
A prolific and influential blues and jazz singer, Alberta Hunter was one of the first African American international stars (she toured Europe in 1917!). She wrote "Downhearted Blues," Bessie Smith's first recording, at the beginning of the 1920s, and went on to write, perform and record well into her eighties. This tune, recorded in 1935, is as much jazz as it is blues. It has an introductory verse, followed by a chorus with an AABA format (where "B" is the bridge). The bridge features the "I Got Rhythm" format used by so many pop songs of the 30s and 40s, and you'll encounter many jazz chords throughout the tune. There's an alternating thumb/bass during most of the arrangement. I changed some of the lyrics as the song was written from a black woman's point of view ("I may be brown as a berry, but that's only secondary!")