-snip-
Regarding John Handy's Jazz composition "Hard Work" being the inspiration for the military running cadence with that same title, tune, and the "Hard work" chant, read comments #62 and #63 below. (Comment #63 is my response to that comment.).
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Please share any information that you know about the earliest year that the military cadence "Hard Work" was sung. Also, please share any information that you know about whether John Handy himself wrote or performed any of the lyrics for the "Hard Work" military cadence.
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INFORMATION ABOUT JOHN HANDY
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Handy
"John Richard Handy III (born February 3, 1933)[1] is an American jazz musician most commonly associated with the alto saxophone. He also sings and plays the tenor and baritone saxophone, saxello, clarinet, and oboe.[2]
Biography
Handy was born in Dallas, Texas, United States.[1] He first
came to prominence while working for Charles Mingus in the 1950s.[1] In the
1960s, Handy led several groups, among them a quintet with Michael White,
violin, Jerry Hahn, guitar, Don Thompson, bass, and Terry Clarke, drums.[1]
This group's performance at the 1965 Monterey Jazz Festival was recorded and
released as an album;[1] Handy received Grammy nominations for "Spanish
Lady" (jazz performance) and "If Only We Knew" (jazz composition).
[3]
After completing high school at McClymonds High School in
Oakland, he studied music at San Francisco State College, interrupted by
service during the Korean War, graduating in 1958. Following graduation, he
moved to New York City. Handy has taught music history and performance at San
Francisco State University, Stanford University, the University of California,
Berkeley, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.[4]
In the 1980s he worked in the project Bebop & Beyond, which recorded tribute albums to Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk. His son, John Richard Handy IV, is a drummer who has played with Handy on occasion.
In 2009, he received the Beacon Award from SF JAZZ.[4]
[…]
Genres Jazz, jazz
fusion
Years active 1953–present"...
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD FOR THIS SOUND FILE
These comments are given in relative chronological order based on their publishing date, except for replies. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrppyREk4FA
1. @ebntje, 2015 "I remember this one from back in the day"
** Reply 3. @opensecret629, 2016 "Yeah me too. For some reason I thought it was the JB's. My people guided me in the right direction & here I am....Hard Work!
** Reply 4. @brbowen3, 2020 "I first heard him play this at SF City College in the gym!"
** 5. @anamariagutierrez2019, 2017 "Nice beat really Hd Quality
** 6. @bano6382, 2017 "This is a classic!!! Thank you Trevor Nelson on Radio 2 last Saturday for playing it!!"
** 7. @rescuepetsrule6842, 2018 "Memphis loved his music- used to hear rsetaurant gang singing this after hours while closing- much fun! Thanks!"** 8. @bernaebeatty6175, 2019 "HARD WORK MY MOM USED TO HAVE THIS RECORD BACK IN THE DAY"
** Reply 9. @Blackgodamen26, 2024 "This joint takes me back to Newark, NJ back in the day👈🏿👍🏿🟥⬛🟩🅱️✊🏿💯
** Reply 11. @stuartadamsrailfanningvideos, 2020 "Yes, it sure is. I think you're referencing a railroad survey crew. I did that for a while. It was hard work indeed."
** 12. @belindalawrence5000, 2020 "I found it on the radio in New Orleans today." ** 13.
This song was one of her favorites."
** 14. @johnrowland3105, 2020 "To all those fantastic radio DJ's who used to work graveyard shifts on some dodgy stations back in the day. Were it not for guys and gals like you, guys and gals like me would never have heard great stuff like this !"
** Reply 15. @emusic96785, 2021 "I'm one of those DJ's. Thx for the shout out! Been playing it since the release to now 2021."** 16. @davidshulimson9491, 2020 "When I lived in Orlando, Fla., in the mid-late 80's, jazz station WLOQ played this from time to time.
