Even in the ‘60s, to use such a deplorable term really, you could turn on the radio and hear Otis Redding or Wilson Pickett or Percy Sledge or Solomon Burke. These people were making popular records. Well, that’s no more.
~Bob Dylan (to Gary Hill, October 1993)
Today is the late Solomon Burke’s birthday. We celebrate the King of Rock ‘n’ Soul with three Bob Dylan covers.
Wikipedia:
Solomon Burke (March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American recording artist and vocalist, who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s and a “key transitional figure in the development of soul music from rhythm and blues.
| Birth name | James Solomon McDonald |
|---|---|
| Also known as | “The King of Rock ‘N Soul” “The Bishop of Soul” “King Solomon” “The Wonder Boy preacher” “Lord Solomon” |
| Born | March 21, 1940 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, |
| Died | October 10, 2010 (aged 70) Haarlemmermeer,Netherlands |
| Genres | Blues, gospel, rhythm and blues, soul, rock and roll,country |
| Occupation(s) | Preacher, singer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1955–2010 |
| Labels | Apollo Records Atlantic Records Bell Records MGM Records ABC Dunhill Records Chess Records Savoy Records Rounder Records Fat Possum Records ANTI- Shout! Factory E1 Music |
(Am I Your) Stepchild ?
In an interview given backstage in Nashville on December 2, 1978, Dylan discussed the one new original he was playing consistently at these shows – which he called ‘Baby, Am I Your Stepchild?’ – telling said interviewer, ‘It’s a more simplified version of just a man talking to a woman, who is just not treating him properly.’ Five days later, he claimed it was written some six months earlier. after ·a horrible love affair’.
~Clinton Heylin (Still on the Road: The Songs of Bob Dylan Vol. 2, . 1974-2008)
You mistreat me, baby, I can’t see no reason why
You know that I’d kill for you, and I’m not afraid to die
You treat me like a stepchild
Oh, Lordy, like a stepchild
I wanna turn my back and run away from you
but oh, I just can’t leave you babe
From the album “Don’t Give Up On Me”
Bob Dylan – Rundown rehearsal tapes:
–
Maggie’s Farm
I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more
No, I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more
Well, I wake in the morning
Fold my hands and pray for rain
I got a head full of ideas
That are drivin’ me insane
It’s a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor
I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more
Atlantic Single (1965)
–
Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)
Ev’rybody’s building the big ships and the boats
Some are building monuments
Others, jotting down notes
Ev’rybody’s in despair
Ev’ry girl and boy
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
Ev’rybody’s gonna jump for joy
Come all without, come all within
You’ll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
From “Proud Mary: The Bell Sessions”
-Egil