I Know You Rider
Encyclopedia
"I Know You Rider" is a traditional
woman's blues
song that has been adapted by numerous artists. Modern versions can be traced back to the song's appearance in the 1934 book, American Ballads and Folk Songs, by the noted father and son musicologists and folklorists, John Lomax
and Alan Lomax
. The book notes that "An eighteen-year old black girl, in prison for murder, sang the song and the first stanza of these blues." The Lomaxes then added a number of verses from other sources and named it 'Woman Blue'".
In the mid-1950s, traditional musician Bob Coltman found the song in the Lomax book, arranged it and began singing it frequently around Philadelphia and New England circa 1957-1960. In 1959 Coltman taught it to Tossi Aaron who recorded it in 1960 for her LP
Tossi Sings Folk Songs & Ballads on Prestige International
. Joan Baez
recorded a version for her 1960 debut album on Vanguard Records
but the track was not released until 2001. Throughout the early 1960s the song gained popularity through folk performers, most notably The Kingston Trio
, who included the song "Rider" on their album Sunny Side!
in 1963. Folk singer Judy Roderick
also recorded an influential version of the song under the title "Woman Blue" and it became the title track of her second album, recorded and released by Vanguard in 1965. British folk singer John Renbourn
recorded a version of the song (titled "I Know My Babe") and it was included on his 1967 solo album, Another Monday.
By the mid-1960s rock acts began recording the song. Well-known versions include those by Janis Joplin
, James Taylor
(as "Circle Around the Sun", on James Taylor
), the Seldom Scene and Hot Tuna
. The Byrds
recorded the song during 1966, under the title "I Know My Rider (I Know You Rider)", but their version remained unreleased until 1987, when it was included on Never Before
. The Byrds' version was later included as a bonus track on the expanded CD
edition of their Fifth Dimension
album. The Byrds also performed the song at the Monterey Pop Festival
but this performance of "I Know My Rider (I Know You Rider)" has never been officially released.
"I Know You Rider" was also a staple of the Grateful Dead
's live shows. It was the first song that bass player
Phil Lesh
rehearsed with the band upon joining. However, Lesh was not confident enough in his own singing abilities to handle the song's lead vocal. During the Grateful Dead's live concerts
, it was usually performed as the second half of a medley
with "China Cat Sunflower
". This segue was later used by Bruce Hornsby and The Range
, with "I Know You Rider" following their song, "The Red Plains".
The song has also been covered by New York based singer-songwriter
Robin Greenstein on her traditional folk and blues CD, Images of Women Vol. 1 and by traditional American folksinger Steve Suffet (as a duet with Laura Munzer) on his 2008 Low Rent District album. The song was also covered by punk artists Slightly Stoopid
on their 2008 album Slightly Not Stoned Enough To Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid
. It has also been partially covered by experimental folk band Akron/Family
.
The music and melody are also similar to Lucille Bogan
's "B.D. Woman Blues" (c. 1935), although the lyrics are completely different, and consequently "Woman's Blues" is occasionally given as an alternate title for the song.
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
woman's blues
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 that has been adapted by numerous artists. Modern versions can be traced back to the song's appearance in the 1934 book, American Ballads and Folk Songs, by the noted father and son musicologists and folklorists, John Lomax
John Lomax
John Avery Lomax was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist and folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk songs...
and Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax was an American folklorist and ethnomusicologist. He was one of the great field collectors of folk music of the 20th century, recording thousands of songs in the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, the Caribbean, Italy, and Spain.In his later career, Lomax advanced his theories of...
. The book notes that "An eighteen-year old black girl, in prison for murder, sang the song and the first stanza of these blues." The Lomaxes then added a number of verses from other sources and named it 'Woman Blue'".
In the mid-1950s, traditional musician Bob Coltman found the song in the Lomax book, arranged it and began singing it frequently around Philadelphia and New England circa 1957-1960. In 1959 Coltman taught it to Tossi Aaron who recorded it in 1960 for her LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
Tossi Sings Folk Songs & Ballads on Prestige International
Prestige Records
Prestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several...
. Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
recorded a version for her 1960 debut album on Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
but the track was not released until 2001. Throughout the early 1960s the song gained popularity through folk performers, most notably The Kingston Trio
The Kingston Trio
The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds...
, who included the song "Rider" on their album Sunny Side!
Sunny Side!
Sunny Side! is an album by the American folk music group The Kingston Trio, released in 1963 . It reached number 7 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. The lead-off single was "Desert Pete" b/w "Ballad of the Thresher"...
in 1963. Folk singer Judy Roderick
Judy Roderick
Judith Allen Roderick was an American blues singer and songwriter. She was born in Wyandotte, Michigan to Howard and Emily Roderick.-Music biography:...
also recorded an influential version of the song under the title "Woman Blue" and it became the title track of her second album, recorded and released by Vanguard in 1965. British folk singer John Renbourn
John Renbourn
John Renbourn is an English guitarist and songwriter. He is possibly best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo career before, during and after that band's existence .While most commonly labelled a...
recorded a version of the song (titled "I Know My Babe") and it was included on his 1967 solo album, Another Monday.
