Black Betty
by John Walker on Apr.25, 2009, under The Rest
Here for no other reason than I consumed some rum is a collection of Black Betty covers:
Ram Jam:
Spiderbait:
Meat Loaf (ignore video):
By far the best version ever recorded, Nick Cave:
Earliest known recording, by John Lomax:
Performed as though she’s been told she has to do it or her children will be shot in the head, Sheryl Crow:
However, that’s as nothing compared to Tom Jones’ abortion of a cover:
April 25th, 2009 on 10:40
That Spiderbait one is the first time I’d ever heard the song. One of my favourite tracks from Need For Speed Underground 2, one of the only racing games I enjoyed (the other was Tank Racer, albeit briefly).
Been a while since I’d heard this song. But I didn’t know it was covered by so many people.
April 26th, 2009 on 01:21
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVgFeYcRsHk
Here is a video of Black Betty and another song mashed together. The Ben Miller Band, Local to Southwest Missouri, plays what they call Ozark Stomp. It’s a mixture of bluegrass, hip hop, old blues and gospel. This video is old, but a few weeks ago they did this song with a washboard instead of the drums, and Ben sang through an old phone that has been wired into the PA. We call that “phoning it in”.
April 27th, 2009 on 11:14
Agreed!