record the song under the name “Gambler’s Blues.” By 1930, at least twenty different recordings had been released, with many of them being other clients of Mills Music Inc. The Duke Ellington Orchestra recorded the song multiple times 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 that featured Calloway’s related hit song, “Minnie the Moocher,” which has similar opening bars. Other people to cover the song include country singer, Jimmie Rogers, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Don Partridge, Eric Burdon and The Animals, and The White Stripes, to name but a few.
However, the cover that brought this song back into my “wheelhouse,” was, perhaps, the most recent one (Jan. 17, 2025) by Playing for Change, featuring 15-year-old River Eckert, singing and playing way above his age! Eckert was born and raised in New Orleans, LA. Coming from a musical family, he was surrounded by music at an early age. He immersed himself in the styles of legends such as Professor Long Hair, James Booker, Dr, John, Allen Toussaint, Fats Domino, and Art Neville, among others. He began playing the piano at three. While he initially studied classical music, his teachers eventually encouraged him to explore blues and jazz when they recognized his natural ability to quickly grasp these styles. He sings and plays now in both a solo piano and a full band setting. He recently began recording his first album, collaborating on this project with George Porter Jr., Ivan Neville, Terrence Higgins, and others. Eckert was recently featured in three PFC videos, this being one of them.
Let’s get right to the music. There are six versions that I want to share with you. One by Louis Armstrong, three by Cab Calloway, one by River Eckert, and one surprise! While I originally only planned for five, YouTube, like many apps with algorithms, knows what I’m listening to, and the last one popped up on my feed just recently. So while it is a surprise for you, it was also a very big surprise for me because I had no idea this particular artist did this as well. As I have said before and will probably say again, live and learn.
Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra. “St. James Infirmary” cover 1928
Cab Calloway. “St. James Infirmary” cover. Official audio 1943
Cab Calloway 1933 cartoon of “St. James Infirmary Blues.”
Cab Calloway. “St. James Infirmary & Minnie The Moocher – Live 1990. Still strutting his stuff at 83-years-old!
River Eckert (Playing for Change) live outside. January 2025.
And now for the surprise. I knew about Hugh Laurie’s talents as British comedian, then as an actor, but I had no idea he was not only a musician and singer, but an extremely talented one, as you are about to see. He not only plays the piano, as he does incredibly well in this cover, especially the prolonged intro, but he also plays guitar, drums, harmonica, and saxophone. His cover of this song is on his debut album, “Let Them Talk,” released in 2011. This is a live version from 2012.
Los Angeles 2025
Great song. While the title rang a bell, I didn’t recognize the melody. I like all of the renditions you highlighted here, especially Cab Calloway’s live version (I knew “Minnie the Moocher” by The Blues Brothers) and that incredible rendition by River Eckert. I also agree Hugh Laurie’s is pretty impressive. I nicely swings!
Cab Calloway was a force of nature. And wow, River Eckert is one talented young man! Finally, who knew Hugh Laurie to be such an impressive Renaissance Man?!
Glad you liked the selections. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to all of them. Just got to Napa, we’ll be here until the end of July soaking up the sun and the grapes!
Enjoy! I wish I could be anywhere cooler than here!
Nice catch on the “Charleston Cabin” it seems to use part of the melody for sure. I had heard Hugh Laurie’s version some years back, he has some wide ranging talent. River Eckert certainly sounded beyond his years.
Oh, I love all of these! It’s a great piece of music and no wonder it’s been done again and again. Hugh Laurie is clearly enjoying himself and his musical talents are prodigious, though I’m not surprised. And River Eckert’s stripped down version is stunning. Honestly – my favorite is the cartoon. Somehow the animators caught the spirit of the song and of Cab Calloway’s genius and made it creepy and sinuous and perfect! I enjoyed this so much. Thanks.
Glad you liked it. I had a lot of fun putting it together!