Goin' Down Slow
Encyclopedia
"Goin' Down Slow" or "Going Down Slow" is a blues
song written by St. Louis Jimmy Oden
, originally released in 1941. Howlin' Wolf
included the song on his 1962 Rocking Chair Album
.
The song alternates between sung and spoken passages. The sung passages are the reflections of a dying man:
The spoken passages (by Willie Dixon
on Wolf's release) deal with relationship:
Due largely to Wolf's recording, it has since become a blues standard, and has been recorded by countless blues and rock artists, including:
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
song written by St. Louis Jimmy Oden
St. Louis Jimmy Oden
James Burke "St. Louis Jimmy" Oden was an American blues vocalist and songwriter.Born in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, Oden sang and taught himself to play the piano in childhood. In his teens, he left home to go to St. Louis, Missouri where piano-based blues was prominent...
, originally released in 1941. Howlin' Wolf
Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett , known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....
included the song on his 1962 Rocking Chair Album
Howlin' Wolf (album)
Howlin' Wolf is the second album from Chicago blues singer/guitarist/harmonicist Howlin' Wolf. It is a collection of six singles previously released by the Chess label from 1960 through 1962...
.
The song alternates between sung and spoken passages. The sung passages are the reflections of a dying man:
- I have had my fun, if I don't get well no more
- My health is failing me, and I'm going down slow
- Please write my mother, tell her the shape I'm in
- Tell her to pray for me, forgive me for my sin
The spoken passages (by Willie Dixon
Willie Dixon
William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
on Wolf's release) deal with relationship:
- Now looka here...
- I did not say I was a millionaire...
- But I said I have spent more money than a millionaire!
- Cause if I had've kept all my money that I'd already spent,
- I would've been a millionaire a looong time ago...
Due largely to Wolf's recording, it has since become a blues standard, and has been recorded by countless blues and rock artists, including:
- Duane AllmanDuane AllmanHoward Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...
on the 1972 Anthology compilation - The AnimalsThe AnimalsThe Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
on the 1966 AnimalismAnimalism (album)Animalism is a blues rock album by The Animals, released in November 1966. The album includes a collaboration with Frank Zappa , with covers of B.B. King, Ray Charles and Sam Cooke.... - Jeff BeckJeff BeckGeoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
and Tom JonesTom Jones (singer)Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
on 2003's Red, White and Blues soundtrack to the Mike Figgis film. - Mike BloomfieldMike BloomfieldMichael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, since he rarely sang before 1969–70...
on 1994 "Don't Say That I Ain't Your Man! : Essential Blues, 1964-1969" - Eric BurdonEric BurdonEric Victor Burdon is an English singer-songwriter best known as a founding member and vocalist of rock band The Animals, and the funk rock band War and for his aggressive stage performance...
and Jimmy WitherspoonJimmy WitherspoonJimmy Witherspoon was an American jump blues singer.-Early life and career:James Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. He first attracted attention singing with Teddy Weatherford's band in Calcutta, India, which made regular radio broadcasts over the U. S. Armed Forces Radio Service during...
on their 1971 album GuiltyGuilty (1971 album)Guilty! is a 1971 album by Eric Burdon and Jimmy Witherspoon. It was the first release by Burdon after he left his band War.-History:... - Canned HeatCanned HeatCanned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...
on their 1967 debut albumCanned Heat (album)Canned Heat is the 1967 debut album by Canned Heat. It was released shortly after their appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival, and features performances of several blues covers.... - Ray CharlesRay CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
- Eric ClaptonEric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
on 1998's PilgrimPilgrim (1998 album)Pilgrim is a rock album by Eric Clapton released in 1998. The album was recorded at Olympic Studio in London in late 1997. Neon Genesis Evangelion character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto designed the cover of the album.-History:... - Champion Jack DupreeChampion Jack DupreeWilliam Thomas Dupree, best known as Champion Jack Dupree, was an American blues pianist. His birth date is disputed, given as July 4, July 10, and July 23, in the years 1908, 1909, or 1910. He died on January 21, 1992.-Biography:...
on his 1958 Atlantic recording Blues from the GutterBlues from the GutterBlues from the Gutter is the first album by blues musician Champion Jack Dupree.Note that the version of "Strollin'" on the CD reissue is a different take to the one on the vinyl LP.-Track listing:# "Strollin'" – 4:31# "T.B... - The Electric Flag as a bonus track released on a reissue of A Long Time Comin'A Long Time Comin'A Long Time Comin' is the first album by American rock band The Electric Flag, released in 1968. The meat of the album is Soul along with Blues and Rock with a horn section...
