3:11
single, 1928
Writer unknown
One of the first recordings of this seminal blues song, recorded by everyone from Charley Patton to Led Zeppelin. Johnson's blues guitar is largely overshadowed by his powerful, guttural chest singing. He growls and roars like Tom Waits' drunken grandfather. This is that down home religion, a closeness to Jesus you feel viscerally. "Late Friday evening hanging on the cross / Hanging there in misery, ahh oh well." A lot of recordings from this time are muddy or hard to hear, but this one is loud and crystal clear. This is a masterwork, a musical punch it the gut. The kind of song that might shift your whole musical outlook. Makes you think less of Eric Clapton and Van Morrison.
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