Goodnight Irene

Huddie Ledbetter ( -- 1949 ) was a musician; born near Morringsport, La. A legendary singer and guitarist, he was raised near Shreveport, La., worked on farms in Texas, and began performing in Dallas, Texas, as a protégé of Blind Lemon Jefferson in the 1910s.

(Leadbelly got his own nickname because of his deep bass voice.) In 1917 he was sentenced to prison on a murder conviction; eight years later he literally sang a plea of mercy to the Texas governor and was pardoned.

A similar episode occurred in 1935: In 1930 he had been sentenced to ten years for wounding a group of men with a knife; in 1934 Leadbelly composed a song for the Louisiana governor, and, with the intervention of the folklorists John and Alan Lomax, won a reprieve once again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs3mj1E8LSU

Goodnight Irene is perhaps his most famous song it it is usually done as a 3/4 time waltz, there are many versions with differing verses and the Weavers version which was released in the 1950's was a sanitized version of the original, which replaces "gets you in my dreams" with "see you in my dreams" The Weavers' lyrics are the ones generally used today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTvIAxS5-nc

The version I like the most is by the slide guitarist Kelly Joe Phelpps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTvIAxS5-nc

What a great tune, and I really like your take on it - gotta say I've been lurking around and I've seen a number of your videos and always dig your sideways look at old standards. I've always favored Moon Mullican's version of this song - a straight-ahead waltz, but his piano playing just can't be beat. Thanks for sharing....

Sideways!!! I don't know how to do songs proper, so I hit a strum
I like and try to keep it within my vocal range. I did two other version
of the song... one with gently picking trying to get that soft feel of Kelly Jo.
It did not work, then I did a frantic version with erratic chord changes
which was riddle trough with mistakes, so I only posted the one I can live with.

Ry Cooder does a fine version also with Flaco Jimenez on sweet sweet Tex-Mex accordion

very nice..... another old standard version that always gets me is Ernest Tubb and Red Foley. I want to grow up to be ET......

23skidoo said:

another old standard version that always gets me is Ernest Tubb and Red Foley. I want to grow up to be ET......

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Better phone home then

Great work Rob. Loved it. Your stuff is always interesting and the range of songs you choose to interpret always piques the interest..."what's he gonna do next?"

Thanks for all the history on this song. I actually know how to play this one on the accordion. And the info on Leadbelly.... interesting, thank you! I tend to like the original unsanitized versions.

Here is another good one with Tom Waits http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My2u2QyvyF4&feature=related makes ya want to cry in your beer, or whiskey

wee_ginga_yin said:

Better phone home then

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I teed that one up for you.....

eugene ukulele said:

Great work Rob. Loved it. Your stuff is always interesting and the range of songs you choose to interpret always piques the interest..."what's he gonna do next?"

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If the truth be told I noticed that you had liked the Weavers version of the song on YT
and thought... now there is a man with impeccable taste... I'll have to give that song a bash.