Bob’s rarities: Money Honey, More and More, Ragtime Annie

By Tony Attwood

Since starting this series on the songs Bob has played only once, I have found that one of the sites I was using in finding these songs is, although very helpful indeed, not 100% accurate in terms of listing each performance, and so as I have already noted, I have thus far included at least one song that was performed more than once.   Apologies for that.

But what has happened is that I have started to find some terrific live performances of Bob of songs we don’t normally hear him perform (and often ones that I didn’t know), and then I find I have to cut it from this file, because he has played it twice.  Which is a drag.

And since the notion of “once only” was just a device anyway, I am changing this to Bob’s “rarities” file.  Mostly once-only performances but sometimes more than once, as you will see with one of these selections…

So, having put my heart and soul on the line (although not literally), here’s Bob and the band playing Money Honey which I think was performed just the once at Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca NY on November 15 1999.

Money Honey

Written by Jesse Stone, it was recorded on 9 August 1953 and released the following month,  by Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters – this being the first recording for the Drifters.    McPhatter had worked with Billy Ward and the Dominoes, and “Money Honey” became an instant hit.

Rolling Stone has it as number 252 in its 500 greatest songs of all time.  It is said to have sold over two million copies across the next 15 years.

It is a dead simple tale of a man running out of cash and turning to his lady friend for help.    Here’s the original

More and more

This Savoy Hotel recording from 1965 got me interested in Dylan and this song

and then Bob performed it again with Van Morrison in New York on 16 January 1998… less successfully I think, but each to his own…

“More and More” was written by Merle Kilgore and recorded by Webb Pierce in 1954.  The song went to the top of the country charts to become the biggest hit Pierce ever had as it also moved into the pop music charts.

Just one more for today:

Ragtime Annie

https://youtu.be/xdK_4Xf1vyU

This was performed at the Metro, Chicago, IL, on 14 December 1997.

There are thousands of recordings of this song around, I’ve just chosen one that I particularly like

Also known as Raggedy Ann – this is a reel – which is to say a type of folk dance that originated in Scotland and came to America.  In Scottish country dancing, the reel is one of the four traditional dances which exists alongside the jig, waltz and the strathspey.  The reel is also found in Irish country dance music.

However it could well be that this reel didn’t come across the Atlantic as the first documentation of it comes from Texas, performed by Eck Robertson and Henry C. Gilliland in 1923.   Others quickly picked it up and it found its way into the Library of Congress collection.

However as with all these songs the source is also claimed by others, including John Johnson of West Virginia.   It is still very much a piece that one will hear where fiddlers play.

More anon…

Dylan’s once only file: the concert.   Aaron has created a Youtube file of the songs Bob has played once only and which we have reviewed.

Here are the individual sessions…

• 12 Gates, One morning, Viola Lee
• Boom Boom Mancini and Farewell to Gold
• Bob Dylan’s once only file: B-Thang, Blue Bonnet Girl and Blue Monday
• Dylan’s once only file: I defy you not to play this song twice. Or more.
• Dylan’s once only file: You’re too late and the Old Rock n Roller
• Dylan’s Once only file “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” “Blue Moon” “Weeping Willow”
• Dylan’s “Once Only” File: 10,000 men and 20/20 Vision
• Elvis, Tom, Shadows and one by mistake

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