DESCRIPTION:
"Corrine, Corrina" (sometimes "Corrina, Corrina") is a 12-bar country blues song in the AAB form. "Corrine, Corrina" was first recorded by "Bo Carter" Chatmon (Brunswick 7080, December 1928). However, it was not copyrighted until 1932 by Chatmon and his publishers, Mitchell Parish and J. Mayo Williams. The song is familiar for its opening verse:
Corrine, Corrina, where you been so long?
Corrine, Corrina, where you been so long?
I ain't had no lovin', since you've been gone.
The Mississippi Sheiks, as the Jackson Blue Boys with Papa Charlie McCoy on vocals, recorded the same song in 1930; this time as "Sweet Alberta" (Columbia 14397-D), substituting the words Sweet Alberta for Corrine, Corrina.
"Corrine, Corrina" has become a standard in a number of musical styles, including blues, rock and roll, Cajun, and Western swing.
The title of the song varies from recording to recording; chiefly with the variant "Corrina, Corrina".
"Corrine, Corrina" may have traditional roots, however, earlier songs are different musically and lyrically. One of the earliest is the commercial sheet music song "Has Anybody Seen My Corrine?" published by Roger Graham in 1918. Vernon Dalhart (Edison 6166) recorded a vocal version in 1918, and Wilbur Sweatman's Original Jazz Band (Columbia A-2663), an instrumental version the same year. Graham's song contains sentiments similar to "Corrine, Corrina".
Blind Lemon Jefferson recorded a version of "C.C. Rider" in April 1926 entitled "Corrina Blues" which contains a verse in a similar vein.
The Mississippi Sheiks also recorded "Sweet Maggie" in the 1930s.
Prior to World War II, Bob Wills adapted "Corrine, Corrina" to a Western swing dance song. Following his recording with The Texas Playboys (Okeh 06530) on April 15, 1940, the song entered the standard repertoire of all Western swing bands, influencing the adoption of "Corrine, Corrina" by Cajun bands and later by individual country artists.
Although the Playboys' rendition set the standard, early Western swing groups had already recorded "Corrine, Corrina". Western swing bandleaders easily adapted almost any style of music into their dance numbers, but the Mississippi Sheiks' string band country blues style came easier than some. Milton Brown and his Musical Brownies recorded the song during a session on August 8, 1934, after meeting the Sheiks at a similar recording session earlier that year. Their version was titled "Where You Been So Long, Corrine?" (Bluebird B-5808).
"Corrine, Corrina" is also an important song related to Western swing's pioneering use of electrically amplified stringed instruments. It was one of the songs recorded during a session in Dallas on September 28, 1935 by Roy Newman and His Boys (OKeh 03117). Their guitarist, Jim Boyd, played what is the first use of an electrically amplified guitar found on a recording.
Cliff Bruner's Texas Wanderers also recorded an early version of Chatmon's song on February 5, 1937 (Decca 5350).
Many different artists have covered this folk/blues classic, for example Eric Clapton, who sings it with the "Alberta, Alberta" title, Willie Nelson, and Conor Oberst (known from Bright Eyes). They all sing a Bob Dylan type style of it with mostly the same lyrics, except for Oberst who includes in the first verse: I've been worried about you Coquito(a sweet coconut beverage), ever since you've been gone. "Corrine, Corrina" entered the folk-like acoustical tradition during the American folk music revival of the 1960s when Bob Dylan began playing a version he titled "Corrina, Corrina". His version, sung in a blues-like manner, however, is not "Corrine, Corrina" musically, even though containing lyrics from that song. His song is from "Stones In My Passway" (Vocalion 3723) recorded by Robert Johnson in 1937. Besides the musical similarities, Dylan's song includes lyrics taken from Johnson's song: He also found a relationship to "Alberta, Let Your Hair Hang Low" which few others find.