Parallel Anthology Track 62

Track 62: Dock Boggs - Sugar Baby  Brunswick 118-B; Recorded in New York, 9.3.1927

No image of record label available. Neither Anthology booklet assigns authorship, nor does www.78discography.com.

The Roud Folksong Index classifies this song as a version of Roud 5731, but a Roud number search returns no versions which pre-date Boggs' recording.

According to the Old Weird America blog:

''“Sugar Babe” belongs to a family of “rounder” songs, cultivated especially by young men, carefree and assertive in spirit, often risqué and in the Appalachian South associated in the early part of the last century with the five-string banjo. Afro-american influences show up frequently in the “rounder” songs and it is possible that “Sugar Babe” itslef has afro-american connections. [...] Sugar Baby or Red Rocking Chair is a widespread folk song, found in the repertoire of a lot banjo players in the South, and still very popular today with old-time and folk musicians.''

There are good grounds for treating this composition as public domain.

Parallel anthology main index page

Alternative Versions
Sugar Baby by Paul Clayton   album released in 1957 (according to folkways.si.edu): Spotify   ''According to liner notes, "Clayton collected this version from Finlay Adams of Big Laurel Virginia". No arrangement credit claimed.''

Red Rocking Chair by Charlie Monroe & his Kentucky Pardners   recorded in 1949 (according to RFSD): YouTube   Unable to determine whether any authorship or arrangement credit is claimed for this version.

Red Rocking Chair by the New Lost City Ramblers   recorded in 1961 (according to www.folkways.si.edu): Spotify   Liner notes for this album refer to previous Charlie Monroe version (above) as source.