"Walkin' Blues" or "Walking Blues" is a
blues standard
Blues standards are blues songs that have attained a high level of recognition due to having been widely performed and recorded. They represent the best known and most interpreted blues songs that are seen as standing the test of time. Blues s ...
written and recorded by American
Delta blues
Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...
musician
Son House
Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902His date of birth is a matter of some debate. House alleged that he was middle-aged during World War I and that he was 79 in 1965, which would make his date of birth around 1886. However, all legal re ...
in 1930. Although unissued at the time, it was part of House's repertoire and other musicians, including
Robert Johnson
Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...
and
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...
, adapted the song and recorded their own versions.
Besides "Walking Blues", Johnson's 1936 rendition incorporates melodic and rhythmic elements from House's "My Black Mama" (which House also used for his "
Death Letter
"Death Letter", also known as "Death Letter Blues", is the signature song of the Delta blues musician Son House. It is structured upon House's earlier recording "My Black Mama, Part 2" from 1930. House's 1965 performance was on a metal-bodied Na ...
") and
slide guitar
Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...
techniques Johnson learned from House. In 1941, Waters recorded the song with some different lyrics as "Country Blues" in his first field recording session for
Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music of the 20th century. He was also a musician himself, as well as a folklorist, archivist, writer, sch ...
. It served as the basis for his first charting song, "(I Feel Like) Going Home", for
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...
in 1948. He later recorded "Walkin' Blues" with lyrics closer to House's and Johnson's for his first single, released by Chess in 1950. Various musicians have recorded the song over the years, usually as an electric ensemble piece.
Origins
Several songs with the title "Walking Blues" were recorded before 1930 but are not related to House's song. Also, the lyrics "woke up this morning feeling down to my shoes" and "I got the
pithetblues" were used in early blues songs. Son House combined these to make the couplet he used for his 1930
Paramount Records
Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson.
Early years
Paramount Records was formed in 19 ...
recording session. Paramount made a test pressing, which was unissued and lost until 1985, that incorporated the couplet in the usual blues structure (with the first line repeated):
In 1941, House performed a different "Walking Blues" accompanied by
Willie Brown, Fiddling Joe Martin, and Leroy Williams, recorded by
Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music of the 20th century. He was also a musician himself, as well as a folklorist, archivist, writer, sch ...
and
John Work for the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
/
Fisk University
Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...
Mississippi Delta Collection. The session made a great impression on Lomax, which he attempted to describe many years later in ''The Land Where the Blues Began''. No other verse of this song shares the walking theme, the melody is different, and the verse structure is very different (the whole couplet is repeated):
A year later, Lomax returned and recorded a solo song by House with the title "Walking Blues" which was different from both previous songs. It consisted of the sequence of verses House later called "
Death Letter Blues". House had recorded this sequence at the Paramount session as part of "My Black Mama", the song which best displays the melody, structure, guitar figures and declamatory style that Johnson used on "Walking Blues".
Johnson's song
Lyrics
Johnson follows a "morning" theme, similar to House's 1930 recording and uses House's first verse. Johnson's second verse may have been local or composed by either singer. It formed the basis of the song by their younger neighbor
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...
, which was published by the Library of Congress as "Country Blues" and by
Aristocrat Records
Aristocrat Records, sometimes billed as 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 rec ...
as "I Feel Like Going Home". The third verse was in circulation and had been recorded by
Mamie Smith
Mamie Smith (née Robinson; May 26, 1891 – September 16, 1946) was an American vaudeville singer, dancer, pianist, and actress. As a vaudeville singer she performed in multiple styles, including jazz and blues. In 1920, she entered blues histor ...
in 1920 in "Fare Thee Honey".
As a male singer, Johnson could plausibly speak of the dangerous hobo practice of "riding the blinds" defined as "To cadge a lift by standing on the platform attached to the blind baggage car…a car that ain't got no door in the end that's next to the engine". The fourth verse is extremely common. The final verse, with reference to the widely advertised
Elgin watch, was first used on record by
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Lemon Henry "Blind Lemon" Jefferson (September 24, 1893 – December 19, 1929)Some sources indicate Jefferson was born on October 26, 1894. was an American blues and gospel singer-songwriter and musician. He was one of the most popular blues sing ...
in "Change My Luck Blues" in 1928.
