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Exile on Main St (released May 12, 1972) was one of my favorites—it was the sound of roughly the first two months of my freshman year in high school (a year and a half after it was released).
*************************** Shake Your Hips ***************************
Slim Harpo’s 1966 R&B hit, “Shake Your Hips.”
It sounds like their arrangement came straight from his. Rolling Stones, “Shake Your Hips,” third song on side 1 of Exile on Main St, 1972.
************************ Stop Breaking Down ************************
The route from Robert Johnson’s “Stop Breaking Down” is more circuitous and less certain. First of all, parts of the melody appeared several songs before Robert Johnson’s 1937 recording (among his last recordings, made a year and two months before he died).
Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy (Minnie’s husband), “You Got to Move,” 1934 (not that “You Got to Move,” though; that’s Fred McDowell).
Buddy Moss, “Stop Hanging Around,” 1935.
Memphis Minnie , “Caught Me Wrong Again,” 1936 (this one sounds like the one Robert Johnson followed, right down to the inflections).
Robert Johnson, “Stop Breaking Down Blues” (take 1) recorded June 20, 1937, Dallas, Texas.
Robert Johnson, “Stop Breaking Down Blues” (take 2) recorded June 20, 1937, Dallas, Texas.
In 1945, James Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson (the first Sonny Boy Williamson) recorded “Stop Breaking Down” with Big Maceo (piano), Tampa Red (guitar), and Charles Sanders (drums) The song featured somewhat different lyrics, including the refrain “I don’t believe you really, really love me, I think you just like the way my music sounds.” Many subsequent Chicago blues musicians followed this version.
Baby Boy Warren, “Stop Breaking Down,” 1954 (the lyrics here follow Robert Johnson’s version).
Forest City Joe, “Stop Breaking Down,” 1959 (this one’s really got something going on that I like).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5wxEWfdqzQJunior Wells with Buddy Guy, “Stop Breaking Down,” from Coming at You, 1968.
Junior Wells with Buddy Guy, “Stop Breaking Down,” from Southside Blues Jam, 1970 (this is first song in a playlist of entire album).
Rolling Stones, “Stop Breaking Down,” called an “early mix” from July 1971.
Rolling Stones, “Stop Breaking Down,” second song on side 4 of Exile on Main St, 1972.
Eddie Taylor, “Stop Breaking Down,” from I Feel So Bad, the Blues of Eddie Taylor, June 1972 (a month after Exile was released).
The Nighthawks, “Stop Breakin’ Down” from Rock ’n’ Roll, 1944.
Jeff Healey, “Stop Breaking Down,” from Cover to Cover, 1995.
Eric Clapton, “Stop Breaking Down Blues,” live, 2004.
Mick Taylor, “Stop Breaking Down,” live, April 2012.
Lucinda Williams, “Stop Breaking Down,” live, March 2015 (song starts just after 1 minute in).
Todd Rundgren, ZZ Top, Widespread Panic, Phish, the Ramblers, Pussy Galore (as part of a song-by-song cover of the entire Exile album), the White Stripes, Black Joe Louis and the Honeybears, and hundreds of others do covers of “Stop Breaking Down.”
*************************** etc. ***************************
Although the song is completely different, the title “Sweet Black Angel” must come from Robert Nighthawk’s title (in 1930, Lucille Bogan recorded “Black Angel Blues”; Tampa Red recorded it again in 1934 with an arrangement that Robert Nighthawk followed when he recorded it and renamed it “Sweet Black Angel”). B.B. King’s “Sweet Little Angel” is basically Robert Nighthawk’s tune with a few changes.
Tampa Red, “Black Angel Blues,” 1934
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNLWmrjrwaERobert Nighthawk (vocal and guitar), Johnny Young (second guitar), Big John Wrencher (harmonica), “Sweet Black Angel,” Chicago, 1964 (this isn’t Robert Nighthawk’s first recording, but it’s one of my favorites)
Rolling Stones, “Sweet Black Angel,” third song on side 2 of Exile on Main St, 1972.
Don D.
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