We're all about the quality, and support good writing and reading. John A. and Alan Lomax's 1934 book, American Ballads and Folk Songs describes the origins of "Black Betty": "Black Betty is not another Frankie, nor yet a two-timing woman that a man can moan his blues about. While on a chain gang, singing was pretty much the only past time. And since this version of the song, we now only really get this version. One of his phrases is “He’s kiss’d black Betty’. And you’re not going to be singing about how you don’t like his whip. An interesting side note which is mostly unrelated: John A. Lomax married a woman called  Bess Brown. He was recorded and archived by John A. Lomax and his sons Alan and John Jr.. But, if you’re a black slave or prisoner in the southern states between the 1700s and early 1900s you’re not going to be singing about what a dick the white owners were. In 1736 Benjamin Franklin published a book called The Drinker’s Dictionary which lists 228 phrases for being drunk. There’s little of the old blues number in it. It’s often credited to Huddie Ledbetter, better known as ‘Lead Belly’, the fantastic blues musician from the 1930s and 40s. Everything creative is informed by what preceded it, everything is an evolution, and Black Betty is a great example of the evolution of one small traditional folk song. Joe Brown did a mandolin version. After Ram Jam there were a few remixes and dance versions of their hit. There doesn’t seem to have been a lot going on with Betty during the 50s and 60s. Next we have the dreadful, glitzy, get-back-in-your-box-Dad, 2002, Tom Jones version. I say that because in different versions of the song ‘Black Betty’ refers to various different things: a prison wagon for transferring prisoners, a whip, a gun (a specific type of musket) and a bottle of whisky. She is the whip that was and is used in some Southern prisons. There are literally too many versions to go through them all. His nickname ‘Iron Head’ is how he was known, but the name James Baker may just be a name the prison gave to him. Then Meatloaf did a big-voice rock version in 2006. His version called “Looky Looky Yonder/Black Betty/Yellow Women’s Doorbells” is a sort of medley, and it appears to be about a woman called Black Betty, who ends up pawning his clothes (that’s if the songs are linked). Lead Belly probably picked it up as a traditional folk song while he was imprisoned and working in a chain gang. It’s quite good, wait for the guitar solo. He also claimed to be a habitual prisoner. ‘Clear Rock’s’ version of Black Betty seems to be about whiskey. Cookies are yum so we use them to make your HeadStuff experience more yummy. Used some of ‘Black Betty’ in his political song, ‘Murrow Turning Over in his Grave’. The song seems to have origins in the 18th century, long before Lead Belly was even thinking about being born. Why? Sheryl Crow did a version during which I’m surprised she managed to stay awake. And only form of pleasure if it’s the sort of think you’re into. Black Betty had a baby, bam-ba-lam. Ministry did it. The musket would have been a flint-lock musket with a black painted stock. And, as always, people want to sing about what’s going on in their lives. Gone are the days of Iron Head’s mellow acapella sing-a-long. HeadStuff is all about putting buckets of interesting stuff in one place. Damn thing went wild. It’s incredibly classic, in fact, it pre-dates recording. We all spend so much of our time clicking through reams of content and sometimes not reading anything of interest at all. Huddie Ledbetter (Lead Belly) and Martha Promise Ledbetter, Wilton, Connecticut, February 1935, Poem of the Week | Fool’s Paradise by Jorge Leiva, NO ENCORE #241 | TOP 5 SCARY SONGS / BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN REVIEW, Pints of Malt #82 | Black History Hall of Fame, #150 | Hallowe’en Special 2020 – Is Maith Sin, Pumpkin, Up To 90 | Caffeine Pills and Child Stars, Dubland | PJ Gallagher, Who Are You? And when a updated model of the gun came out, known as ‘Brown Bess’, with an unpainted wooden stock, it was seen as the ‘child’ of the flint-lock musket. It’s a take off of Black Betty. But this is good. Ed Murrow had a child, in his grave, the damn thing went wild, in his grave. Perhaps it was a musket, the bam-ba-lam becomes the noise of the gunshot. But the song is a lot more classic than you might think. It wasn’t a hit. Moses Platt was probably a prison name, and the nickname ‘Clear Rock’ was given to him for killing three people by throwing rocks at them. She seems utterly bored while singing. You might not know the word ‘metaphor’ if you haven’t been educated, but you certainly know how to implement one. One recorded example is done very much in this style. Black Betty is a black belter according to every musician ever. And now we have the modern rock song. For example: the line above about the baby. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion have another loud version which is, disappointingly the rock version, not blues. When he recorded ‘Black Betty’ and other songs with the Lomaxes he was on his sixth term in prison, thirty-four years, and he was sixty-three years old. The Melvins added little to it in 2011. Damn thing went crazy. Certainly into the 19th century the phrase Black Betty seems to have been more in use. “Black Betty’s on the bottom, bam-ba-lam, Black Betty’s in the bottle”. And, it bothers me to say this, but the most different modern version comes from… ugh… this is difficult for me… Scooter (it is the most different version. Now he's working on getting his novel on, and being in charge of HeadStuff.org. We have the lyrics, that riff, the speed, the drums, it’s all there. But before Ram Jam got their hands on it Manfred Mann did just that in a live show. The song means nothing to her, there’s no history to it. And even still, a year before Ram Jam could get their hands on it, a band called Starstruck did their cover of it. This is where the bottle of whisky version of Black Betty would come into it. So, I’ll just leave you with what I consider to be the important attempts, or the ones that were hits. Acapella. More words, more rhymes. But the song is a lot more classic than you might think. They even begin to make the baby blind. Big City Rock did a version for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles soundtrack. So it's easy for you to find and enjoy high quality content from our wonderful contributors. We get up every morning to make your daily journey through the internet more interesting and productive.

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