|
Song |
YouTube Link |
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Baton Rouge by Guy Clark |
Baton Rouge by Guy Clark |
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Blue Bayou (Roy
Orbison & Joe Melson, ca. 1963) (A, F & G)
First sung and recorded by Orbison, who had an
international hit with his version in 1963, the cover by Linda
Ronstadt went to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as #2 Country
and #3 Easy Listening charts. It also reached #2on the Cash Box Top
100 chart. It was the first of Ronstadt's three Gold singles.
Blue Bayou,
Wikipedia. |
Blue Bayou by
Roy Orbison (1963)
Blue Bayou by
Linda Ronstadt (Official Music Video) |
|
C’est La Vie by Chuck Berry
aka "Teenage Wedding" |
You Never Can Tell
by Chuck Berry (1964)
C'est La Vie
by Emmylou Harris (1977) |
|
City of New Orleans
by Steve Goodman (ca. 1971)
Goodman's description a train ride on the
Illinois Central Railroad's "City of New Orleans" in bittersweet and
nostalgic terms.
City
of New Orleans (song), Wikipedia. |
City of
New Orleans by Steve Goodman (1971)
City of New
Orleans by Arlo Guthrie (1972)
City of New
Orleans by Arlo Guthrie, Live with Pete Seeger at Wolftrap, August
8, 1993, with a brief introduction of how Arlo first heard this song.
City of New
Orleans by Willie Nelson (1984)
City of New
Orleans by The Highwaymen performing during "American Outlaws: Live
at Nassau Coliseum," 1990. |
|
Diggy Liggy Lo |
Diggy Liggy Lo by Rusty and Doug Kershaw (1961)
Diggy Liggy Lo by Doug Kershaw (1969) |
|
House of the Rising Sun |
House of the Rising Sun by The Animals (1964) |
|
Jambalaya
by Hank Williams |
Jambalaya
by Hank Williams (1950)
Jambalaya
by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Jambalaya
by Emmylou Harris |
|
Johnny B. Goode
by Chuck Berry |
Johnny B. Goode
by Chuck Berry |
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Lady Marmalade |
Lady Marmalade by LaBelle (1974)
Lady Marmalade by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, Pink from "Moulon
Rouge" |
|
Me and Bobby McGee
by Kris Kristofferson |
Me and Bobby McGee
by Kris Kristofferson (1969)
Me and Bobby
McGee by Roger Miller (1969)
Me and Bobby
McGee by Kenny Rogers and The First Edition their album "Ruby,
Don't Take Your Love To Town" (1969)
Me and Bobby
McGee by Gordon Lightfoot (1970) |
|
Mr. Bojangles by Jerry
Jeff Walker
Walker has said he
was inspired to write the song after an encounter with a street
performer in a New Orleans jail. While in jail for public intoxication
in 1965, he met a homeless man who called himself "Mr. Bojangles" to
conceal his true identity from the police. He had been arrested as part
of a police sweep of indigent people that was carried out following a
high-profile murder. The two men and others in the cell chatted about
all manner of things, but when Mr. Bojangles told a story about his dog,
the mood in the room turned heavy. Someone else in the cell asked for
something to lighten the mood, and Mr. Bojangles obliged with a tap
dance. Source:
Mr. Bojangles, Wikipedia.
Not to be confused with Bill
"Bojangles" Robinson (May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), an American tap
dancer, actor, singer, and the best known and most highly paid black
American entertainer in America during the first half of the twentieth
century. Source:
Bill Robinson, Wikipedia. |
Mr. Bojangles by Jerry Jeff Walker (1968)
Mr. Bojangles
by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1970) |
|
Proud Mary
(John Fogerty, 1968)
In a 1969 interview, Fogerty said that he wrote it in the
two days after he was discharged from the National Guard.
"Proud Mary's" singer, a low-wage earner, leaves what
he considers a "good job," which he might define as steady work, even
though for long hours under a dictatorial boss. He decides to follow his
impulse and imagination and hitches a ride on a riverboat queen, bidding
farewell to the city. Only when the boat pulls out does he see the "good
side of the city" — which, for him, is one in the distance, far removed
from his life. Down by the river and on the boat, the singer finds
protection from "the man" and salvation from his working-class pains in
the nurturing spirit and generosity of simple people who "are happy to
give" even "if you have no money." The river in Fogerty and
traditionally in literature and song is a place holding biblical and
epical implications. ... Indeed, the river in "Proud Mary" offers not
only escape but also rebirth to the singer.
From the liner notes for the 2008 expanded reissue of Bayou Country by
Joel Selvin. Proud
Mary, Wikipedia;
John
Fogerty: On “Proud Mary” 50 Years On, American Songwriter.com. |
Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)
Proud Mary by Creedence Clearwater Revival live at Woodstock (1969)
Proud Mary by Ike & Tina Turner (1971), reached #4 on the Billboard
Hot 100 and won a Grammy Award. Fogerty had never heard their version,
which starts slow and then gets seriously funky, until it was released.
He was thrilled by it. |
|
St James Infirmary Blues
(aka "Gambler's Blues")
A song of uncertain origin, by 1930 at
least eighteen different versions had been released. The lyrics are
often changed and there is frequently a lengthy instrumental
introduction. The version performed by Arlo Gutherie is closest to these
lyrics.
