Rollin' and Tumblin'

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"Roll and Tumble Blues"
Single by Hambone Willie Newbern
Released1929 (1929)
RecordedMarch 14, 1929, Atlanta, Georgia
GenreBlues
Length3:03
LabelOkeh
Songwriter(s)Unknown (Newbern credited on single)

"Rollin' and Tumblin'" (or "Roll and Tumble Blues") is a

blues standard first recorded by American singer-guitarist Hambone Willie Newbern in 1929.[1] Called a "great Delta blues classic", it has been interpreted by hundreds of Delta and Chicago blues artists, including well-known recordings by Muddy Waters.[2] Rock musicians usually follow Waters' versions, with the 1960s group Cream
's rendition being perhaps the best known.

Original song

Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers.[3]
Newbern's "Roll and Tumble Blues" is a solo piece with his vocal and slide-guitar accompaniment.

The song is performed in the key of A using an open tuning and an irregular number of bars [4] with an additional bar and a half at the end of each phrase. The tempo varies from an initial 140 beats per minute to a final 158 bpm.[4] A key feature of the song is that the first verse begins on the IV chord, rather than on the more usual I chord (e.g., in the key of A this would be the D chord rather than the A chord).[5] After the first two measures the IV chord resolves to the I chord. Often the IV chord moves to IV♭7 on the second measure or the last two beats of the second measure.[3]

The lyrics follow a standard blues AAB pattern and relate a failed relationship:

And I rolled and I tumbled and I cried the whole night long (2×)
And I rose this mornin' mama and I didn't know right from wrong ...
And I fold my arms lord and I walked away (2×)
Said "that's all right sweet mama your trouble gon' come some day"

"Roll and Tumble Blues" is one of six songs Newbern recorded during his only recording session. It was released before the advent of

78 rpm record
, backed with "Nobody Knows What the Good Deacon Says".

Renditions

Robert Johnson

Traveling Riverside Blues" on Newbern's song.[8]

Chicago blues

In 1950, Muddy Waters recorded two early versions of "Rollin' and Tumblin'". On a session for the Parkway label, he provided the guitar with

Baby Face Leroy Foster on drums.[5] Biographer Robert Gordon described the performance as a "standout track [which] could have easily have disintegrated into an overenthused party record".[9] Parkway Records released the song as a two-part single (Part 1 backed with Part 2) and listed the artist as the Baby Face Leroy Trio.[10] In 2022, this recording was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in the "Classics of Blues Recording – Singles" category.[10]

For

Down in the Bottom", which employed a new set of lyrics and is credited to Willie Dixon.[12]

Rock adaptations

Cream's "Rollin' and Tumblin'"
Studio version sample from Fresh Cream
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Blues historian Edward Komara notes that subsequent versions by rock groups are based on the Muddy Waters versions, with the one recorded by Cream for their debut album, Fresh Cream (1966) as "perhaps the best known".[5] A recording from May 1968 is included on Live Cream (1970), which is described in an album review as a "searing, rollicking high energy rendition".[13] As another noteworthy rendition, Komara includes the Yardbirds' tribute "Drinking Muddy Water" and notes singer Keith Relf's harmonica playing on the Little Games studio version and Jimmy Page's slide guitar solos on the live version that first appeared on Live Yardbirds: Featuring Jimmy Page (1971) (released by Page in 2017 as Yardbirds '68).[5] Versions of "Rollin' and Tumblin'" by Canned Heat and Johnny Winter reached the extended singles charts and were included on their debut albums, Canned Heat (1967) and The Progressive Blues Experiment (1968).[14][15]

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-14-006223-6
    .
  2. ^ Herzhaft, Gerard (1992). "Rollin' and Tumblin'". Encyclopedia of the Blues. Fayetteville, Arkansas:
    ISBN 1-55728-252-8
    .
  3. ^ a b Obrecht, Jas. "Rollin' and Tumblin': The Story of a Song". Jas Obrecht Music Archive. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
  4. ^ a b
    ISBN 9780252007781
    .
  5. ^ a b c d Komara, Edward (2006). "Roll and Tumble Blues". In Komara, Edward (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Blues. New York City:
    ISBN 978-0-415-92699-7
    .
  6. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Hambone Willie Newbern: Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-0060524272
    .
  8. ^ a b
    ISBN 978-1-64160-094-1
    .
  9. ^ a b c Gordon, Robert G. (2002). Can't Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters.
    ISBN 0-316-32849-9
    .
  10. ^ a b "2022 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees". Blues.org. 14 March 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  11. ^ Morris, Chris; Haig, Diana (1992). Elmore James: King of the Slide Guitar (Box set booklet). Elmore James. Nashville, Tennessee: Capricorn Records. 9 42006-2.
  12. ^ Fancourt, Les; Morris, Chris; Shurman, Dick (1991). Howlin' Wolf: The Chess Box (Box set booklet). Howlin' Wolf. Universal City, California: MCA Records/Chess Records. p. 29. CHD3-9332.
  13. ^ Bowman, Rob. "Live Cream, Vol. 1 – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  14. ^ Russo, Greg (1994). Uncanned! The Best of Canned Heat (Compilation booklet). Canned Heat. New York City: EMI Records. pp. 7, 21. E2 29165.
  15. ISSN 0006-2510
    .
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