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 Lovejoy (city in Clayton County, Georgia, United States), Died November 8, 1968 (Chicago (city and county seat of Cook County, and largest city in State of Illinois, United States of America) )
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 101-125 of 131 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decca | 91330 | 10-in. | 11/3/1937 | High mountain blues | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | 91331 | 10-in. | 11/3/1937 | Head cuttin' blues | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | 91332 | 10-in. | 11/3/1937 | Broke man blues | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | 91333 | 10-in. | 11/3/1937 | Back on the job | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | 91334 | 10-in. | 11/3/1937 | Shine on, moon | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9428 | 10-in. | 9/10/1934 | Milk cow blues | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9429 | 10-in. | 9/10/1934 | Old original Kokomo blues | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9434 | 10-in. | 9/10/1934 | Back to the woods | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9435 | 10-in. | 9/10/1934 | Sagefield woman blues | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9653 | 10-in. | 1/15/1935 | Old black cat blues (Jinx blues) | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9654 | 10-in. | 1/15/1935 | Sissy man blues | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9655 | 10-in. | 1/15/1935 | Front door blues | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9656 | 10-in. | 1/15/1935 | Back door blues | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9671 | 10-in. | 1/18/1935 | The twelves (Dirty dozens) | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9672 | 10-in. | 1/18/1935 | Feels so good | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9774 | 10-in. | 2/5/1935 | Milk cow blues No.2 | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9775 | 10-in. | 2/5/1935 | Biscuit roller blues | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9776 | 10-in. | 2/5/1935 | Slop jar blues | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9777 | 10-in. | 2/5/1935 | Black Annie | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9792 | 10-in. | 2/12/1935 | Chain gang blues | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9793 | 10-in. | 2/12/1935 | Monday morning blues | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9794 | 10-in. | 2/12/1935 | How long, how long blues | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9795 | 10-in. | 2/12/1935 | Thing' bout coming my way | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9863 | 10-in. | 3/23/1935 | You should not a'done it | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar | ||
| Decca | C 9864 | 10-in. | 3/23/1935 | Lonesome Southern blues | Kokomo Arnold | vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Arnold, Kokomo," accessed January 6, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110643.
Arnold, Kokomo. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 6, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110643.
"Arnold, Kokomo." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 6 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Kokomo Arnold
Discogs: Kokomo Arnold
Allmusic: Kokomo Arnold
Grove: Kokomo Arnold
IMDb: Kokomo Arnold
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Arnold, Kokomo - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no98004825
Wikidata: Kokomo Arnold - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1349827
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/54334819
MusicBrainz: Kokomo Arnold - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/74a64e96-43d4-474d-8cac-e4670871bfa0
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
Feedback
Send the Editors a message about this record.