 |
| Wikimedia Commons via NPS photo |
I've known about the Mississippi River since I was a toddler when I saw it used in a song in a cartoon. The spelling was killer for me for a while, though.
Several days ago, I received a contact from Alan who has been looking for the lyrics for the song "Mississippi River" by Ruriko Ohgami（大上留利子）. I'd never heard of the song before so I tried to search for those lyrics, but alas, I couldn't find them online.
However, at an attempt at some redemption, I'm covering the song right here. Now, "Mississippi River" was originally recorded by the composer himself, Kyozo Nishioka（西岡恭蔵）with his band at the time, Carib no Arashi（カリブの嵐...Caribbean Storm） when they put out their January 1978 album "'77.9.9 Kyoto [Crucifixion]"（'77.9.9京都「磔磔」）. With lyrics by his beloved wife, KURO, "Mississippi River" is a playful mix of blues, funk and jazz centering around the New Orleans area, according to those lyrics.
In the same year, Ohgami released her "Dreamer From West"（ドリーマー・フロム・ウエスト）sophomore album where she put out her cover of "Mississippi River" (which can be heard above at 19:15 in the above video). The same fun and sultry arrangement is there but with some added horn including a brassy saxophone doing a solo. I can imagine Ohgami being the owner and singer of some 1920s speakeasy as she's singing this.
As someone from the USA I approve of Mississippi River!
ReplyDelete