HER FAULT

Holy hell. I ran into a cover of "Just Dropped in (to See What Condition My Condition Was In)" by Bettye Lavette again. I was wondering, if it was the template for Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings' version, was there a version that Lavette's was based on, other than the hit version that Kenny Rogers and the First Edition had in 1968? So, off I went, not suspecting what a rabbit hole that one song could turn into.

I didn't end up finding one that sounded like it was the source of the arrangement for Lavette's version, but, man, did I find a lot of other versions. It was "Just Dropped In" all over the place. Here's a bunch, but by no means all of them. First Lavette's version and Jones's version, because it's their fault.

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

Listen:
Bettye Lavette - Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) mp3 at Soul Garage 1968
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings - Just Dropped In mp3 at Passion of the Weiss 2004
Teddy Hill and The Southern Soul - I Just Dropped In (streaming) at YouTube The first released version, 1967
Jerry Lee Lewis -  Just Dropped In (streaming) at YouTube Post-Sun, 1968
Mickey Newbury - Just Dropped In  (streaming) at YouTube Newbury wrote it. Dig the sitar. 1968
Kenny Rogers and the First Edition - Just Dropped In (streaming) at YouTube The hit, 1968
Styvar Manor - Just Dropped In (streaming) at YouTube Who are Styvar Manor? Who cares, it's got fuzz. 1970
Die Haut and Nick Cave - I Just Dropped In (streaming) at YouTube 1988

GO BACKWARDS MORE OFTEN

I've no spring chicken, that much you may have ascertained.  I've heard a lot of music, done a lot of poking around and given test spins to shit that I wished had never come in contact with my turntable.  No matter how many roads you go down to obscurities in any number of genres, there's always something that's been right under your nose that you never knew about.  The reason why I'm cleaning egg off of my face?  I had no clue Leadbelly did "Black Betty". I could try to wiggle out of this one by saying that I'd heard the cover by Ram Jam to exhaustion back when it was on the charts (1977) and had no desire to dig around for a backstory, but that wouldn't excuse me for not being more familiar with Lead Belly's output. 

The first recorded version of the song was by a convict named Iron Head, recorded while he was incarcerated, by John and Alan Lomax in 1933.  In an interview a year later, Iron Head (real name James Baker) said that his use of the term black betty was in reference to a bullwhip.  Okay, I don't care what you say, any song, and I mean any song, that includes in it's earliest recordings, one by a guy named Iron Head, and another by a guy name Lead Belly, deserves a closer examination. Check the write up at Wikipedia if you have the time.  Just bring your ipad to the john if you have to.

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

Listen:
Lead Belly - Black Betty mp3 at Tom Jones International 
Ram Jam- Black Betty mp3 at Safety Fun and Learning 
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Black Betty mp3 at Frequenze Indipendenti 
Melvins - Black Betty mp3 at Frequenze Indipendenti 
Nick Cave - Black Betty mp3 at  L.A.D.R.I. 
Visit: 
Black Betty at Wikipedia