Milk Cow Blues (song)
| "Milk Cow Blues" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Kokomo Arnold | ||||
| B-side | "Old Original Kokomo Blues" | |||
| Released | October 1934 | |||
| Format | 10″ 78rpm | |||
| Recorded | September 10, 1934[citation needed] | |||
| Genre | Blues | |||
| Length | 3:07 | |||
| Label | Decca | |||
| Writer(s) | Kokomo Arnold | |||
| Kokomo Arnold singles chronology | ||||
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"Milk Cow Blues" is a blues song written and originally recorded by Sleepy John Estes in 1930.[1]
Contents
Robert Johnson version
Robert Johnson recorded a version of Sleepy John Estes' song, re-titled "Milkcow's Calf Blues", at his last recording session on June 20, 1937.[1] It was released by Vocalion Records in September 1937 as the B-side to "Malted Milk."
Johnnie Lee Wills version
In 1941, Johnnie Lee Wills (younger brother of Bob Wills) recorded a version which was released the same year by Decca Records as "Milkcow Blues" by Johnny [sic] Lee Wills & His Boys. It was sung by Cotton Thompson.[2]
Bob Wills also recorded it on the Tiffany Transcriptions with a vocal by Tommy Duncan. The Wills/Duncan release "Brain Cloudy Blues" is heavily influenced by "Milk cow blues" too.
Elvis Presley & The Blue Moon Boys version
| "Milk Cow Blues" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
Elvis Presley, accompanied by Scotty Moore on guitar and Bill Black on bass, recorded a rockabilly version retitled "Milkcow Blues Boogie" at Sun Records in November or December 1954. The arrangement was closer to Wills' version than to the Arnold original.[2] The single was released in January 8, 1955 with "You're a Heartbreaker" as the B-side, but would not be released on LP until 1959, when it was included on the RCA LP A Date with Elvis. The tune was also released as a 45 rpm single, along with "You're a Heartbreaker" on RCA Victor records (47-6382). It is listed as 2:34 minutes long, with the publisher Leeds Music ASCAP. It has catalog number F2WW-8044.
Eddie Cochran version
| "Milk Cow Blues" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
Eddie Cochran's version of "Milk Cow Blues" was posthumously released on the album Never to Be Forgotten.
Musicians:
- Eddie Cochran: vocal and guitar
- Dave Shriver: electric bass
- Gene Riggio: drums
- Jim Stivers: piano
Other versions
- The McGee Brothers (Sam and Kirk) recorded a version of the song.
- 1934: Kokomo Arnold recorded two versions of the song, and was believed to be the first one after Sleepy John Estes in 1930.
- 1946: Cotton Thompson. On King Records. This is sometimes incorrectly credited to Moon Mullican because Cotton was part of Moon's band and recorded this after a Mullican session in 1946. Available on 2 Mullican CDs nowadays and called "New Milk cow blues".
- 1947 The Maddox Brothers and Rose
- 1955: Mike Seeger recorded a banjo version that was inspired by the Johnnie Lee Wills version.[3]
- 1956: [Bob Crosby] b-side of 'Bob Crosby and his Orchestra in Hi Fi' album with Nappy Lamar on vocals. http://www.discogs.com/artist/374399-Bob-Crosby-And-His-Orchestra
- 1960: Ricky Nelson b-side of single w/ You Are The Only One, also included on album Million Sellers and compilation Legendary Masters
- 1962: George Lewis on his album Endless The Trek Endless The Search
- 1965: The Kinks on their album The Kink Kontroversy (although they credit the song to Sleepy John Estes on the UK release).
- 1967: The Chocolate Watchband on the 1994 CD reissue of their album No Way Out.
- 1970: We Five on their album Catch the Wind.[4]
- 1971: Mungo Jerry on the second side of their maxi-single, "Lady Rose".
- 1976: Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen on their live album We've Got A Live One Here.
- 1977: Levon Helm & the RCO All-Stars on their self-titled album as 'Milk Cow Boogie'.
- 1977: Aerosmith their album Draw the Line.
- 1977: Pirates former Johnny Kidd's band recorded the song. It appears on their 1977 live album "Out Of Their Skulls".
- 1979: Jerry Lee Lewis recorded on the Elektra label.
- 1990: Dead Moon on their 1990 album, Defiance.
- 1990: Aerosmith on their 1990 MTV Unplugged Live Performance in New York.
- 1991: George Strait on his 1991 album, Chill of an Early Fall.
- 2000: Willie Nelson on his 2000 album, Milk Cow Blues.
- 2001: Doc Watson on his album, Doc Watson at Gerdes Folk City, recorded live in 1962 and 1963 but never released until 2001.
- 2002: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, featuring Doc Watson, on the 2002 album Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Volume III
- 2004: Eric Clapton on his 2004 tribute to Robert Johnson, Me and Mr. Johnson, titled as Milkcow's Calf Blues.
- 2008: Patrick Wall (Irish blues artist) on his album "Lay me down beside my darling".
- 2008: Wayne "The Train" Hancock ((Progressive Torch & Twang)(Country)) Live in 2008 on Impact Radio89FM
- 2009: Obits on their debut album I Blame You.
- 2016: The Kinks featured a live version on their 2016 Record Store Day exclusive album, "The Kinks in Koncert 1965"
- Roscoe Holcomb recorded "Milk Cow Blues" on his album "An Untamed Sense of Control".
- Mississippi Fred McDowell recorded "Milk Cow Blues" on a self-titled album.
- The song is also featured in the film Walk the Line, in which it is covered by Tyler Hilton.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Blues Line: Blues Lyrics from Leadbelly to Muddy Waters, edited by Eric Sackheim, Jonathan Shahn, Da Capo Press, 2003
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ The McGee Brothers rendition of "Milk Cow Blues" can be found on this anthology: [1]. It is described in more detail in both French and English in its online booklet: [2]
- ↑ We Five, Catch the Wind Retrieved February 29, 2012.
| Studio albums | |
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| Posthumous studio albums | |
| Compilations | |
| Live albums | |
| Singles | |
| Movies | |
| Associated acts | |
| Related articles | |
- Articles with unsourced statements from January 2014
- Articles which use infobox templates with no data rows
- Pages using infobox song with unknown parameters
- 1934 songs
- 1955 singles
- Robert Johnson songs
- Elvis Presley songs
- Eddie Cochran songs
- The Kinks songs
- We Five songs
- Aerosmith songs
- George Strait songs
- Willie Nelson songs
- Blues songs
- Western swing songs
- Decca Records singles