** 17.@RHOOO10, 2020 "Still Classic in 2020!!🎧🎧🔥🕺🏿💃🏿" ** 18. @djammerosl879, 2020 "Sax 🎷 from the underground nightspots times.bustin and grooving John. Funk on✌🏽😎"
** 19. @indybeliever9190, 2020 "Was looking for this song!! Some children from D.C were dancing to this on Facebook. Had to find it!! It took hard work to find this song!!"
** Reply 20. @driddick73, 2020 "Me too!!! Kids were rocking!!!"
** Reply 21. @soulbrotherlegendary, 2020 "@Indybeliever That's Why I'm here.. Those kids were so Fly I had to hear it again" ** 22, @dorietrawick3739, 2020 " @soulbrotherlegendaryme too...love this song."
** Reply 24. @tanyaligon3534, 2020 "Indybeliever I knew the song but enjoyed the children’s dancing they was cutting up"
** Reply 25. @jaslyn5501, 2020 "Same! That video did something to my soul. I had to find the song."** Reply 26. @hammerhead5234, 2020 "@jaslyn5501 . Me , as well. This song was on the radio when my mother was driving home thru the traffic back in the day. I fell in love with it when I was a kid. Groovy."
** Reply 27. @firedmyboss, 2020 "Alright, alright, ALRIGHT! I came here because I knew the NAME of song. Where’s this video? LOL"
** Reply 28. @indybeliever9190, 2020 "@firedmyboss it was floating around on Facebook."
** Reply 29. @BL-pv7et, 2020 "Me too the kids were jamming lol I had to find this song!!!"
** Reply 30. @aledmondson4616, 2020 "Yeah saw that! They were smooth.. I wonder if they are still doing that? I was like, I want to be in that class jamming to this tune like them." ** Reply 31. @bernadettedyer4865, 2021 "Posted on FB:Lynnette D. Coles is with Frances E Whalen and David Coles.
December 19, 2019 ·
Charles H. Houston ES
Wash DC
5th graders hand dancing
* I do not own the rights to this music *" -snip- "Hand dancing" = a Washington, D. C. referent for up-tempo partner dancing.
** Reply 32. @kmason685, 2021 "Those kids from DC. They took me back to a different era.Style, sophistication, class. Everything comes back around. I don’t know them
but I was proud of them...."
** Reply 36. @stacyjackson3709, 2022 "yes, I saw it on fb as well, those kids did an awesome job and you can tell that they enjoyed it very much. 👏🏽 to the dance teacher 👏🏽" -snip- This is only a small portion of the comments about kids dancing to this song. I google searched "kids dancing to John Handy’s Hard Work on Facebook" but unfortunately haven't found that video yet. Please share If you know the link for that video. Thanks in advance!
**
37. @rochellerussell3896, 2021
"Massive in my circle then and still loved now in my little corner of Wales
☺️so much love for Mr Handy"
**
38. @CR-pf1es, 2021
"I love this song, and most of all dancing to it, have listened to it since the early '80s... found it again in my LPs!!"
**
Mr.Handy for your Hard Work In Music.😊😊😊"
** 44. @richardfrantz1253, 2021 "I bought this album in 76 - still great stuff after all these years.."
** Reply 45. @ernestjaimes6997, 2022 "I also bought the album in 76 while in the service,I heard it in my barracks, some brothers were playing it and got it myself" ** 46. @arthurcooper2976, 2021 "A smooth toe tapper n finger snapper.....sheesh...takes me back to gentler time" **
** Reply 52. @ripley14625, 2022 "LOVE this tune. Haven't heard it in a zillion years. Thanks so much for posting it." ** 53. @marcusagor2105, 2021 "The club days of the late 70’s and 80’s so good, we had a ball. I remember checking this tune out.
Everybody love this, cool man Mr Handy."
