Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair

"Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair" is a late-1920s blues song written by composer George Brooks and made famous by Bessie Smith.[1][2] In the song, a female narrator confesses the murder of a deceitful lover[3] and expresses her willingness to accept her punishment.[4][5] The song is notable for being among the selections officially banned from being played on radio by the British Broadcasting Corporation.[6]

The song, both in its original rendition and in cover versions, has been included in numerous albums as well as live performances. Profiling a new volume of Smith's recordings, a reviewer comments, "Some of her most deservedly famous records are here ... as well as some that ought to be, like 'Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair";[7] another reviewer also singled out that as one of two particularly "terrific numbers" that made Bessie Smith: The Complete Recordings, Vol. 3 an improvement over the previous volumes.[8]

Additional recordings

Dinah Washington covered the song with "her own peculiar intensity," a reviewer notes in writing about the Washington biography Queen; "her recording ... can give a listener chills — especially when Dinah declares, with her strong, deliberate enunciation, 'Burn me, 'cause I don't care.' "[9] A 1984 preview of a Philadelphia folk festival highlighted the song as an example of "Dave Bromberg's selection of musical esoterica" for his performances,[10] while a critic listing his favorite death-penalty-themed tunes remarked that Bromberg's take, "in a neo-Dixieland style, even better captur[ed] its wicked humor."[1] Bromberg continued performing the song well into the 21st century, with a 2011 concert review listing the song among "classic Bromberg faves."[11] A reviewer praising a low-band radio station for its unusual programming noted "an inspired couple of hours of Prisoner [sic] songs, ranging from Lefty Frizzell's majestic, gothic tale of love and murder "Long Black Veil" to Bessie Smith's touching plea, 'Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair."[12]

Tracy Nelson covered the song for her 1995 album I Feel So Good,[4][13][14][15][16] in a performance that reviewer Paul Harris said "summons a perfectly Gothic essence of dread that few blues singers these days convincingly bring to the form."[3] Harris interviewed the singer later that year for a piece that begins with a quote from the lyrics: "Judge, your honor, hear my plea / Before you open up your court / I don't want no sympathy / Because I cut my good man's throat," calling the verse a "dire lyric" that "recalls for us that the blues are, in essence, a gothic tradition."[17] Nelson, whose rendition Harris called "satirical"[3] and a Chicago Sun-Times reviewer called "surprisingly playful,"[18] dedicated the song on at least one occasion in 1996 to O. J. Simpson.[19] Nelson's version also appeared on a 2001 Rounder Records compilation album of women blues singers, Any Woman's Blues,[20] and in her 2003 live-performance album recorded at West Tennessee Detention Center, Live from Cell-Block D,[21] leading one favorable reviewer to comment on the "temerity" of singing this song in a prison venue, chalking the choice up to "her fabled perversity."[22]

In 2004, artist Eden Brent included the song as one of the tracks for her debut album Something Cool, in what a reviewer termed "notably a great go at 'Send Me to the 'lectric Chair'" in highlights of the covers on the release.[23] Actor-singer Tyne Daly included "'Lectric Chair" in her 2010 musical live show "Songs";[24] reviewer David Wiegand called the performance "one of the highlights [in a] show with nothing but highlights," saying it was "suitably low-down without lapsing into a parody of the blues"[25] and Richard Houdek characterized as "a brassy, no-regrets account."[26]

References
  1. Steve Terrell. "Terrell's tune-up - pop CD reviews" (column on death-penalty themed songs), The Santa Fe New Mexican, 11 March 2005, Pasatiempo section, page PA-50: "This tune, circa 1928, is about someone who has murdered her lover and demands to be executed, showing no remorse. In the mid '70s, David Bromberg revived the song in a neo-Dixieland style, even better capturing its wicked humor."
  2. "George Brooks (composer)". uscb.edu. Discography of American Historical Recordings, University of California at Santa Barbara. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  3. Paul A. Harris. "Recordings" (roundup review of recent releases), St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2 March 1995, page 4G.
  4. Paul Jarvey. "Blue no more," Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 11 May 1995, Time Out section, page C1.
  5. Joyce Marcel. "Tracy Nelson sings up a storm" (concert review), Union-News, 2 December 1995, Arts & Entertainment section, page B8.
  6. Leigh, Spencer (2008). This Record Is Not to Be Broadcast: 75 Records Banned by the BBC 1931–1957 (liner notes). Acrobat Music Group. ACTRCD9015. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  7. Jeff Simon. "In brief" (music reviews), The Buffalo News, 13 November 1992, page G37.
  8. Wayne Bledsoe. "Shopping guide for givers of thoroughly modern music boxes" (review of boxed compilation sets), Knoxville News-Sentinel, 11 December 1992, page 10.
  9. Mary Kunz. "The big life and big voice of Dinah Washington, The Buffalo News, 19 September 2004, Book Reviews section, page G7.
  10. Jonathan Takiff. "De Danann/Arlo Guthrie/John Eddie"(preview of area folk concerts), Philadelphia Daily News, 28 September 1984, Features section, p. 49.
  11. Greg Haymes. "Two giants find common ground" (concert review), The Times Union, 4 April 2011, Capital Region section, page B6.
  12. Harper Barnes. "Low end of band holds sweet surprises," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 22 March 1992, page 2C.
  13. David Steinberg. "Honoring her colorful musical roots," Albuquerque Journal, 7 April 1995, page E25.
  14. Larry Nager. "Recordings," The Commercial Appeal, 25 March 1995, page C3.
  15. David Prince. "Lightning strikes when her voice is unleashed," The Santa Fe New Mexican, 7 April 1995, Pasatiempos/Reviews section, page 21.
  16. Bob Townsend. "Pop music - Tracy Nelson," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 27 October 1995, Preview section, page P4.
  17. Paul A. Harris. "Dire greats - Tracy Nelson captures blues' gothic tradition," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 21 July 1995, Everyday magazine section, page 6E.
  18. Dave Hoekstra. "Blues in all hues - festival wraps with eclectic mix of acts," Chicago Sun-Times, 5 June 1995, Features section, page 27.
  19. Dave Tianen. "Blues artist Tracy Nelson back among friends" (concert review), Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 21 October 1996, B News section.
  20. Jim Santella. "Discs" (roundup of recent releases), The Buffalo News, 12 October 2001, Gusto section, page G18.
  21. Jeff Johnson. "Sunday" (roundup of recent releases), Chicago Sun-Times, 20 July 2003, Sunday section, page 5.
  22. Jeff Simon. "'Down So Low' has power to bring pop music up so high" (commentary column), The Buffalo News, 5 August 2003, Entertainment section, page C1.
  23. Bill Ellis. "Beat Generation at best in 'Misery' - party at Patrick's tonight marks Bluff City quartet's CD release" (roundup of recent releases), The Commercial Appeal, 12 June 2004, page E6.
  24. Rex Reed. "The Daly Show," The New York Observer, 26 January 2010, Culture section.
  25. David Wiegand. "Music review - spotlight on song - and all of it sublime," San Francisco Chronicle, 14 January 2010, Datebook section, page E1.
  26. Richard Houdek. "Her own turn," The Berkshire Eagle, 4 September 2010, Business section, page D6.
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