Our Blues Roots: “Five Long Years,” Eddie Boyd

[Don D.]

Last Sunday was the anniversary of Ike Turner’s birthday, was thinking of posting this as an add-on to the last Blues Roots, but here it is instead. “Love My Baby” is the source of the second song, a rhythm that really caught my ear on this (starts just about 1:15 in). It occurs to me as I’m editing this that this song would be a good basis for a Blues Roots.

Here’s the earliest “Love My Baby” I could find, by Hayden Thompson, an early rockabilly hit. Hayden Thompson is still alive and playing at 79.

Thanks for checking this out. The next Blues Roots will appear on Thursday, November 23, 2017, which will be Thanksgiving, so I think I might do it a day earlier or later.

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Eddie Boyd was a composer, singer and pianist, born November 25, 1914 in Mississippi. He was known for many fine blues standards, including “Third Degree” and this week’s featured song “Five Long Years,” which he recorded for the first time in 1952.

This week’s subject occurred to me when I was looking at Keith’s Friday Night Blues selections from October 27 (that’s GnLguy). Steve Marriott did a great cover—when I heard it I wondered how many people knew the original with Ernest Cotton (tenor), L.C. McKinley (guitar), Alfred Elkins (bass), Percy Walker (drums), Chicago, June 19, 1952, or any of Eddie Boyd’s other versions.

Lord, have you ever been mistreated?
Then you got to know just what I’m talking about
Yes, have you ever been mistreated?
Then you got to know just what I’m talking about
Lord, I work five long years for one woman
And she had the nerve to kick me out.

I got a job at a steel mill, trucking steel just like a slave
Five long years, every Friday, y’all I went straight home, yeah I went straight home
Mistreated, then you got to know just what I’m talking about
Lord, I work five long years for one woman
And she had the nerve to kick me out.

Lord, but I finally learned a lesson,
I should have known long time ago
The next woman I marry, she gotta have two jobs
And she gotta go out and work long and bring some dough
Lord, said I’ve been mistreated
And you got to know just what I’m talking about
Lord, I work five long years for one woman
And she had the nerve to kick me out.

Have you ever been mistreated?
Then you got to, you got to know just what I’m talking about
Yes, have you ever been mistreated?
Then you got to know just what I’m talking about
Lord, I work five long years for one woman
And she had the nerve to kick me out.

I got a job at a steel mill, I’m trucking steel just like a slave
Five long years, every Friday yes y’all I went straight home
I went straight home with all my pay
Yes, I’ve been mistreated
And you got to know just what I’m talking about
Lord, I work five long years for one woman
And she had the nerve to kick me out.

Lord, I finally learned a lesson, I should have known a long time ago
The next woman I marry, she gotta have two jobs
And she gotta go out and work and bring home some dough
I’ve been mistreated, yeah,
And you know just what I’m talking about
I work five long years for one woman
And she had the nerves to put me out.

Here’s the flip.

He covered it many times thereafter.

Eddie Boyd (vocal, piano), Willie Cobbs (harp), Eddie King (guitar), Willie Jones (bass), Chick Evans (drums), Chicago, IL, December 1958.

Eddie Boyd (vocals, piano), Michael Bloomfield (guitar), Sutherland Lounge, Chicago, May 16, 1964. Eddie Boyd played with a lot of young white musicians, and Michael Bloomfield sought out and played with many black bluesmen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x-shC9UbUU

☆☆☆☆☆ Here’s a live version from 1965 at the American Folk Blues Festival, with Buddy Guy on guitar, Floyd Jones on bass and Fred Below on drums.

Below are two copies of Eddie Boyd’s 1966 album, named for “Five Long Years” (the title song and a couple others are missing from the first upload, almost certainly at the request of the entity holding the license; the second upload seems to be complete but probably isn’t available outside the U.S.). Buddy Guy also appeared on this album, and it seems like the song made a big impression on him as he’s recorded it many times since. Usually in the original key of C.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHF__TqBCIo&list=PLu-HnI81PQugf6MpH7tm3pC0ofTBI4ySc&index=1

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Willie B. Huff “‎I’ve Been Thinkin’ and Thinkin’” (flip side is “Beggar Man Blues,” directly below), 1954. This was written by Johnny Fuller , a California bluesman who you’ve got to hear (watch this space, I’ll make sure you get a chance); I was looking for his version but couldn’t find it.

Little Junior Parker, 1959

John Lee Hooker, (vocal, guitar), January 4, 1961

Muddy Waters (vocals, guitar), Otis Spann (piano), Willie Dixon (bass), Billy Stepney (drums), Bremen, Germany, October 13th, 1963

Muddy Waters, studio recording, released on 45, “Twenty-Four Hours” on flip, 1963

Frank Frost , Arthur “Oscar” Williams (vocals, harmonica), Big Jack Johnson (guitar), Chip Young (bass), Sam Carr (drums), recorded Music City, Nashville, March 9, 1966, released on Ride With Your Daddy Tonight, 1985. Everyone on this record is great; the core people also recorded as the Night Hawks (name is a takeoff on Robert Nighthawk ’s name; he is Sam Carr’s father) and the Jelly Roll Kings.

