Rollin' and Tumblin'
Encyclopedia
"Rollin' and Tumblin'" is a blues
song that has been recorded hundreds of times by various artists. Considered as a traditional
, it has been recorded with different lyrics and titles. Authorship is most often attributed to Hambone Willie Newbern
or McKinley Morganfield (aka Muddy Waters
).
, "Goin' Back to Memphis" by Sunnyland Slim
, and "Rollin' Blues" by John Lee Hooker
. The best known version became Muddy Waters' "Rolling and Tumbling," with Ernest "Big" Crawford on bass, for the Chess brothers' Aristocrat
label in 1950. Leonard Chess
insisted that Waters record the song less than a month after Waters had recorded a version for the rival Parkway label, featuring his band mates Little Walter
and Baby Face Leroy Foster
. The Parkway label credits the Baby Face Leroy Trio, with vocals by Leroy, and Muddy Waters as the songwriter. Elmore James
recorded the song as "Rollin' and Tumblin'" in 1960, with himself credited as author. In 1961, Howlin' Wolf
recorded "Down in the Bottom," which employed a new set of lyrics and was credited to Willie Dixon
.
on their 1966 debut, Fresh Cream
, Johnny Winter
on his 1968 album The Progressive Blues Experiment
, Canned Heat
on their 1967 eponymous debut
, Blues Creation
on their debut album (1969), Eric Clapton
for his 1992 Unplugged album
and 2004's Me and Mr. Johnson
, by Jeff Beck
in 2000 on You Had It Coming
, Gov't Mule
on Life Before Insanity
, and recently by Bob Dylan
for his 2006 album Modern Times
. Dylan claims authorship of the song on most versions of his record. While musically the arrangement is very similar to the Muddy Waters version, Dylan's introduces all new verses, though retaining the two opening lines. A version of the song can be seen on Dr. Feelgood
's "Going Back Home" show from 1975 which was released on DVD back in 2005 and The Grateful Dead
covered the song live in concert many times under many different names, including "Minglewood Blues," "The New Minglewood Blues," "The All-New Minglewood Blues," and "The New New Minglewood Blues."
It has been played by the Southern Rock group, Blackfoot
, and has appeared on their 1982 album, Highway Song Live.
The Yardbirds
recorded the song for their 1967 album Little Games
with different lyrics under the name "Drinking Muddy Water," probably a reference to Muddy Waters
. The album credits Chris Dreja
, Jim McCarty
, Jimmy Page
and Keith Relf
as the songwriters. The same year, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band recorded "Sure 'Nuff n' Yes I Do" as the opening song on their debut album, Safe As Milk, which also uses the tune with different lyrics. "Sure 'Nuff" was credited to Captain Beefheart
with lyrics by Herb Bermann.
Delta bluesman Johnny Shines
recorded a version called "Red Sun" (1975), with the traditional music but different, prison-themed lyrics.
The Derek Trucks Band
has recently included a version of "Meet Me at the Bottom" in their sets.
Mississippi Hill Country Bluesman R. L. Burnside
also recorded several versions of what he entitled "Rollin' Tumblin'".
accompaniment punctuated by harmonica
and vocals. The lyrics consist of verses (but no chorus
) that have varied over time from artist to artist. The first line is typically "I rolled and I tumbled, I cried the whole night long." The first line of each verse is repeated once, and then followed by a conclusion—the usual three-line structure for a 12-bar blues
lyric.
The chordal structure, however, departs significantly from that of twelve-bar blues. The defining feature of the song is that each verse begins on the IV chord, which after two measures resolves to the I chord (e.g., in the key of C this would be the F chord to the C chord). Often the IV chord moves to IV♭7 on the second measure or the last two beats of the second measure.
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 recorded hundreds of times by various artists. Considered as a traditional
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...
, it has been recorded with different lyrics and titles. Authorship is most often attributed to Hambone Willie Newbern
Hambone Willie Newbern
Hambone Willie Newbern was an American guitar-playing country blues musician. His home community was in the Brownsville, Tennessee area along Tennessee State Route 19. He was reported to have played with Yank Rachell and Sleepy John Estes in the 1920s and 1930s...
or McKinley Morganfield (aka Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
).
Blues recordings
The song may bear relation to "Minglewood Blues", recorded January 30, 1928 by Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers. Parts of the tune and harmonica accompaniment are similar to "Rollin' and Tumblin'". The earliest recorded version is "Roll and Tumble Blues" by Hambone Willie Newbern (Okeh 8679), recorded March 14, 1929. Other bluesmen recorded their own versions—such as "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day" by Robert Johnson in 1936, "Brownsville Blues" and "The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair" by Sleepy John EstesSleepy John Estes
John Adam Estes , best known as Sleepy John Estes or Sleepy John, was a American blues guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, born in Ripley, Lauderdale County, Tennessee.-Career:...
