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Here's a song that Louis Armstrong said he wrote but that New Orleans violinist and bandleader Armand J Piron (1888-1943) also said he wrote. In fact Pops refused to play it on his set because Piron owned the publishing rights and he believed he'd been ripped off. Fortunately for us we don't have to take sides since everything published before 1923 is in the public domain.

The chord changes for "(I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My) Sister Kate" are similar to those of many other songs from the same period, for example "Mr Jelly Lord" by Jelly Roll Morton and "Heebie Jeebies by Louis Armstrong. The tune has been covered by everybody, in fact a modified version was even part of the Beatles' set when they had that gig in Hamburg in 1962.

The lyrics, sung in the first person by a young girl, complain that the neighborhood boys don't pay enough attention to her but go bananas for her sister. According to some sources, the name Kate refers to a popular Storyville Madame.

Here's our take on an old stand-by. We hope you enjoy it.
Ben Schenck
Panorama Jazz Band
New Orleans, LA

lyrics

(I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My) Sister Kate

Wish I could shimmy like my sister Kate.
Shakes like jelly on the plate!
My mama told me last night she said
Why all the boys treat Kate so right. Well...

All the boys in the neighborhood
Say she can really wiggle and it's understood.
I may be late but I'll be up-to-date
If I can shake it like my sister Kate
Oh yeah
Shimmy like my sister Kate!

credits

from Song​-​of​-​the​-​Month Club: Good Music For You, track released February 1, 2020
Recorded Oct 24, 2019 at Oak Street Recording, New Orleans, LA
Credits:
Panorama Jazz Band
Ben Schenck - Clarinet + Vocal
Tomas Majcherski - Alto Saxophone
Charlie Halloran - Trombone
Michael Ward-Bergeman - Accordion
Mark Rubin - Tenor Banjo
Matt Perrine - Tuba
Doug Garrison - Drum Set
Songwriter - Armand J Piron (PD)
Arrangers - Ben Schenck (Snack Daddy Music/ASCAP) and Charlie Halloran (ASCAP)
Recorded, edited, mixed and mastered by Lu Rojas at Oak Street Recording, New Orleans, LA
Graphic design - Ben Schenck
Photo by Alex Pucciarelli

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Panorama Jazz Band / Panorama Brass Band - New Orleans New Orleans, Louisiana

"New Orleans' genre fluid jazz band"

The Panorama Jazz Band and the Panorama Brass Band have been working steadily in New Orleans and beyond since 1995. Many hundreds of nightclub gigs, festivals, weddings, crawfish boils and Mardi Gras parades have added to this community of musicians' collective experience, all of which they bring to each of their recordings. ... more

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