APPLES AND ORANGES

Still trying to wrap my head around this one. I like Ricky Nelson's early work. I like Mississippi Fred McDowell's stuff as well. They both covered Little Walter's classic "My Babe" (which is what led to that video I posted yesterday). Both did bang up jobs, neither sounding like Walter's original. Nelson delivers with his usual restrained style. If you're into Ricky Nelson, you know that the guy never really cut loose, which is fine. He had James Burton backing him, so he had that going for him. Plus it was a good choice for a cover, a relatively deep cut for the time in which he recorded it (the late fifties). But, oh man, McDowell's version is so raw it almost makes Little Walter sound like Sinatra, never mind what it does to Nelson's version.

Now, right about here is what made me just call it a night and just post that video last night. Walter and McDowell were contemporaries, and unlike Nelson both were blues artists. I associate Little Walter with Chicago blues, city blues, because he was on Chess Records. Okay, so he was city blues. McDowell is country blues. There's a big difference. I've never really read up on either Little Walter or Mississippi Fred McDowell, but being reasonably sure Walter was from Chicago, one question remained. Where was Mississippi Fred McDowell from? No online search, no Wiki; I know this one. Wait, wait, why do I think I know this one? Shit, it'll come to me. I was racking my brain. Where was Mississippi Fred McDowell from? Can you see why I walked?

So, guess what? He did play music in Mississippi, but he was born in Tennessee and he died in Tennessee. Now on to the next big question. Who the hell cares about where Mississippi Fred McDowell is from?

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Ricky Nelson - My Babe mp3 at Diddy Wah
Mississippi Fred McDowell - My Babe mp3 at Frederator Blogs
Little Walter - My Babe (streaming) at YouTube