Traveling Riverside Blues

[Detigers09]

Clearly, Traveling Riverside Blues off the BBC Sessions is not a cover of the Robert Johnson song of the same name. I think of it more as an homage to Johnson. I've come up with a few obvious references to Johnson, but I don't know a huge amount of his stuff, so I was wondering if there were other references I didn't get. Here are the ones I've found:

1) "Now, I goin' to Rosedale, Take my rider by my side

Still barrelhouse, if it's on the riverside, yeah"

-Obvious reference to Johnson's "Traveling Riverside Blues"

2) "Squeeze my lemon, till the juice runs down my leg"

-Another reference to Johnson's "Traveling Riverside"

3) "She's a kindhearted woman. She studies evil all the time"

-Reference to "Kindhearted Woman Blues"

4) "Why don't you come into my kitchen"

-Reference to "Come On In My Kitchen

[NickZepp]

Almost every line is from a Robert Johnson song they just kind of made it make sense and put it together. The music doesn't really take a Robert Johnson tune either.

[Tom_Owens]

If you'll remember, Crossroads also used a lot of those same lyrics. These days, people jump on thier high horse and call it stealing someone else's tune. Back then, it was more of a tribute. It was never taken personally. A lot of the old blues greats were quite proud to have folks like Zeppelin, Cream, The Who, The Rolling Stones and others using some of thier stuff.

It's like someone painting their house to look a bit like yours. They think yours is so nice looking, they want to be like you just a bit. It's a complement of the highest order.

Regards,

Tom

[pop]

The folk process at work.

Music like that is intended to make you look back to from where it came. It sure worked for me; Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead got me interested in music that was way before my time. Blues, jazz, bluegrass and other forms of folk whether American or British or even from the Middle East, Orient and Africa can be discovered. It's all good because some people may not get introduced to these musics in their daily lives unless by a band they become familiar with.

You don't suppose they thought that noone but them had heard Robert Johnson or Willie Dixon do you? It's just the way folk music works; you borrow musical passages as well as lyrical phrases that become standard 'riffs' if you will. Just like a blues riff you have to use it sometimes even though every other player has used it; it's part of the territory.

[Detigers09]

Whoa, did it seem like I was accusing them of stealing the music? That was not my intention at all, I was just trying to see if people had discovered other references to Robert Johnson in that song.

[jimmie ray]

The folk process at work.

Music like that is intended to make you look back to from where it came. It sure worked for me; Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead got me interested in music that was way before my time. Blues, jazz, bluegrass and other forms of folk whether American or British or even from the Middle East, Orient and Africa can be discovered. It's all good because some people may not get introduced to these musics in their daily lives unless by a band they become familiar with.

You don't suppose they thought that noone but them had heard Robert Johnson or Willie Dixon do you? It's just the way folk music works; you borrow musical passages as well as lyrical phrases that become standard 'riffs' if you will. Just like a blues riff you have to use it sometimes even though every other player has used it; it's part of the territory.

Exactly - excellent post. I don't know why some can't understand that, with these groups?

[SIBLY]

All of that is fine as long as you acknowledge who you've 'borrowed' from. LZ didn't until they were forced to.

The old timers may have been proud but pride doesn't pay the bills. Getting paid royalties must have been better.

[jimmie ray]

I've been bringing up the question as to why I'm not hearing of the surviving Zep members collaborating with some of the still living blues legends, on various threads - but few are biting?

Isn't it about time??

When is the stubbornness over who first coined reference to a backdoor man going to be put aside???

The way it's going, I'm fortelling of a sad retiring of the traditional blues - to background music at your local early bird chain restaurant...

[Detigers09]

I've been bringing up the question as to why I'm not hearing of the surviving Zep members collaborating with some of the still living blues legends, on various threads - but few are biting?

Isn't it about time??

When is the stubbornness over who first coined reference to a backdoor man going to be put aside???

The way it's going, I'm fortelling of a sad retiring of the traditional blues - to background music at your local early bird chain restaurant...

Wow, that's a great point, never thought of that. Imagine Page and Jones on stage with Hubert Sumlin, or someone like Buddy Guy

[Jahfin]

All of that is fine as long as you acknowledge who you've 'borrowed' from. LZ didn't until they were forced to.

Exactly. One reason why I always loved the David Lindley song Pay Bo Diddley.

[beatbo]

All of that is fine as long as you acknowledge who you've 'borrowed' from. LZ didn't until they were forced to.

The old timers may have been proud but pride doesn't pay the bills. Getting paid royalties must have been better.

old timers stole a bunch, too. you can find song titles, verses, musical passages, and entire songs from lomax's field recordings in willie dixon's catalogue. i first found out who willie dixon was and began buying his records after i purchased....(wait for it).....led zeppelin 1.

[jimmie ray]

Wow, that's a great point, never thought of that. Imagine Page and Jones on stage with Hubert Sumlin, or someone like Buddy Guy

I say times a wastin!?!?!?