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 51-75 of 131 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 90313 10-in. 9/11/1935 The mule laid down and died Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90314 10-in. 9/11/1935 Big leg Mama Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90315 10-in. 9/11/1935 Milk cow blues No.3 Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90316 10-in. 9/11/1935 Milk cow blues No.4 Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90317 10-in. 9/11/1935 Down and out blues Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90318 10-in. 9/11/1935 Model T woman blues Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90744 10-in. 5/22/1936 Grass cutter blues Alice Moore instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90745 10-in. 5/22/1936 Telephone blues Alice Moore instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90746 10-in. 5/22/1936 Dark angel Alice Moore instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90747 10-in. 5/22/1936 Money tree man Alice Moore instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90748 Yalla man Mary Johnson instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90749 10-in. 4/22/1936 Delmar Avenue Mary Johnson instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90750 10-in. 5/22/1936 Feather bed blues Mary Johnson instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90751 10-in. 5/22/1936 Stop my barrel house ways Mary Johnson instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90752 10-in. 5/22/1936 I'm going fishing too Alice Moore instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90754 10-in. 5/22/1936 Three men Alice Moore instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90794 10-in. 7/9/1936 Runnin' drunk again (Here I come) Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90795 10-in. 7/9/1936 Shake that thing Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90796 10-in. 7/9/1936 Try some of that Oscar's Chicago Swingers vocalist  
Decca 90797 10-in. 7/9/1936 My gal's been foolin' me Kokomo Arnold vocalist  
Decca 90954 10-in. 10/24/1936 Running drunk again Kokomo Arnold ; Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90955 10-in. 10/24/1936 Coffin blues Kokomo Arnold ; Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90956 10-in. 10/24/1936 Lonesome road blues Kokomo Arnold ; Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90957 10-in. 10/24/1936 Sorry hearted blues Kokomo Arnold ; Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Decca 90958 10-in. 10/24/1936 Mister Charlie Kokomo Arnold ; Kokomo Arnold vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
(Results 51-75 of 131 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Arnold, Kokomo," accessed April 19, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110643.

Arnold, Kokomo. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 19, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110643.

"Arnold, Kokomo." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 19 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

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