Music
Edward Komara, comparing Johnson's "Walkin' Blues" with House's "My Black Mama", noted that Johnson's guitar accompaniment "retains many of House's features, including the thumbed strum on the lower strings, the fingerpicking on the treble strings, and in a later chorus the snapped beat during the IV chord. However, instead of the ascending bottleneck motif, he plays only an ornamental pitch on the top string." Komara also noted that Johnson accelerated the tempo, "building a momentum not present in House's original".
According to Elijah Wald,
Johnson's debt to House is clear in his vocal approach, which is stronger and rougher than on his more commercial sides. Nonetheless, his record's strengths are quite different, and it would be wrong to class it as an expert imitation. ... Given the advantage of good fidelity, his guitar sounds fuller and warmer than House's, and his vocals show more dynamic variation. He mixes a conversational flavor with the Delta growl, and adds some well-placed falsetto.
Releases
"Walkin' Blues" was not a commercial success when it was issued as a "
race record
Race records were 78-rpm phonograph records marketed to African Americans between the 1920s and 1940s.Oliver, Paul. "Race record." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. 13 Feb. 2015. They primarily contained race music, comprising various Afri ...
" marketed to black listeners. Wald commented on this and other recordings in the style of Son House,
In the commercial music market of 1936, this was archaic, countrified material, and from a professional point of view it is a bit surprising that Johnson recorded any of it. This was the end of the session, though, and since he clearly enjoyed this sort of music, the producers may have figured that such songs were good enough for B-sides, and they might even sell a few extra records to some old folks.
However, these songs were received with great enthusiasm by a small group of white jazz record collectors and critics. Producer
John Hammond chose "Walkin' Blues" and "Preachin' Blues" as the records to be played at his 1938
From Spirituals to Swing
''From Spirituals to Swing'' was the title of two concerts presented by John Hammond in Carnegie Hall on 23 December 1938 and 24 December 1939. The concerts included performances by Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson, ...
concert, when Johnson himself could not appear (Johnson had died a few months earlier). The 1961 Johnson compilation album ''
King of the Delta Blues Singers
''King of the Delta Blues Singers'' is a compilation album by American Delta blues musician Robert Johnson, released in 1961 on Columbia Records. It is considered one of the greatest and most influential blues releases. In 2020, ''Rolling Stone ...
'' was marketed to white enthusiasts. According to most sources, John Hammond was involved in the production and the selection of tracks. The album included the two House-style songs and a song with House-style guitar figures ("
Cross Road Blues
"Cross Road Blues" (also known as "Crossroads") is a blues song written and recorded by American blues artist Robert Johnson in 1936. Johnson performed it as a solo piece with his vocal and acoustic slide guitar in the Delta blues-style. The song ...
" and excluded songs in the commercial style of the late 1930s. Notable exclusions were Johnson's one commercial hit, "
Terraplane Blues
"Terraplane Blues" is a blues song recorded in 1936 in San Antonio, Texas, by bluesman Robert Johnson. Vocalion issued it as Johnson's first 78 rpm record, backed with " Kind Hearted Woman Blues", in March 1937. The song became a moderate region ...
", and two songs which he passed on to the mainstream of blues recording, "
Sweet Home Chicago
"Sweet Home Chicago" is a blues standard first recorded by Robert Johnson in 1936. Although he is often credited as the songwriter, several songs have been identified as precedents.
The song has become a popular anthem for the city of Chicago de ...
" and "
Dust My Broom
"Dust My Broom" is a blues song originally recorded as "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" by American blues artist Robert Johnson in 1936. It is a solo performance in the Delta blues-style with Johnson's vocal accompanied by his acoustic guitar. ...
".
[Pearson, Barry Lee; McCulloch, Bill (2003). ''Robert Johnson, Lost and Found''. University of Illinois. pp. 27–28. .]
References
{{Authority control
Robert Johnson songs
Delta blues songs
1930 songs