, "Goin' Back to Memphis" by Sunnyland Slim
Sunnyland Slim
Albert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew was an American blues pianist, who was born in the Mississippi Delta, and later moved to Chicago, Illinois, to contribute to that city's post-war scene as a center for blues music...
, and "Rollin' Blues" by John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
. The best known version became Muddy Waters' "Rolling and Tumbling," with Ernest "Big" Crawford on bass, for the Chess brothers' Aristocrat
Aristocrat Records
Aristocrat Records, sometimes referred to The Aristocrat of Records, was founded in April 1947 by Charles and Evelyn Aron, together with their partners Fred and Mildred Brount and Art Spiegel. By September Leonard Chess had invested in the young record company. Over time, Leonard bought the others...
label in 1950. Leonard Chess
Leonard Chess
Leonard Chess was a record company executive and the founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues.- Early life :...
insisted that Waters record the song less than a month after Waters had recorded a version for the rival Parkway label, featuring his band mates Little Walter
Little Walter
Little 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...
and Baby Face Leroy Foster
"Baby Face" Leroy Foster
"Baby Face" Leroy Foster was an American blues singer, drummer and guitarist, active in Chicago from the mid 1940s until the late 1950s...
. The Parkway label credits the Baby Face Leroy Trio, with vocals by Leroy, and Muddy Waters as the songwriter. Elmore James
Elmore James
Elmore 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...
recorded the song as "Rollin' and Tumblin'" in 1960, with himself credited as author. In 1961, Howlin' Wolf
Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett , known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....
recorded "Down in the Bottom," which employed a new set of lyrics and was credited to 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...
.
Rock recordings
Since the 1960s the song has been played and recorded by hundreds of blues-rock bands, including CreamCream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
on their 1966 debut, Fresh Cream
Fresh Cream
Fresh Cream is the debut studio album by British supergroup Cream. It was the first LP release of producer Robert Stigwood's new "Independent" Reaction Records label, released in the United Kingdom as both a mono and stereo version on 9 December 1966, the same time as the single release of "I Feel...
, Johnny Winter
Johnny Winter
John 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...
on his 1968 album The Progressive Blues Experiment
The Progressive Blues Experiment
The Progressive Blues Experiment is the first album by Johnny Winter. The Progressive Blues Experiment was originally issued on Austin's famous Sonobeat Records label in 1968. When Winter signed to Columbia Records, the rights were sold to Imperial Records who reissued the album in 1969. Johnny...
, Canned Heat
Canned Heat
Canned 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 eponymous debut
Canned 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....
, Blues Creation
Blues Creation (band)
Blues Creation was a Japanese hard rock band from the late 60s, 70s, and early 80s.-Biography:Blues Creation was the brainchild of guitarist/singer Kazuo Takeda...
on their debut album (1969), Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric 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...
for his 1992 Unplugged album
Unplugged (Eric Clapton album)
Unplugged is a live album by Eric Clapton released in 1992. It was recorded live in England for the MTV Unplugged series and includes both the hit single "Tears in Heaven" and a heavily reworked acoustic version of "Layla"....
and 2004's Me and Mr. Johnson
Me and Mr. Johnson
Me and Mr. Johnson is an album by Eric Clapton released in 2004. The album is a tribute to legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. According to Clapton's autobiography, the recordings weren't intended to become an album. The band had rented the studio, but Clapton didn't have any songs written, so he...
, by Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
in 2000 on You Had It Coming
You Had It Coming
-Personnel:*Jeff Beck – electric guitar*Jennifer Batten – electric guitar*Imogen Heap – vocals on " Rollin' And Tumblin' " & "Dirty Mind"*Aiden Love – programming*Randy Hope-Taylor – bass guitar*Matt Tait – engineering*Kevin Metcalfe – mastering...
, Gov't Mule
Gov't Mule
Gov't Mule is a Southern rock jam band formed in 1994 as an Allman Brothers Band side project by Warren Haynes and Allen Woody.The band released their debut album Gov't Mule in 1995...
on Life Before Insanity
Life Before Insanity
Life Before Insanity is the third studio album by Gov't Mule, released in 2000. It is the last album recorded with founding member Allen Woody, who died shortly after its release.-Track listing:All songs by Warren Haynes unless otherwise noted....
