The Delta Rhythm Boys – The Delta Rhythm Boys

This is the first album in this blog where I'm not able to find anywhere the year when this album was released. Even Discogs doesn't know. Most likely, this is a compilation of singles from the band that was together from the 30's until the 80's, which means that this album could be from any time during that period. I got this album from my great aunt's record collection. It's not the type of music I would generally listen to, but it's interesting to broaden my horizons by testing something like this. The Delta Rhythm Boys is an American vocal group that plays a range of R&B and gospel songs with a hint of jazz. Stylistically at least, this music precedes the pop music era, which means that the songs are more dancehall types of songs. The vocals are in a much bigger role than other instruments in this style of music.



I'm kind of reminded of Barbershop quartets when I listen to this music. Most of these songs are probably not original compositions, but the band is rather just singing classic songs in their own way. I think that was what most bands did back in the day.

The band's hight of success in the US was in the 40's, and when their success faded in the 50's, they became quite popular in the Nordic Countries and they even recorded some songs in Swedish, Danish and Finnish. This is very interesting. They also have some songs in French for example. This is kind of a proof that at the time, English wasn't the only world language and in order to gain success in other countries, you had to get your music out there in another language. I can't see any US band recording in Nordic languages anymore.

The album starts with a gospel classic When the Saints Go Marchin' In that has been probably covered thousands of times around the world. This version is less jazzy and more dancehall-y. Next up is Maria, which sounds like an old Italian love ballad. It's in English, but I think this song wouldn't be out of place in old Italian romantic films. Sit Down has some excellent vocal harmonies and it sounds a lot like a barber shop quartet piece. The background is quite jazzy. Allouette is a classic French song, which has been interpreted in a jazzy way on this album. Some of the pronunciations are a bit strange. Yellow Bird is a slower song that sounds like the old songs in 50's American college films. It's a kind of song the band could play in the prom. Flickorna / Småland is a song in Swedish. The pronunciation is fairly good. The song is swinging nicely. With a Little Bit of Luck is one of the jazzier songs with excellent deep bass vocals. I can see this being a big hit in its time. I Can't Stop Loving You reminds me of some Elvis Presley ballads. In that sense it's closer to the rock n' roll era already. Ebb Tide is a more traditional vocal song with variations between swing and latin rhythms. I Love You has nice bluesy sounds and especially the double bass sounds lovely in this one. The bass vocals on the other hand sound a bit humorous. Next up is the classic of classics, Moon River. As always, this song really makes me emotional at least in some way. It just tells that it's a great song. Work Song has lots of bluesy gospel influences and quite humorous sounding 'huh' noises. Melodically, this is one of the most interesting songs on the album. No Greater Love is a great jazz ballad. The pianos sound amazing and the solo vocals are very impressive as well. The album ends with Well Alright Ok You Win. This song is probably the most jazzy song on the album with excellent walking bass and great music hall piano.

I don't know how much I actually end up listening to this album, but it's good to broaden my horizons with stuff so fundamentally different from the stuff I usually listen to. Historically, this kind of music has been very important and it has had a huge impact on today's pop music even if the sound is just historical nowadays. It's great to have music like this on a vinyl where it actually sounds authentic.

Listen to the album on Spotify.