"Corrina, Corrina" - Ronell Johnson

“Corrina, Corrina” (PDF) from the Ronell Johnson album, That Gentilly Swing.

For over a century, many singers have asked where “Corrina” has been however few seem to know exactly where “Corrina” originated. Lyrical references to the titular character appeared in printed sheet music prior to the 1928 Brunswick recording by guitarists Bo Carter and Charlie McCoy - one of the earliest documented blues performances - however the namesake appears to be the only similar quality among the separate musical works and misnomers. In response to its popularity among blues, jazz, and Western swing performers - and perhaps at the behest of some opportunistic music publishers - the copyright for the 12-bar blues version of “Corrine, Corrina” was administered in 1932 to Bo Carter’s given name, Armenter Chatmon. Further derivatives of the “Corrina” blues appeared during the American folk revival of the 1960s and in popular music throughout the end of the century. In 1996, The Preservation Hall Hot 4 brought “Corrina” home to the Mississippi Delta with its version that also features New Orleans’ Olympia Brass Band leader, Harold “Duke” Dejan.

Here is a YouTube video of Ronell Johnson’s own “hot 5” performing “Corrina, Corrina:”

Recommended reading: Traditional New Orleans Jazz: Conversations with the Men Who Make the Music by Thomas W. Jacobsen. Published by Louisiana State University Press.