"Junco Partner", also known as "Junco Partner (Worthless Man)", is a blues song first recorded by James Waynes in 1951. Profile of James "Wee Willie" Wayne at Black Cat Rockabilly
Rockabilly.nl, Retrieved 4 April 2013 It has been recorded and revised by many other artists over several decades, including Louis Jordan, Michael Bloomfield,

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

, Professor Longhair,

James Booker James Carroll Booker III (December 17, 1939 – November 8, 1983) was a New Orleans rhythm and blues keyboardist born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Booker's unique style combined rhythm and blues with jazz standards. Musician Dr. J ...

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in ...

, and

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

. It has been covered in various

genres of music A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from ''musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are some ...

including blues,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

, and dub.

Early recordings

Singer James Waynes made the first recording of "Junco Partner" in 1951, for

Bob Shad Robert "Bob" Shad (born Abraham Shadrinsky; February 12, 1920 – March 13, 1985) was an American record producer and record label owner. He produced the first album by Big Brother and the Holding Company (featuring Janis Joplin). Among his ...

's record label "Sittin' in with...". The song is credited to Shad and "Robert Ellen" (a pseudonym Shad used on some recordings), though it was directly inspired by the Willie Hall song "

Junker's Blues Junker Blues is a piano blues song first recorded in 1940 by Champion Jack Dupree. It formed the basis of several later songs including the 1949 " The Fat Man" by Fats Domino and the 1952 "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" by Lloyd Price. The song is about a dr ...

". According to musician

Mac Rebennack Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from t ...

"), James Waynes' recording made the song popular, although it was already widely known among musicians in New Orleans and elsewhere as "the anthem of the dopers, the whores, the pimps, the cons. It was a song they sang in Angola, the state prison farm, and the rhythm was even known as the 'jailbird beat'." In 1952, several artists covered the song, including Richard Hayes with the Eddie Sauter Orchestra, and Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five for Decca. Fully credited to himself,

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

's 1961 "The Man and the Donkey" is based on the "Junco Partner" melody with a story based on a traditional West African tale heard on other songs such as Willie Dixon's ''Signifying Monkey'' (1947) or

Oscar Brown, Jr. Oscar Brown Jr. (October 10, 1926May 29, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, playwright, poet, civil rights activist, and actor. Aside from his career, Brown ran unsuccessfully for office in both the Illinois state legislature and the U. ...

's ''Signifying Monkey'' (1960).

Later versions

Roland Stone, an R&B singer from New Orleans, recorded two versions with rewritten lyrics, the first in 1959 as "Preacher's Daughter", and the second in 1961 as "Down the Road".

The Holy Modal Rounders The Holy Modal Rounders was an American folk music group, originally the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber, who began performing together on the Lower East Side of New York City in the early 1960s. Their unique blend of folk music reviv ...

recorded the song as "Junko Partner" in 1965. The 1970s produced several widely known covers. In 1972,

covered the song for his '' Dr. John's Gumbo'' album. In 1976, Professor Longhair covered it for his ''Rock 'n' Roll Gumbo'' album, and

did the same for his homonymous album, "Junco Partner". Bob Dylan's 1986 album '' Knocked Out Loaded'' took its title from a "Junco Partner" lyric. The Hindu Love Gods, with

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", " Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Th ...

as lead singer and three members of

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

, released their recording of this song on their self-titled 1990 album, under the title "Junko Pardner."

Carlos del Junco Carlos del Junco (born May 17, 1958) is a Cuban-Canadian harmonica player. Career Del Junco was born in Cuba and moved to Canada with his family in 1959. He started to play harmonica when he was fourteen. He graduated from Ontario College of Ar ...

covered the song for his '' Big Boy'' album, released in 1999. In 2002, New Orleans'

Dirty Dozen Brass Band The Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a brass band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The ensemble was established in 1977, by Benny Jones and members of the Tornado Brass Band. The Dirty Dozen revolutionized the New Orleans brass band style by incorpo ...

covered the song on their album ''Medicated Magic''.

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in th ...

included the song in his 2022 solo album.

The Clash version

It was Richard Hayes' version that caught the ear of

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...

, who recorded it with the London-based band The 101'ers. He later recorded it again, this time in Kingston, Jamaica, with

for their triple hit album '' Sandinista!'', released in 1980, which included two versions: a

version, "Junco Partner", and a dub version, "Version Pardner".

References

{{authority control Blues songs American folk songs Reggae songs The Clash songs Dr. John songs 1951 songs

Early recordings

Later versions

The Clash version

See also

References