Jack of Diamonds (a.k.a. Jack o' Diamonds and Jack of Diamonds (Is a Hard Card to Play)) is a traditional

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

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

. It is a Texas gambling song that was popularized by

Blind Lemon Jefferson Lemon Henry "Blind Lemon" Jefferson (September 24, 1893 – December 19, 1929) was an American blues and gospel singer-songwriter and musician. He was one of the most popular and successful blues singers of the 1920s and has been called the "Fat ...

. It was sung from the point of view of a railroad man who had lost money playing

conquian Conquian, Coon Can or Colonel (the two-handed version) is a rummy-style card game. David Parlett describes it as an ancestor to all modern rummy games, and a kind of proto- gin rummy. Before the appearance of gin rummy, it was described as "an ex ...

. At least twelve artists recorded the tune before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It has been recorded under various titles such as "A Corn Licker Still in Georgia" (

Riley Puckett George Riley Puckett (May 7, 1894 – July 13, 1946) was an American country music artist, best known as a member of Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers. His dynamic single-string guitar playing, featuring dramatic bass runs, earned for him an ...

) and "Rye Whiskey" (

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a singer, and an actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s. He was the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John Ritter, grandso ...

). The song is related to "Drunkard's Hiccoughs", "

Johnnie Armstrong Johnnie Armstrong depicted in a 19th-century painting at the Newcastle_upon_Tyne.html" ;"title="Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne">Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne. ''Johnnie Armstrong'' or ''Johnie Armstrong'' was a Scottish rai ...

", "Todlen Hame", "Bacach", "Robi Donadh Gorrach", "The Wagoner's Lad", "Clinch Mountain", " The Cuckoo", "Rye Whiskey", "Saints Bound for Heaven", "Separation", and "John Adkins' Farewell." This family of tunes originally comes from the British Isles, though it is most well known in North America. The lyrics may originate in the American Civil War song "The Rebel Soldier" and the melody from the Scottish song "Robie Donadh Gorrach", known by

Nathaniel Gow Nathaniel Gow (28 May 1763 – 19 January 1831 ) was a Scottish musician who was the fourth son of Niel Gow, and a celebrated performer, composer and arranger of tunes, songs and other pieces on his own right. He wrote about 200 compositions in ...

as "An Old Highland Song".

Covers

The following artists, among others, have included the song in their repertoire. *

(1926) *

(a very early recording, for which he is famous) *

Skip James Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James (June 9, 1902October 3, 1969) was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. AllMusic stated: "Coupling an oddball guitar tuning set against eerie, falsetto vocals, James' early recordings ...

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues that he develo ...

(on the album ''Jack o' Diamonds: 1949 Recordings'', released 2004) *

John Jacob Niles John Jacob Niles (April 28, 1892 – March 1, 1980) was an American composer, singer and collector of traditional ballads. Called the "Dean of American Balladeers," Niles was an important influence on the American folk music revival of the 195 ...

Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and s ...

(on ''

Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues ''Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues'' is the debut solo album by American folk singer Odetta. It was released in November 1956 through Tradition Records. Like much of Odetta's early work, ''Ballads and Blues'' combines traditional songs (e.g. spir ...

'',

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

) *

Lonnie Donegan Anthony James "Lonnie" Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002) was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the " King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scotland and brought ...

released it as a single in 1957 (available on ''Rock Island Line: The Singles Anthology 1955-1967'', released 1985) *

Betty Johnson Betty Johnson (March 16, 1929 – November 6, 2022) was an American traditional pop and cabaret singer who reached her career peak in the 1950s. Biography Johnson was born in Guilford County, North Carolina on March 16, 1929. Johnson's professi ...

recorded a version for

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

in 1958. *

Mance Lipscomb Beau De Glen "Mance" Lipscomb (April 9, 1895 – January 30, 1976) was an American blues singer, guitarist and songster. Biography Lipscomb was born April 9, 1895, near Navasota, Texas. His father had been born into slavery in Alabama; his ...

Ramblin' Jack Elliott Ramblin' Jack Elliott (born Elliott Charles Adnopoz; August 1, 1931) is an American folk singer, songwriter and story teller. Life and career Elliott was born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Florence (Rieger) and Abraham Adno ...

