The Snickersnee Press
Devoted to Rediscovering Ben Hecht Biography & Works
431 Fifth Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
fax: 202 547 0132
snickers
Ben Hecht Got the Blues
" I remembered songs. And in the night the American scene underwent a curious change. The whining, shouting Slavic folk tunes . . . . the rollicking street ditties from Paris, Prague, Vienna; Chinese, Malay, African, European, Asiatic--all of them lay in the anthems of our cabarets. Illiterate, monotonous jingles which stuttered out the loves and despairs, the gawky mirths and naive excitements of a conglomerate folk."
Notes on Ben Hecht's I Got the Blues by Florice Whyte Kovan
"I Got the Blues" is one of several stories Hecht wrote based on his observations in Chicago cabarets, night clubs featuring black musicians and a racially mixed clientele. The story is noteworthy for its respectful recital of the vernacular of the blues, without exaggerated dialect.
It bears mentioning that Hecht for a time in his Chicago years became painfully attracted to a beautiful black cabaret singer, who was in love with an African Nationalist. Shortly before Hecht's death, he wrote "The Negress," a version of his haunting memory with plot twists and angst for "Playboy." It also appeared in his written memoir "Gaily, Gaily."
The Sandburg reference is poet Carl Sandburg, who worked next to Hecht at the "Chicago Daily News" as movie reviewer. On weekends Sandburg toured college campuses with his banjo, singing "Frankie and Johnnie" and other blues and folk tunes.
"I Got the Blues" reveals Hecht's familiarity with the 19th century European concept of soul, (or Verstehen) and his prophesy that the blues would represent the soul of the 20th Century as a gift from America to the world. Two other cabaret stories in the "1001" series are "Where the Blues Sound" and "Jazz Band Impressions," both of which appeared in the 1922 Covici McGee compilation of some of the "1001 Afternoons in Chicago" stories.
Left, Dave Payton, seen at the piano with his band circa 1923, served as jazz critic for the important black newspaper "The Chicago Defender." Payton was for a time Hecht's collaborator on a musical review for which Hecht's illustrator Herman Rosse designed sets. Payton photograph Library of Congress. Top of page, "Blues," 1928 by native Chicago artist Archibald Motley who worked in Paris to escape American prejudice. Courtesy Smithsonian Archive of American Art
Learn something you didn't already know? If so your credit line should include the writer's name, Florice Whyte Kovan, Snickersnee Press, the website name and the URL of this page.For licensing contact us.
431 Fifth Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
fax: 202 547 0132
snickers