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7"
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POPC 139EP
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"St. James Infirmary" has existed in American folk traditions since the 18th or 19th century, but it entered the modern popular music lexicon with Louis Armstrong's 1928 rendition, after which numerous blues and jazz singers recorded perhaps a thousand times or more. Hal Waters's fantastic version from 1960 is notably up-tempo and swinging, complete with conga drum breakdowns and jazzy horn stabs. Gene Stridel's "Let Her Go" is a riff on "St. James Infirmary," with lyrics that play out as a kind of sequel to the original. The backing music, mid-tempo and heavy on atmosphere and drama, is pure popcorn!
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