Charlie Burse

Charlie Burse (August 25, 1901 – December 20, 1965) was an American blues musician, best known for his work with the Memphis Jug Band. His nicknames included "Laughing Charlie," "Uke Kid Burse" and "The Ukulele Kid." The "uke" in his nicknames referred to the first instrument he was known for, the tenor banjo, which was commonly called a "ukulele-banjo" in the South. Later photographs show him with a tenor guitar, a similar instrument that he played in the same tuning.

Birth and Death Data: Born August 25, 1901 (Decatur), Died December 20, 1965 (Memphis)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928 - 1930

Roles Represented in DAHR: guitar, vocalist, mandolin, speaker

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor BVE-47008 10-in. 9/13/1928 Lindberg hop Memphis Jug Band Vocal and instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-47009 10-in. 9/13/1928 Sugar pudding Memphis Jug Band Vocal and instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-47010 10-in. 9/13/1928 A black woman is like a black snake Memphis Jug Band Vocal and instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Victor BVE-47011 10-in. 9/13/1928 On the road again Memphis Jug Band Vocal and instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar, vocalist  
Victor BVE-47036 10-in. 9/15/1928 Whitewash station blues Memphis Jug Band Vocal and instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-47037 10-in. 9/15/1928 Stealin', stealin' Memphis Jug Band Vocal and instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-47038 10-in. 9/15/1928 Jug band waltz Memphis Jug Band Instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-47039 10-in. 9/15/1928 Mississippi river waltz Memphis Jug Band Instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-55529 10-in. 9/17/1929 I can't stand it Memphis Jug Band Vocal and instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-55530 10-in. 9/17/1929 What's the matter? Memphis Jug Band Vocal and instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-55571 10-in. 9/23/1929 Dirty butter Minnie Wallace Female vocal solo, with male vocal and instrumental trio vocalist  
Victor BVE-55572 10-in. 9/23/1929 The old folks started it Minnie Wallace Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-55598 10-in. 9/27/1929 Feed your friend with a long handled spoon Memphis Jug Band Vocal and instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-55599 10-in. 9/27/1929 I can beat you plenty (That hand you tried to deal me) Memphis Jug Band Vocal and instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-56343 10-in. 10/3/1929 Taking your place Memphis Jug Band Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-56344 10-in. 10/3/1929 Tired of you driving me Memphis Jug Band Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-56345 10-in. 10/3/1929 Memphis yo yo blues Memphis Jug Band Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-56346 10-in. 10/3/1929 K. C. moan Memphis Jug Band Instrumental ensemble, with male vocal trio vocalist, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-56347 10-in. 10/3/1929 I whipped my woman with a single-tree Memphis Jug Band Male vocal trio, with instrumental ensemble and male vocal chorus instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-59917 10-in. 5/13/1930 Everybody's talking about Sadie Green Memphis Jug Band Instrumental ensemble, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, mandolin  
Victor BVE-59932 10-in. 5/17/1930 Oh ambulance man Hattie Hart ; Memphis Jug Band ; Will Shade Instrumental ensemble, with female-male vocal duet instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-59933 10-in. 5/17/1930 Cocaine habit blues Hattie Hart ; Memphis Jug Band ; Ben Ramey ; Vol Stevens Instrumental ensemble, with mixed vocal trio instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-59962 10-in. 5/21/1930 Cave man blues Memphis Jug Band ; Charlie Bozo Nickerson Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-59963 10-in. 5/21/1930 4th Street mess around Memphis Jug Band Instrumental ensemble, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, mandolin  
Victor BVE-59964 10-in. 5/21/1930 It won't act right Memphis Jug Band Instrumental ensemble, with male vocal duet instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-59993 10-in. 5/26/1930 Bumble bee blues Memphis Jug Band ; Memphis Minnie Instrumental ensemble, with female vocal solo instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-59994 10-in. 5/26/1930 Meningitis blues Memphis Jug Band ; Memphis Minnie Instrumental ensemble, with female vocal solo instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-62541 10-in. 5/29/1930 Aunt Caroline Dyer blues Memphis Jug Band Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble speaker, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-62542 10-in. 5/29/1930 Stonewall blues Memphis Jug Band Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble speaker, instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-62581 10-in. 6/5/1930 Spider's nest blues Carolina Peanut Boys Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-62582 10-in. 6/5/1930 Papa's got your bath water on Memphis Jug Band Instrumental ensemble, with female-male vocal duet instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-62583 10-in. 6/5/1930 Going back to Memphis Memphis Jug Band ; Charlie Bozo Nickerson Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble and male vocal chorus instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-62990 10-in. 11/21/1930 He's in the jail house now Memphis Sheiks Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-64731 10-in. 11/26/1930 Got a letter from my darlin' Carolina Peanut Boys Vocal and instrumental ensemble, with talk instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-64733 10-in. 11/26/1930 This will bring you back Memphis Jug Band Vocal and instrumental ensemble instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-64740 10-in. 11/28/1930 Move that thing Memphis Jug Band Vocal and instrumental ensemble, with talk instrumentalist, guitar  
Victor BVE-64741 10-in. 11/28/1930 You got me rollin' Carolina Peanut Boys Vocal and instrumental ensemble, with talk instrumentalist, guitar  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Burse, Charlie," accessed November 6, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/110291.

Burse, Charlie. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 6, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/110291.

"Burse, Charlie." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 6 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/110291

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