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The bootlegger's bottleneck
James "Kokomo" Arnold is a relatively overlooked prewar bluesman although he was an outstanding figure of the Chicago blues scene in the 1930s and had a durable influence on some of his more famous contemporary blues musicians, the most emblematic one being Robert Johnson who turned his "Old Original Kokomo Blues" into "Sweet Home Chicago", and "Milk Cow Blues" into "Milkcow's Calf Blues". The phrase "dust my broom", which Johnson used as a song title, was also introduced by Arnold in his song "Sagefield Woman Blues". Arnold was a very innovative user of the bottleneck, probably the fastest one ever to record, developing some unique rhythmic patterns of his own. His influence was notable on slide guitar players, particularly on Elmore James. The reason why he fell back into a relative anonymity after his brief but successful ten-year career is due to his growing disinterest for music !