B.B. King from The Jungle, 1967

B.B. King and Johnny Winter, Newport Jazz Festival, July 6, 1969

Buddy Guy, Buddy And The Juniors, with Junior Wells and Junior Mance, New York, December 18, 1969

Luther Allison (vocals, guitar), from Love Me Mama with Robert “Big Mojo” Elem (bass) Bobby Davis (drums), Chicago, June 24 or 25, 1969.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5AazN8P4Qw

John Lee Hooker (vocals, guitar) from Free Beer and Chicken, Joe Cocker (vocals, tambourine), Sam Rivers (flute), Jim Kahr, Wah-Wah Watson (guitar), Clifford Coulter (piano, bass), Ron Beck (drums), 1974. This is as close as John Lee came to making something like Electric Mud.

Freddie King (vocals, guitar) from Getting Ready, Don Preston (guitar), Leon Russell (producer, piano), Jon Gallie (organ), Donald “Duck” Dunn (bass), Charles Myers, Chuck Blackwell (drums), 1971

Jimmy Dawkins (at 34:39 on the album) from Live from Montreux, Blues Night , 1972. The song before this is also by Jimmy Dawkins.

B.B. King from Guess Who, 1972. This was also released on a 45 as the B side of his cover of the Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Summer in the City.”

B.B. King, great version—don’t know where or when this one is from but it’s live and they call it the “weeping version”; it seems like he’s sniffling as a kind of humorous dramatization. If you know where this is from, please let me and everyone know.

Little Joe Blue (vocal, guitar), from American Blues Legends, Martin Stone (guitar), Bob Hall (piano), Harvey Weston (bass), Pete York (drums), live at the Club 100, London, UK, May 5 & 6, 1975

Mighty Joe Young (vocals, guitar) from Bluesy Josephine, Ken Sajdak (piano), Cornelius Boyson (bass), Willie Hayes (drums), Condorcet Studio, Toulouse, France, November 28, 1976

Muddy Waters with Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson, so it’s between 1972 and 1980.

Muddy Waters, Chicagofest, 1981. I was here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk4Fe1Iwjf4

Sonny Rodgers (vocal, guitar), 1987

Buddy Guy, 1987
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2TwxSXoVK8

Buddy Guy from ‎ Damn Right, I’ve Got The Blues, 1991

Buddy Guy & his Blues Band (15 long minutes), keyboard player is Tony Zamagni, Bern, Switzerland, May 2, 2000

Willie Cobbs (vocal, harp) from Jukin’, 2000. Willie Cobbs wrote the oft-covered “You Don’t Love Me”—one of the riffs of all time.

Byther Smith from Smitty’s Blues, 2001

Lurrie Bell’s Chicago Blues Band (vocals, guitar), Eddie Taylor Jr. (guitar), Joe Thomas (bass) and Kenny Smith (drums), Geneva Blues Summit, Switzerland, November 4, 2006.

Blues from the White House (personnel listed at video), 2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-jSaBg9_M4

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Another early Eddie Boyd masterpiece with haunting guitar by the great Lee Cooper (don’t know the other personnel).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIvPaB34w7I

Here’s a Blues Unlimited radio show devoted to Lee Cooper. This is an always-great show.

Don D.

[San Luis Rey]

Eddie recorded that classic the year i was born! Clapton’s version on “From the Cradle” is my favorite.

Mike

[NeilH]

Thanks for posting Don D.
A little googling tells me that Eddie Boyd also wrote “24 hours” which as far as I remember is the first blues song I ever heard (and still just about my favourite). The version I heard was by Champion Jack Dupree on an album called Raw Blues which my brother had.

[NeilH]

Here’s the youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNdua-8IUps

[Don D.]

Thanks to everyone who checked this out, and thank you especially Mike and Neil for your comments.

Neil, you have a good memory. I don’t have a clear memory of that in my own life but I sure wish I did. Great song too. I like the way the album it’s on, Raw Blues, included a healthy helping of genuine blues with Champion Jack Dupree ans Otis Spann alongside the English blues, exposing people who bought it for the rock version to the real deal.

Here’s Eddie Boyd’s 1953 original for anyone whose curiosity might be awakened by your comment.
https://youtu.be/2TKBLp6qew0

Don D.

[Don D.]

Here’s a really beautiful version of “Five Long Years” with band leader, singer, lead guitarist/soloist Luther Tucker.

Don D.

[richard t]

Thanks Don. One song I have always loved. Eddy Boyd in 1990 has a real nice version. Very good.

[Author]

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