, and recently by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
for his 2006 album Modern Times
Modern Times (Bob Dylan album)
Modern Times is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 32nd studio album, released by Columbia Records in August 2006. The album was Dylan's third straight to be met with nearly universal praise from fans and critics...
. Dylan claims authorship of the song on most versions of his record. While musically the arrangement is very similar to the Muddy Waters version, Dylan's introduces all new verses, though retaining the two opening lines. A version of the song can be seen on Dr. Feelgood
Dr. Feelgood
Dr. Feelgood may refer to:In music:*Dr. Feelgood , an album by American band Mötley Crüe**"Dr. Feelgood" , a single and the title track from that album*"Dr. Feel Good", a song by Travie McCoy on the album Lazarus...
's "Going Back Home" show from 1975 which was released on DVD back in 2005 and 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...
covered the song live in concert many times under many different names, including "Minglewood Blues," "The New Minglewood Blues," "The All-New Minglewood Blues," and "The New New Minglewood Blues."
It has been played by the Southern Rock group, Blackfoot
Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
, and has appeared on their 1982 album, Highway Song Live.
The Yardbirds
The Yardbirds
- Current :* Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Jim McCarty - drums, backing vocals * Ben King - lead guitar * David Smale - bass, backing vocals...
recorded the song for their 1967 album Little Games
Little Games
1992 Expanded editionAn expanded Little Games edition entitled Little Games Sessions and More, was released as a 2 disc set featuring additional sessions and alternate takes from the period, plus the singles "Ha Ha Said the Clown", "Ten Little Indians", and "Goodnight Sweet...
with different lyrics under the name "Drinking Muddy Water," probably a reference to Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
. The album credits Chris Dreja
Chris Dreja
Chris Dreja was the rhythm guitarist, and later bassist, in the 1960s British band, The Yardbirds.-Early life:...
, Jim McCarty
Jim McCarty
Jim McCarty is an English musician, best known as the drummer for The Yardbirds and Renaissance.-Early life:...
, Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
and Keith Relf
Keith Relf
Keith William Relf , was a musician best known as the lead singer and harmonica player of The Yardbirds. After the Yardbirds broke up Relf formed the acoustic duo Together, with fellow Yardbird Jim McCarty, followed by Renaissance, which also featured his sister, singer Jane Relf, then hard rock...
as the songwriters. The same year, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band recorded "Sure 'Nuff n' Yes I Do" as the opening song on their debut album, Safe As Milk, which also uses the tune with different lyrics. "Sure 'Nuff" was credited to Captain Beefheart
Captain Beefheart
Don Van Vliet January 15, 1941 December 17, 2010) was an American musician, singer-songwriter and artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. His musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12...
with lyrics by Herb Bermann.
Delta bluesman Johnny Shines
Johnny Shines
Johnny Shines was an American blues singer and guitarist. According to the music journalist Tony Russell, "Shines was that rare being, a blues artist who overcame age and rustiness to make music that stood up beside the work of his youth...
recorded a version called "Red Sun" (1975), with the traditional music but different, prison-themed lyrics.
The Derek Trucks Band
The Derek Trucks Band
The Derek Trucks Band has been called a "group of musicians that share a passion for improvisation and musical exploration" by a reviewer at Allmusic....
has recently included a version of "Meet Me at the Bottom" in their sets.
Mississippi Hill Country Bluesman R. L. Burnside
R. L. Burnside
Not to be confused with R. H. Burnside, stage director.R. L. Burnside , born Robert Lee Burnside, was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist who lived much of his life in and around Holly Springs, Mississippi. He played music for much of his life, but did not receive much attention...
also recorded several versions of what he entitled "Rollin' Tumblin'".
Description
The song features a simple, percussion-driven beat, usually with a distinctive slide guitarSlide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
accompaniment punctuated by harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
and vocals. The lyrics consist of verses (but no chorus
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
) that have varied over time from artist to artist. The first line is typically "I rolled and I tumbled, I cried the whole night long." The first line of each verse is repeated once, and then followed by a conclusion—the usual three-line structure for a 12-bar 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...
lyric.
The chordal structure, however, departs significantly from that of twelve-bar blues. The defining feature of the song is that each verse begins on the IV chord, which after two measures resolves to the I chord (e.g., in the key of C this would be the F chord to the C chord). Often the IV chord moves to IV♭7 on the second measure or the last two beats of the second measure.
External links
- "Minglewood Blues" — an MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
file of the 1928 version by Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers.