I Feel Like Going To Church - Johnny Cash - God's Gonna Cut You Down

Johnny Cash God's Gonna Cut You Down


According to Wikipedia;

"God's Gonna Cut You Down", also known as "Run On", is a traditional folk song which has been recorded by numerous artists representing a variety of genres. The lyrics are a warning to sinners that no matter how hard they try, they will not avoid God's judgment; in the chorus, God Himself tells the narrator of the song to "Go tell that long tongue liar, / go and tell that midnight rider, / tell the rambler, the gambler, the back slider, / tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down", with some versions inserting slight variations in lyrics.

The song has, in the past, been modified to fit the boundaries of genres like country, folk, gospel and techno. As "God's Gonna Cut You Down", it was performed by Odetta on Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues (1956) and Johnny Cash on the posthumously released American V: A Hundred Highways (2006). As "Run On", it was recorded, among others, by Elvis Presley. A version featuring vocals by Bill Landford & The Landfordaires was remixed by Moby and features on his album Play. The Blind Boys of Alabama also included the song on their Grammy-winning album "Spirit of the Century" in 2001.

Paul Jones

I listen every Monday evening to BBC2 and Paul's' show.

Paul was offered the job of leading singer by Brian Jones in a fledling band called The Rolling Stones. He became lead in the Manfred Mann Band they wrote a signature tune for the TV programme “Ready, Steady, Go!” - providing their first hit, “5-4-3-2-1”

Manfred Mann Come Tomorrow
Uploaded by moriganne

Paul is a major player - appears with Memphis Slim here

The Blues Band were formed in 1979 by Paul on vocals and harmonica, Dave Kelly, who had formerly played with the John Dummer Blues Band, Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker .

Renee Geyer

An Australian friend just sent me one of hers. A very cool sound I'll be checking her out a lot more

It's the Birthday of Muddy Waters

Happy birthday to the Godfather of the blues Mr. Muddy Waters, he was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi in 1915. According to Muddy his grandmother gave him the nickname of Muddy Waters because he liked to play in the muddy creek near his house. He learned to play the blues by listening to other Mississippi Delta blues musicians such as Son House and Robert Johnson. He worked on the farm and drove a tractor during the week, but he started to perform at juke joints, fish fries and parties on the weekends.

He was one of the blues musicians that was recorded by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress. When Muddy heard himself on Lomax's recordings he thought that he might have a chance making it as a professional musician. He is reported as having said, "Man, you don't know how I felt that afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice." In May of 1943 he moved from Clarksdale, Mississippi, to Chicago, Illinois. As the legend goes Muddy only took a suit of clothes and an acoustic guitar. He got a job at a paper factory, moved in with some cousins and begin playing his music at parties and get togethers in Chicago.

In 1943 the music was ruled by big band music. Muddy tried playing at clubs and other venues but because he was playing an acoustic guitar it was hard to hear him. That is when he realized that he needed to switch over to an electric guitar. In 1944, his uncle sold him a cheap electric guitar, and the creation of the Muddy Waters sound began.

No one had played Mississippi Delta style blues on an electric guitar before. This totally and forever changed the sound of the blues. In 1948 Muddy made his first hit, "I Can't Be Satisfied," with the Chess Brothers of Chess Records. And the rest is history!

Muddy Waters @Amazon.com

Muddy Waters @SqueezeMyLemon

Muddy Waters @Wikipedia

file under;
music, blues, Muddy Waters

Friday Blues Funny - Naw You Didn't

I love the end of this scene when John Lee Hooker is explaining that he wrote Boom Boom Boom back in the fifties, and the little old man jumps up and shouts "Naw you didn't." It cracks me up every time.

John Lee Hooker - Boom Boom (Blues Brothers 1980)

Tribute to Odetta

Very good, very gutsy. If you haven't heard of Ruthie check her out!

Texas blues

Growing up in Louisiana, in the shadow of the great state of Texas gives you a different perspective on things. Especially music. Especially blues music. I feel like I really understand what those great Texas blues musicians were singing about, you know what I mean?

People like Lightin' Hopkins, Big Mama Thornton, T-Bone Walker and Leadbelly. Living there for a few years, and going to college there only served to make me appreciate the state, the people and the great Texas Blues music even more.

According to Wikipedia;

Texas Blues began to appear in the early 1900s among African Americans who worked in oilfields, ranches and lumber camps. In the 1920s, Blind Lemon Jefferson innovated the style by using jazz-like improvisation and single string accompaniment on a guitar; Jefferson's influence defined the field and inspired later performers, like Lightnin' Hopkins and T-Bone Walker. During the Great Depression in the 1930s, many bluesmen moved to cities like Galveston, Houston and Dallas. It was from these cities that a new wave of popular performers appeared, including slide guitarist and gospel singer Blind Willie Johnson and legendary vocalist Big Mama Thornton. Duke Records and Peacock Records were the most important labels of the scene.

In the 1960s, however, the record industry moved north, reducing Texas's importance in the blues scene. The area's importance returned in the 1970s when a Texas blues rock sound developed, led by Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, ZZ Top and the The Fabulous Thunderbirds. This set the stage for the revival of the 1980s, which produced Stevie Ray Vaughan and moved the blues capital of the state to Austin.

Notable Texas Blues performers

• Albert Collins


• The Fabulous Thunderbirds


• Lightnin' Hopkins


• Blind Lemon Jefferson


• Billy Gibbons


• Freddie King


• Leadbelly


• Delbert McClinton


• Guitar Shorty


• Big Mama Thornton


• Jimmie Vaughan


• Stevie Ray Vaughan


• T-Bone Walker


• Johnny Winter


• Canned Heat


• Mance Lipscomb


• ZZ Top

A Wee Bit Of Introduction

It is my pleasure to introduce to you my online friend, Ron Moorby. He is a fellow blogger, a guy who in my mind has very good taste in music, among other things.

A British gentlemen who I met on line at the social networking site StumbleUpOn (though we have never met in real life), he is well traveled and wise in his selection of music.

His taste to me seem eclectic and at the same time delightful. I was just commenting to him via PM that I enjoy his perspective on music. We enjoy a lot of the same music, and he has turned me on to many new artist.

He has been contributing to my other music blog KK&R music blog for a few months now. And he never seems to run out of energy, so I suggested that he might want to post some blues with me here on SML. Not being a blues purist, he will probably lean more toward the R&B / British blues kind of music. But hey "it's all good" as we like to say.

I am hoping that he will do the same here that he does over at KK&R, which is bring his energy, his British perspective, introduce us to some new musicians, and maybe give us his view on some of the old favorites.

Ron's Blogger Profile

Ron's StumbleUponOn Profile - where you will find a very interesting collection of links to cool sites on the Internet.

National Harmonica League

Do we British sound too posh for the Blues?

Y'all Know I'm A Fool For The Blues

It's April Fools day, and yes I'm a fool for that girls stockings, among other things ;)

ZZ Top : Fool For Your Stockings