** 54. @merlynmcfarland5836, 2022 "What a cool piece of music. You can dance to it and get your groove on. 🎵🎶🎵🎶" ** 55. @theoloyla, 2022 "Repromoted by MCA UK 40 years ago after Dave Lee Travis used it as a talkover extensively for a feature he was doing on Radiol 1 about unemployment for young people"** Reply 56.@gregbattles474, 2022 "BLACK MUSIC MATTERS
BLACKCULTUREMATTERS BLACKLIVESMATTERS"
Loved the one with Rollercoaster Ohio Players Breanna bday party you should watch it!!!!"
** 58. @patrickwashington3868, 2022 "Don'tcha just love it! This Instrumental is for House Parties! Bar- B Q's, Get Togethers! Playing Cards & Dominoes! Just Hangin' Out with family & friends After puttin' in a Hard Days Work all week long.
Ya Heard Me? I Told You So! Time to get Down y'all! Let's do this people! Nuff Said! Holla Back Y'all! Are you with me?"
**
59. @TonyT-i9w, 2023
" "All About the Benjamin's" brought me here...
**
60. @itneverrainsfunk4808, 2023
"Reminds me of being a kid trying to sleep an all the adults partying to this jam...
sleeping was hard work !"
**
** Reply 63. Azizip171, 2024 Thanks to Jazz musician/composer/teacher John Handy for this masterpiece and thanks @alexbrown423 for this comment. I was looking for any comments about the military running cadence "Hard Work". Your comment is the only one I've come across so far in this discussion thread. That's SO surprising to me since there's no question that the cadence was inspired by this John Handy Jazz record. Both have the same title; the Jazz record and the military cadence have the same tune, and John Handy chants the words "hard work" in his Jazz record. (For those who don't know the military cadence, there are several examples on YouTube). Plus I just published a post on my pancocojams cultural blog that showcases five examples of that cadence with some lyrics. After showcasing those examples I wondered about the source of that cadence. That led me to this YouTube sound file. I'm an African American woman who should have remembered this from the 1970s, but I don't have any memory of it (?!).
I'd love to know what year you remember this cadence being called and what branch of the service you were in. Thank you for your service, and thanks for confirming my sense that this John Handy record was the inspiration for the "Hard Work" military cadence.
I searched for “Hard Work song” and found it!!😁💙 Thank you so much for posting this classic gem!!"
** 65. @williammartin3134, 2023 "Came to this late in the game. This evokes memories of New Orleans soul-funk a' la The Nevilles but also memories of African beats, especially the stacatto "clapping" and the fantastic percussion.John's sax is wonderful, the bass is superb and the guitar work simply sublime. Grab your partner and shimmy and sway to this masterpiece!"
** 66. @leonardbrown2219, 2023 "In Philly this was our theme song on Friday when we got payed. And them we would go to the bar or club to reward our self's for making threw the week. Great Times,Great Song,Thank You Mr.Handy for your (HARD WORK). And just wanted to pay homage to (A TRUE JAZZ LEGEND)" ** 67. @davidlongdon1046, 2024 "Tune is a blessing to the soul rock it."** 69. @dbnance3461, 2024 "First heard this on the B Mac show. Miss that brother. One of the greatest comedians.
The true " king of Comedy" -snip- “B Mac” = (African American comedian) Bernie Mac" ** 70. @davidcox911, 2024 "1979, just met my wife to be, she put this on the turntable, decided then I've gotta get to know this girl, I'm gonna learn alot from her" **** Thanks for visiting pancocojams. Visitor comments are welcome.
As an aside, I wonder if Jazz musician/composer John Handy is related to the Father of the Blues, W. C. Handy. Click for information about W. C. Handy. Here's a small portion about W. C. Handy from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._C._Handy
ReplyDelete"William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues.[1][2] He was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States.[3] One of many musicians who played the distinctively American blues music, Handy did not create the blues genre but was one of the first to publish music in the blues form, thereby taking the blues from a regional music style (Delta blues) with a limited audience to a new level of popularity.[3]
Handy used elements of folk music in his compositions. He was scrupulous in documenting the sources of his works, which frequently combined stylistic influences from various performers.[2]"...