

Birth of the Blues
Strike Up The Band ! * Here comes happiness . . . in a merry medley of romance . . . and rhythm !
Jeff grows up near Basin Street in New Orleans, playing his clarinet with the dock workers. He puts together a band, the Basin Street Hot-Shots, which includes a cornet player, Memphis. They struggle to get their jazz music accepted by the cafe society of the city. Betty Lou joins their band as a singer and gets Louie to show her how to do scat singing. Memphis and Jeff both fall in love with Betty Lou.
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6.2/10
12 votes
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- —
- Box office
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- Language
- English
- jazz
- new orleans, louisiana
- scat singing
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Release dates
United StatesUS
- TheatricalNR7 Nov 1941
Frequently asked questions
Birth of the Blues was released on 7 November 1941.
Audience reviews
1- C6/10
CinemaSerf
7/27/2025
It’s set in the American Deep South in the late 1930s so of course there are going to be unsavoury racial overtones, but in some ways this films strives to suggest that by using jazz music and the wholesomeness of Bing Crosby, there might be some green shoots of desegregation starting to emerge. The young “Jeff” is a pretty prodigious talent, but is regularly strapped by his father for playing with “darkie bands” in …
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