Tunes and two sets of lyrics mentioned by
Carl Sandburg in his 1927 work,
The American Songbag,
Those Gambler's Blues. |
St. James
Infirmary Blues by Arlo Gutherie (lengthy introduction; song starts
at 2:37)
St. James Infirmary Blues by Louis Armstrong And His Orchestra
(1928)
St. James Infirmary Blues by Cab Calloway (1930)
St. James
Infirmary Blues by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band
|
|
The Battle of New Orleans by Jimmy Driftwood (1958)
The Battle of New Orleans was fought on
January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward
Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew
Jackson.
The melody is based on a well-known
American fiddle tune "The 8th of January," which was the date of the
Battle of New Orleans. Jimmy Driftwood, a school principal in Arkansas
with a passion for history, set an account of the battle to this music
in an attempt to get students interested in learning history. It seemed
to work, and Driftwood became well known in the region for his
historical songs. He was "discovered" in the late 1950s by Don Warden,
and eventually was given a recording contract by RCA, for whom he
recorded 12 songs in 1958, including "The Battle of New Orleans."
Source:
Battle Of New Orleans, Wikipedia |
Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton (1959)
Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton on the Ed Sullivan Show (June
7, 1959).
Battle of New Orleans by Jimmy Driftwood (Original version, 1958)
Battle of New Orleans by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1974)
Battle of New Orleans by Ray Stevens with Johnny Rich |
|
The Ella B |
The Ella B by the Amazing Rhythm Aces (1975) |
|
Walking To New Orleans (Bobby Charles [Robert Charles Guidry],
Antione "Fats" Domino, Jr., & Dave Bartholomew, 1960) (C and NN)
Antione "Fats" Domino, Jr., was a hero of Bobby Charles.
When Domino stopped on tour in Lafayette, Louisiana, he invited Charles
into his dressing room, and regretted he did not have a copy of his new
record to give to Charles, but invited Charles to come visit him in
Domino's home of New Orleans. Charles replied, "I don't have a car. If
I'd go, I'd have to walk." Afterwards, the thought remained on Charles's
mind, and he said he wrote the song for Domino in some 15 minutes.
After he got to New Orleans to accept Domino's invitation, Charles sang
"Walking to New Orleans" for Domino. Domino was enthusiastic about the
number. Producer Dave Bartholomew made an orchestration for the backup
band, and Domino, Bartholomew, and band recorded it in Cosimo Matassa's
studio on Rampart Street. After the recording was made, Bartholomew
decided to overdub a string section from the New Orleans Symphony; use
of classical strings was unusual for early rock and roll.
Walking To New Orleans,
Wikipedia; Fats
Domino, Wikipedia;
Fats Domino Official Website;
Grammy
Hall of Fame. |
Walking To New
Orleans by Fats Domino (1960)
Domino
was one of the pioneers of rock and roll music, who had eleven Top 10
hits in six years, 37 Top 40 singles -- more 25 of them gold -- and who
sold more than 65 million records. This song was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011. |
|
Way Down Yonder In New Orleans (John Turner Layton, Jr. & Henry Creamer,
1922)
First published in 1922, it was advertised by Creamer and
Layton as "A Southern Song, without A Mammy, A Mule, Or A Moon", a dig
at some of the Tin Pan Alley clichés of the era. It was performed at The
Winter Garden Theater in New York in Act 2 of the Broadway musical
production "Spice of 1922." It has been frequently covered and has
appeared in numerous TV commercials, radio and TV shows, and movies.
It's been written that Freddy Cannon's 1959 version became the first
record in the rock era to have a full brass section.
Way Down Yonder In New Orleans, Wikipedia.
Sheet Music:
The full lyrics:
Way Down
Yonder In New Orleans |
Way Down Yonder In
New Orleans by Fred Feild, the "Sheet Music Singer" (Complete;
displays the sheet music while the song is being sung)
Way Down Yonder In
New Orleans by Freddy Cannon (1960)
Way Down Yonder
In New Orleans by the Peerless Quartet (Includes first verse,
chorus; said to be the first recording, 1922)
Way Down Yonder
In New Orleans by Dean Martin from "Swingin' Down Yonder" (1955)
Way Down Yonder
In New Orleans by Jan and Dean from "Surf City And Other Swingin'
Cities" (1963)
Way Down Yonder
In New Orleans by Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong for their album
"Bing & Satchmo" (1960) |
|
When the Saints Go Marching In |
When The Saints Go
Marching In by Louis Armstrong
When The Saints Go
Marching In by Louis Armstrong and his All-Stars from the album
"Louis Armstrong at the Crescendo No. 1"
When The Saints Go
Marching In by Johnny Cash
When The Saints Go
Marching In by Mormon Tabernacle Choir
When The Saints Go
Marching In by The Dukes of Dixieland
When The Saints Go
Marching In by B.B. King
When The Saints Go
Marching In by Elvis
Presley, with Red Wes and Arthur Hooten
When The Saints Go
Marching In by The
Temptations |
|
You’re No Good |
You're No Good by Linda Ronstadt from "Heart Like A Wheel" (1974)
You're No Good by Dee Dee Warwick (1963)
You're No Good by Betty Everett (1963)
You’re No Good by the Swinging Blue Jeans (1964) |
