Word Association Wednesday: Clyde’s Lament

Today’s WAW spins straight out of Never No Lament, and in my little corner of the musical universe, “lament” can only mean one thing: a wah‑wah lament — courtesy of the king of the wah‑wah trumpeters himself, Clyde McCoy!

The 1933 Columbia Cry

Clyde first put Wah‑Wah Lament on wax for Columbia in 1933:

It absolutely lives up to the title — pure Clyde, pure wah‑wah, pure personality.

Flip It!

And because we always enjoy flipsides here in the Warehouse, let’s turn that Columbia disc over for Nobody’s Sweetheart:

Clyde’s trumpet work here is a touch less wah‑wah‑y (if that’s a word), but still unmistakably his:

The 1935 Decca Detour

When Clyde moved over to Decca in the mid‑1930s, he revisited several of his popular numbers, including a 1935 remake of Wah! Wah! Lament:

Two exclamation points and plenty of wah‑wah — Clyde wasn’t about to leave his signature sound behind.

Flip It Again!

Flip that Decca disc and you get Dry Ice:

A surprisingly straight performance: not much trumpet, not much stylization, just a cool little side that shows Clyde could dial it back when he wanted to.

Final Spin

All in all, when Clyde McCoy is on the turntable, there’s never no lament — except, of course, a wah‑wah lament!