(1968) - Aretha FranklinAretha FranklinAretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
on 1967's Aretha ArrivesAretha ArrivesAretha Arrives is a 1967 album by Aretha Franklin. Its only single release was "Baby I Love You" , a million-selling Gold 45 which hit #1 R&B and #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.... - FreeFree (band)Free were an English rock band, formed in London in 1968, best known for their 1970 signature song "All Right Now". They disbanded in 1973 and lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become a frontman of the band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums; lead guitarist Paul Kossoff died from a...
on their 1968 debut, Tons of SobsTons of SobsTons of Sobs is the debut album by English blues rock band Free, released on 14 March 1969. While the album failed to chart in the UK and reached #197 in the US, Free are still cited as one of the definitive bands of the British blues boom of the late 1960s even though this is the only album of... - Davey GrahamDavey GrahamDavid Michael Gordon "Davey" Graham, originally spelled Davy Graham, , was a British guitarist and one of the most influential figures in the 1960s British folk revival...
on the 1964 Folk, Blues & Beyond... - Elmore JamesElmore JamesElmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
- B. B. KingB. B. KingRiley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
and Bobby BlandBobby BlandRobert Calvin Bland better known as Bobby "Blue" Bland, is an American singer of blues and soul. He is an original member of the Beale Streeters, and is sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues"...
on 1974's Together for the First Time...Live - Led ZeppelinLed ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
during the Whole Lotta LoveWhole Lotta Love"Whole Lotta Love" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is featured as the opening track on the band's second album, Led Zeppelin II, and was released in the United States and Japan as a single. The US release became their first hit single, it was certified Gold on 13 April 1970, when it...
medley on the live How the West Was Won - Huey Lewis and the NewsHuey Lewis and the NewsHuey Lewis and the News is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually scoring a total of 19 top-ten singles across the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Rock charts...
on the 1994 album Four Chords & Several Years AgoFour Chords & Several Years AgoFour Chords & Several Years Ago is the seventh album by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News, released in 1994 . The title is a play on the first sentence in Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address .It is a collection of 1960s rhythm & blues covers influential to the members of the group during... - Memphis SlimMemphis SlimMemphis Slim was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. A song he first cut in 1947, "Every Day I Have the Blues", has become a blues standard, recorded by many other...
& Roosevelt SykesRoosevelt SykesRoosevelt Sykes was an American blues musician, also known as "The Honeydripper". He was a successful and prolific cigar-chomping blues piano player, whose rollicking thundering boogie-woogie was highly influential.-Career:Born in Elmar, Arkansas, Sykes grew up near Helena but at age 15, went on... - Little WalterLittle WalterLittle Walter, born Marion Walter Jacobs , was an American blues harmonica player, whose revolutionary approach to his instrument has earned him comparisons to Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix, for innovation and impact on succeeding generations...
(Marion Walter Jacobs) also recorded an uptempo version with the same words under the title "I've Had My Fun" - Alan PriceAlan PriceAlan Price is an English musician, best known as the original keyboardist for the English band The Animals, and for his subsequent solo work....
- Muddy WatersMuddy WatersMcKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
and Johnny WinterJohnny WinterJohn Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters... - Jimmy WitherspoonJimmy WitherspoonJimmy Witherspoon was an American jump blues singer.-Early life and career:James Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. He first attracted attention singing with Teddy Weatherford's band in Calcutta, India, which made regular radio broadcasts over the U. S. Armed Forces Radio Service during...
- PhishPhishPhish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
performed the song live twice (9/13/90 and 9/14/90) - Eric BibbEric BibbEric Bibb is an American acoustic blues singer-songwriter. He is based in London and launched his career in Europe. Today he lives in Finland.-Biography:...
- Lightnin Hopkins
- Patrice O'neal