By the mid-1960s rock acts began recording the song. Well-known versions include those by Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
, James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
(as "Circle Around the Sun", on James Taylor
James Taylor (album)
James Taylor is singer-songwriter James Taylor's debut album. Released in 1968, it was the first recording by a non-British artist released by Apple Records, and would also be Taylor's only release on that label...
), the Seldom Scene and Hot Tuna
Hot Tuna
Hot Tuna is an American blues-rock band formed by bassist Jack Casady and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen as a spin-off of Jefferson Airplane. It plays acoustic and electric versions of original and traditional blues songs.- Jefferson Airplane side project :...
. The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
recorded the song during 1966, under the title "I Know My Rider (I Know You Rider)", but their version remained unreleased until 1987, when it was included on Never Before
Never Before (album)
Never Before is a compilation album by the American rock band The Byrds, consisting of previously unreleased outtakes, alternate versions, and rarities. It was initially released by Re-Flyte Records in December 1987 and was subsequently reissued on CD in 1989, with an additional seven bonus tracks...
. The Byrds' version was later included as a bonus track on the expanded CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
edition of their Fifth Dimension
Fifth Dimension (album)
Fifth Dimension is the third album by the American rock band The Byrds and was released in July 1966 on Columbia Records . Most of the album was recorded following the February 1966 departure of the band's principal songwriter Gene Clark...
album. The Byrds also performed the song at the Monterey Pop Festival
Monterey Pop Festival
The Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert event held June 16 to June 18, 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California...
but this performance of "I Know My Rider (I Know You Rider)" has never been officially released.
"I Know You Rider" was also a staple of the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
's live shows. It was the first song that bass player
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Phil Lesh
Phil Lesh
Phillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
rehearsed with the band upon joining. However, Lesh was not confident enough in his own singing abilities to handle the song's lead vocal. During the Grateful Dead's live concerts
Rock concert
The term rock concert refers to a musical performance in the style of any one of many genres inspired by "rock and roll" music. While a variety of vocal and instrumental styles can constitute a rock concert, this phenomenon is typically characterized by bands playing at least one electric guitar,...
, it was usually performed as the second half of a medley
Medley (music)
In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumental. A medley which is a remixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks...
with "China Cat Sunflower
China Cat Sunflower
"China Cat Sunflower" is a song performed by the Grateful Dead which was first recorded for their third studio album Aoxomoxoa. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and the music composed by Jerry Garcia. The song is typically sung by Jerry Garcia. The first live recording of this song...
". This segue was later used by Bruce Hornsby and The Range
Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Randall Hornsby is an American singer, pianist, accordion player, and songwriter. Known for the spontaneity and creativity of his live performances, Hornsby draws frequently from classical, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Motown, rock, blues, and jam band musical traditions with his songwriting and...
, with "I Know You Rider" following their song, "The Red Plains".
The song has also been covered by New York based singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Robin Greenstein on her traditional folk and blues CD, Images of Women Vol. 1 and by traditional American folksinger Steve Suffet (as a duet with Laura Munzer) on his 2008 Low Rent District album. The song was also covered by punk artists Slightly Stoopid
Slightly Stoopid
Slightly Stoopid is an American band based in Ocean Beach, San Diego, California, who describe their music as "a fusion of acoustic rock and blues with reggae, hip-hop, and punk". As a band, they have released eight albums with their sixth studio album, entitled Slightly Not Stoned Enough To Eat...
on their 2008 album Slightly Not Stoned Enough To Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid
Slightly Not Stoned Enough To Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid
Slightly Not Stoned Enough To Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid is an album by California band Slightly Stoopid, which was released July 22, 2008. It contains all 7 tracks from the EP of the same name, "as well as other outtakes, rarities, and brand new studio joints."While many of this album's tracks are...
. It has also been partially covered by experimental folk band Akron/Family
Akron/Family
Akron/Family is a folk-influenced experimental rock band that formed in 2002, and its members currently live in Portland, Oregon , Tucson, Arizona and New York City, New York.-Music and history:...
.
The music and melody are also similar to Lucille Bogan
Lucille Bogan
Lucille Bogan was an American blues singer, among the first to be recorded. She also recorded under the pseudonym Bessie Jackson...
's "B.D. Woman Blues" (c. 1935), although the lyrics are completely different, and consequently "Woman's Blues" is occasionally given as an alternate title for the song.