Kokomo Arnold

James "Kokomo" Arnold (February 15, 1896 or 1901 – November 8, 1968) was an American blues musician. A left-handed slide guitarist, his intense style of playing and rapid-fire vocal delivery set him apart from his contemporaries. He got his nickname in 1934 after releasing "Old Original Kokomo Blues" for Decca Records, a cover version of Scrapper Blackwell's blues song about the city of Kokomo, Indiana.

Birth and Death Data: Born February 15, 1901 (Lovejoy), Died November 8, 1968 (Chicago)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1929 - 1938

Roles Represented in DAHR: guitar, vocalist, songwriter

See Also: Gitfiddle Jim

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-50 of 131 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 60540 10-in. 2/20/1936 Drinking man blues Peetie Wheatstraw instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 60544 10-in. 2/21/1936 Country fool blues Peetie Wheatstraw instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 60546 10-in. 2/21/1936 The honeydripper-1 Roosevelt Sykes instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 63742 10-in. 5/11/1938 Goin' down to the bottom Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 63743 10-in. 5/11/1938 Poor mother Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 63744 10-in. 5/11/1938 Your ways and actions-1 Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 63745 10-in. 5/11/1938 Sundown blues Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 63746 10-in. 5/11/1938 Tired of runnin' from door to door-1 Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 63747 10-in. 5/11/1938 Bill and Bo Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 63748 10-in. 5/11/1938 My well is dry-1 Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 63749 10-in. 5/11/1938 Little pony blues Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 63750 10-in. 5/12/1938 Midnight blues-1 Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 63751 10-in. 5/12/1938 Goin' down in Galilee Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 63752 10-in. 5/12/1938 By myself Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 63753 10-in. 5/12/1938 Bad luck blues Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 63754 10-in. 5/12/1938 Kid man blues Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 63755 10-in. 5/12/1938 Something's hot Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90029 10-in. 6/14/1935 'Cause you're dirty Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90030 10-in. 6/14/1935 Tonic head blues Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90044 10-in. 6/20/1935 Policy wheel blues Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90045 10-in. 6/20/1935 Traveling rambler blues Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90158 10-in. 7/15/1935 Policy wheel blues Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90159 10-in. 7/15/1935 Traveling rambler blues Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90201 10-in. 7/23/1935 Stop, look and listen Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90202 10-in. 7/23/1935 Doin' the doopiddidy Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
(Results 26-50 of 131 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Arnold, Kokomo," accessed April 26, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110643.

Arnold, Kokomo. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 26, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110643.

"Arnold, Kokomo." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 26 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110643

External Sources

Wikipedia: Kokomo Arnold

Discogs: Kokomo Arnold

Allmusic: Kokomo Arnold

Grove: Kokomo Arnold

IMDb: Kokomo Arnold

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Arnold, Kokomo - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no98004825

Wikidata: Kokomo Arnold - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1349827

VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/54334819

MusicBrainz: Kokomo Arnold - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/74a64e96-43d4-474d-8cac-e4670871bfa0

ISNI: 0000 0000 5514 5670 - http://www.isni.org/isni/0000000055145670

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.