The History of Blue Goose Blues
Shreveport, Louisiana, stands proudly at the crossroads of Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas and has long been a vibrant hub of musical innovation and cultural exchange. One of its most storied and intriguing areas, Blue Goose, was once nestled on the southwestern edge of Shreveport's bustling Central Business District. Though the larger Crosstown neighborhood, which encompassed Blue Goose, was tragically demolished in the 1960s to make way for Interstate 20, the enduring legacy of Blue Goose continues to shine as a timeless testament to the city’s rich and dynamic cultural history.
The name "Blue Goose" originated from a famous speakeasy that thrived during the tumultuous era of Prohibition. When the speakeasy was eventually torn down in 1942, it was replaced by a lively juke joint known as the Silver Slipper, which later evolved into the beloved Ebony Club. These vibrant establishments played a significant role in cementing the area’s reputation as an energetic and exciting epicenter of music, celebration, and nightlife, drawing visitors from near and far.
Blue Goose etched its name deeply into blues history in 1929 when the talented Jesse “Babyface” Thomas recorded the iconic track “Blue Goose Blues,” a song that immortalized the neighborhood’s vibrant spirit in musical form. Around the same time, Oscar “Buddy” Woods, one of the pioneering and highly influential slide guitarists, left an indelible mark on the area. Performing with his group, the Shreveport Home Wreckers, Woods recorded during the early 1930s, helping to spread the distinct and soulful sound of Blue Goose far beyond the borders of Louisiana.
Thanks to its proximity to the bustling Union Station, Blue Goose became a natural and convenient stop for traveling musicians crisscrossing the region. Blues artists riding the rails through Shreveport frequently found their way to its spirited clubs and lively street corners. While much of their presence remains undocumented, rich oral histories suggest that legendary figures such as the incomparable Lead Belly and the iconic Blind Lemon Jefferson were among those who passed through, contributing their immense talents to the area’s vibrant and ever-evolving musical tapestry.
In 1932, Buddy Woods recorded the evocative “Flying Crow Blues,” a deeply moving song inspired by the train line that cut directly through Shreveport from Port Arthur—“as the crow flies.” His vivid and heartfelt lyrics about the train’s red and blue lights carried powerful symbolism and resonated profoundly within the rich blues tradition. Just five years later, the legendary Robert Johnson echoed these very themes in his iconic and widely celebrated track, “Love in Vain.” This striking connection underscores how Shreveport’s music profoundly influenced and shaped the broader landscape of the blues genre.
Blue Goose wasn’t merely an isolated beacon of creativity and musical expression. Nearby, talented artists like the one-of-a-kind Stick Horse Hammond and the remarkable Country Jim Bledsoe enriched the area’s already stellar musical legacy. Just a short distance away, the historic Calanthean Temple on Texas Avenue became a celebrated venue that hosted jazz legends such as the inimitable Louis Armstrong and the groundbreaking Jelly Roll Morton. Together, these extraordinary artists and iconic venues solidified Shreveport’s critical role as a vital crossroads and a dynamic force in the evolution of American music history.
Jesse Thomas moved to Shreveport when he was fifteen. In 1927 he moved to Dallas to stay with his brother Willard. After meeting Lonnie Johnson he turned to the guitar playing house parties. Thomas recorded sporadically from the late 1920’s through the early 1990’s and despite his longevity didn’t achieve much in the way of success or recognition. In 1929, at 18, Thomas cut four excellent sides for Victor most notably, ”Blues Goose Blues” named after a Shreveport area where Thomas performed:
I’m goin down in old Blue Goose, even if I lose
When you go to Shreveport town
You can find Blue Goose and they’ll car’ you down
I’m goin’ down in old Blue Goose, I don’t care if I lose
Stick Horse Hammond cut three 78’s, six sides, for the JOB and Gotham labels in 1950. The sides Hammond cut for JOB (not the Chicago label of the same name) were issued by Ray Bartlett a former disc-jockey at Shreveport’s KWKH station about and according to country artist Zeke Clements, who discovered Hammond, “they drove around for two or three days getting him drunk enough to record.” Hammond was born Nathaniel Hammond, April 1896, Dallas, Texas, and after playing around east and central Texas in the 30’s before moved to Taylortown, Louisiana in the 40’s. The nickname probably derives from the fact that he wore a peg-leg. He died in Shreveport in 1964 and was buried in Taylortown.
Eddie Schaffer teamed up with Oscar “Buddy” Woods and recorded one single for Victor in Memphis in 1930 billed as the “Shreveport Home Wreckers”. Two years later they cut one more record in Dallas under their names. One of their numbers was “Flying Crow Blues.” Several songs make reference to the Flying Crow, a train line connecting Port Arthur, Texas to Kansas City with major stops in Shreveport and Texarkana. Black Ivory King, Carl Davis & the Dallas Jamboree Jug Band, Dusky Dailey, Washboard Sam and Oscar Woods all recorded songs about the train. Today we also spin the version by Black Ivory King, perhaps the finest version of this song.
Jim Bledsoe was a street singer and guitarist, he recorded for PaceMaker (Webb Pierce’s label) in 1949 under the name Hot Rod Happy and ended his recording career circa 1951/1952 with recordings for Specialty and Imperial under the name Country Jim. “Avenue breakdown and “Old River Blues” (the name of a lake near the city) and “Hollywood Boogie” with a reference to the black neighborhood of Shreveport’s, Mooretown (which includes an artery called Hollywood) clearly shows that Bledsoe really was a resident of Shreveport and knew the city well. Bledsoe recorded some twenty sides circa 1951/1952 for Specialty, likely recorded at KWKH studios after hours. Theses sides were not released at the time, with some being issued decades later. Among the unreleased sides were “Travis Street Blues” and “Texas Street Blues” which were named after streets in downtown Shreveport and there was also some gospel sides recorded.
Oscar “Buddy” Woods was a Louisiana street musician known as “The Lone Wolf” and a pioneer in the style of lap steel bottleneck blues slide guitar. It is said that Woods developed his bottleneck slide approach to playing blues guitar after seeing a touring Hawaiian troupe of musical entertainers in the early 1920s. Not long after arriving in Shreveport, Woods began a long association with guitarist Ed Schaffer, and together they performed as the Shreveport Home Wreckers. Woods and Schaffer made their first two recordings as the Shreveport Home Wreckers for Victor in Memphis on May 31, 1930. Woods cut his last five selections for the Library of Congress in 1940. John Lomax wrote the following about the session: “Oscar (Buddy) Woods, Joe Harris and Kid West are all professional Negro guitarists and singers of Texas Avenue, Shreveport…The songs I have recorded are among those they use to cajole nickels and dimes from the pockets of listeners.” Woods died in 1956.
Babe Karo Lemon Turner AKA Black Ace grew up in a farm in Hughes Springs, Texas. He took up the guitar seriously when he moved to Shreveport in the mid-1930’s and met Oscar Woods from whom he learned the local slide guitar style, playing the guitar flat across the knees. By 1936 he moved to Fort Worth where he secured a gig broadcasting on local station KFJZ between 1936-1941. As his reputation grew he toured and cut six sides for Decca in 1937 (two sides recorded for ARC in 1936 were never released). War service disrupted his career and he worked a variety of jobs outside of music. Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records and Paul Oliver ventured to Fort Worth in 1960 and recorded an album by him that year. Those recordings were originally issued the following year on Black Ace’s only LP. Turner passed in 1972 showing no interest to get back in the music business after his Arhoolie session.