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Rollin' And Tumblin'

Composer: Traditional

Grateful Dead

No Grateful Dead recordings.

Phil Lesh & Friends

info 10/28/2016, Port Chester, NY, 2016

Others

no info Hambone Willie Newbern, 1929
no info Single, Baby Face Leroy, 1950
no info Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon, 1959
no info Elmore James, 1960
info The Real Folk Blues, Muddy Waters, 1965
no info Classic Delta Blues, Big Joe Williams, 1966
no info Fresh Cream, Cream, 1966
no info Canned Heat, Canned Heat, 1967
no info The Anthology of British Blues - Me and the Devil, Various Artists (Jo-Anne Kelly), 1968
no info After the Rain, Muddy Waters, 1969
no info Elmore James, Elmore James, 1969
no info The Progressive Blues Experiment, Johnny Winter, 1969
no info Gentrys, Gentrys, 1970
no info McKinley Morganfield A.K.A. Muddy Waters, Muddy Waters, 1971
no info Old Times New Times, Memphis Slim, 1972
no info Bound To Sing The Blues, Sparky Rucker, 1972
no info Malpractice, Dr. Feelgood, 1975
no info Old Time Music - It's All Around, Bruce Hutton, 1978
no info One Way Out, Elmore James, 1980
no info Wizards from the South Side - Various Artists (Muddy Waters), 1982
no info Mississippi Blues, Rural L Burnside, 1984
info The Chess Box, Muddy Waters, 1990
no info Alone and Acoustic, Buddy Guy/Junior Wells, 1991
no info Muddy Waters Anthology, 1991
no info Unplugged, Eric Clapton, 1992
no info Monterey International Pop Festival Box Set, Various Artists (Canned Heat), 1992
no info Complete Recordings 1951-1967, Howlin' Wolf, 1993
no info Rollin' and Tumblin', Various Artists (Muddy Waters), 199?
no info Roll and Tumble Blues, The Essential Recordings of Slide Guitar Blues, Various Artists (Hambone Willie Newbern), 199?
info Modern Times, Bob Dylan, 2006
info Unplugged Tribute To Bob Dylan, Stewart Michaels, 2007
info The Roots Of Bob Dylan, Various Artists (Muddy Waters), 2009
no info The Roots of Led Zeppelin, Various Artists (Muddy Waters), 2009

Notes

Rollin' and Tumblin' is a member of a family of blues songs that goes back well before blues recording began in the early to mid '20's. The first known recording by Hambone Willie Newbern varies somewhat from the song performed by the Dead but there are clear similarities in the melody and lyrics. Here are some of the lyrics from the Newbern version;

An' I rolled an' I tumbled an' I cried the whole night long,
An' I rolled an' I tumbled an' I cried the whole night long,
An' I rolled this mornin' and I didn't know right from wrong.

Did you ever wake up and find your dough roller gone,
Did you ever wake up and find your dough roller gone,
And you wring your hands and you cry the whole day long.

An' I told my woman Lord before I left the town
An' I told my woman before I left the town
Don't you let nobody tear her barrelhouse down.

The song has been adapted by other blues performers to produce new songs. Sleepy John Estes used Newbern's tune for his The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair. The Newbern song was also adapted by Robert Johnson as If I Had Possesion Over Judgement Day which contains verses such as;
And I rolled and I tumbled and I cried the whole night long,
And I rolled and I tumbled and I cried the whole night long,
Boy I woke up this morning, my biscuit-roller gone.
Recordings of this can be found on most Robert Johnson collections.

It is the original Newbern version though that seems to have provided further inspiration for blues performers through the years. Elmore James had a hit with Rollin' and Tumblin' in 1960. Writing credit for recent recordings of the song are often given to Muddy Waters but the first recording of the song involving Waters was that made by Leroy Foster in 1951;

I rolled and I tumbled baby, cried the whole night long,
I rolled and I tumbled baby, cried the whole night long,
Well now I woke up this morning baby, all I had is gone.

Yes I know my baby she going to jump and shout,
Yes I know my baby she going to jump and shout,
Now when the train rolls up and baby come walkin' out.