Speckled Red

Rufus George Perryman (October 23, 1892 – January 2, 1973), known as Speckled Red, was an American blues and boogie-woogie piano player and singer noted for his recordings of "The Dirty Dozens", exchanges of insults and vulgar remarks that have long been a part of African-American folklore.

Birth and Death Data: Born October 23, 1892 (Monroe), Died January 2, 1973 (St. Louis)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1929 - 1938

Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, composer, lyricist, piano

Notes: Name used by Rufus Perryman.

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

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 28 records)

Company	Matrix No.	Size	First Recording Date	Title	Primary Performer	Description	Role
Victor	BS-030838	10-in.	12/19/1938	Welfare blues	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with guitar and piano	vocalist, composer
Victor	BS-030839	10-in.	12/19/1938	Down on the levee	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with guitar and piano	vocalist, composer
Victor	BS-030840	10-in.	12/19/1938	Do the Georgia	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with guitar, mandolin, and piano	vocalist, composer
Victor	BS-030841	10-in.	12/19/1938	Early in the mornin'	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with guitar, mandolin, and piano	vocalist, composer
Victor	BS-030842	10-in.	12/19/1938	Take it easy	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with guitar, mandolin, and piano	vocalist, composer
Victor	BS-030843	10-in.	12/19/1938	Try me one more time	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with guitar, mandolin, and piano	vocalist, composer
Victor	BS-030844	10-in.	12/19/1938	Louise Baltimore blues	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with guitar, mandolin, and piano	vocalist, composer
Victor	BS-030845	10-in.	12/19/1938	What makes you treat me mean?	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with guitar, mandolin, and piano	vocalist, composer
Victor	BS-030846	10-in.	12/19/1938	St. Louis stomp	Speckled Red Trio	Instrumental trio	composer
Victor	BS-030847	10-in.	12/19/1938	You got to fix it	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with harmonica, guitar, mandolin, and piano	vocalist, composer
OKeh	W403749	10-in.	2/7/1930	The dirty dozen	Lonnie Johnson ; Clarence Williams	Male vocal duet, with piano	composer, lyricist
Brunswick	C5075	10-in.	1/2/1930	The dirty dozen	Scrapper Blackwell ; Leroy Carr	Male vocal duet, with guitar and piano	composer, lyricist
Brunswick	C5584½	10-in.	4/8/1930	The dirty dozen no. 2	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, composer, lyricist
Brunswick	C5585½	10-in.	4/8/1930	We got to get that thing fixed	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, composer, lyricist
Brunswick	C5588	10-in.	4/8/1930	Speckled Red’s blues	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, composer, lyricist
Brunswick	C5589	10-in.	4/8/1930	The dirty dozen no. 3	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, composer, lyricist
Brunswick	C5590	10-in.	4/8/1930	The right string—but the wrong yo yo	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, composer, lyricist
Brunswick	C5591	10-in.	4/8/1930	Lonesome mind blues	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, composer, lyricist
Brunswick	C5894	10-in.	7/1/1930	New dirty dozen	Memphis Minnie	Female vocal solo, with 2 guitars	composer
Brunswick	M183	10-in.	9/22/1929	Shake your can	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, composer
Brunswick	M184	10-in.	9/22/1929	House dance blues	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, composer
Brunswick	M187	10-in.	Sept. 1929	The dirty dozen	Speckled Red	Male vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, instrumentalist, piano, composer, lyricist
Brunswick	M188	10-in.	Sept. 1929	Wilkins Street stomp	Speckled Red	Piano solo	vocalist, composer
Brunswick	M203	10-in.	9/24/1929	Jim Jackson’s jamboree	Jim Jackson	Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble and talking	instrumentalist, piano
Brunswick	M204	10-in.	9/24/1929	Jim Jackson’s jamboree	Georgia Tom ; Jim Jackson ; Speckled Red ; Tampa Red	Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble and talking	instrumentalist, piano

(Results 1-25 of 28 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Speckled Red," accessed November 5, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/105568.

Speckled Red. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 5, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/105568.

"Speckled Red." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 5 November 2024.