ABSTRACT
But playing on the streets of New Orleans required a wide repertoire, and the ability to quickly assimilate the latest musical trends. If a street musician couldn't or wouldn't play any request he might receive,he limited his chances of making money.Many ofthe musicians who worked the streets (and who were recorded as "bluesrnen" on record company field trips to the south in the 1920S and '30S) featured blues as only a part of their repertoire; many played reels, dance numbers, pop ballads, and vaudeville pieces as well. And in New Orleans, it didn't hurt to include a few waltz-time numbers to help open the change purses of the Cajuns and Creoles in the crowd.