(on multiple LPs) *

The Fendermen The Fendermen were an American rockabilly duo, composed of Jim Sundquist and Phil Humphrey, active in the early 1960s. They are best known for the 1960 hit single "Mule Skinner Blues", a cover of a song written by Jimmie Rodgers. Jim Sundquist ( ...

1960 on the album

Mule Skinner Blues "Blue Yodel no. 8, Mule Skinner Blues" (a.k.a. "Muleskinner Blues", and "Muleskinner's Blues") is a classic country song written by Jimmie Rodgers. The song was first recorded by Rodgers in 1930 and has been recorded by many artists since then, a ...

Eric Von Schmidt Eric Von Schmidt (May 28, 1931 – February 2, 2007) was an American folk musician and painter. He was associated with the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s and was a key part of the Cambridge folk music scene. As a singer and guita ...

on "The Folk Blues Of Eric Von Schmidt" released in 1963. *

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

on the compilation album

Preflyte ''Preflyte'' is a compilation album by the American folk rock Musical ensemble, band the Byrds and was released in July 1969 on Together Records. The album is a collection of Demo (music), demos recorded by the Byrds (then named the Jet Set) at Pa ...

The Daily Flash The Daily Flash are an American folk rock and psychedelic bandMike Stax, liner notes, '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968'' (1998 CD), p. 63. founded in 1965, active until 1968 and reformed in 2002.Nick War ...

, a 1960s

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

-based

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

group, released their version as a single in June 1966 (available on a 1998

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products, such as video game co ...

box A box (plural: boxes) is a container with rigid sides used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides (typically rectangular prisms). Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or v ...

'' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968'',

Rhino Records A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

). *

Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...

recorded a version on their debut album. Credited to

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

and

Ben Carruthers Benito F. Carruthers (August 14, 1936 – September 27, 1983) was an American film actor, most notable for his role in John Cassavetes' debut feature film ''Shadows'' (1959). His other films included '' A High Wind in Jamaica'' (1965), Robert ...

, it featured lyrics based on the original. * Tarbox Ramblers used it to open their first album. *

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

(with the .357s on the album ''

Waylon Forever ''Waylon Forever'' is an outlaw country album by Waylon Jennings which was released on October 21, 2008, on the Vagrant Records label. The backing band for this album is Waylon's son Shooter and his band, the .357's. Waylon's posthumous albu ...

'') * Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans (on their album '' Five Dollar Bill'') *

Dave Matthews David John Matthews (born January 9, 1967) is an American musician and the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band (DMB). Matthews was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and moved frequently between South Africa, ...

* Tommy Jarrell *

Corey Harris Corey Harris (born February 21, 1969, in Denver, Colorado, United States) is an American blues and reggae musician, currently residing in Charlottesville, Virginia. Along with Keb' Mo' and Alvin Youngblood Hart, he raised the flag of acousti ...

(on the album Fish Ain't Bitin', released in 1997) *

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are a rock band formed in Melbourne in 1983 by lead vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and German guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throughout its car ...

(on the

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

'' B-Sides & Rarities'', released 22 March 2005.) *

P.W. Long Preston Wright Long III (aka Preston Cleveland) is an American musician, journalist and documentary filmmaker. He is best known as lead singer and guitar player for the groups Wig, Mule and P.W. Long's Reelfoot; most of his recorded work has bee ...

(on the album ''We Didn't See You On Sunday'', released 1997.) *

Alexander Hacke Alexander Hacke (also known as Alexander von Borsig, Alex Hacke, Hacke, born 11 October 1965) is a German guitarist, bass guitarist, singer, musician, record producer, writer and filmmaker. He is primarily known as a longtime member of the influ ...

& Danielle de Picciotto (on the 2008 album ''Ship Of Fools'') *

The Ramblin' Riversiders The Ramblin' Riversiders is a British skiffle band based in Lancashire. It was started in 1956 by teenager Harold Dearden and a group of his schoolboy friends. They had been impressed by the success of Lonnie Donegan's song The Rock Island Line, ...

* Scott H. Biram (on the album ''Nothin' But Blood'', released 2014) * The Charlatans *

Big Brother and the Holding Company Big Brother and the Holding Company are an American rock band that was formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane. After ...

References

{{authority control American folk songs 1926 singles Tex Ritter songs Ruth Brown songs John Lee Hooker songs Waylon Jennings songs Nick Cave songs Odetta songs Year of song unknown

Covers

See also

References