Grateful Dead Family Discography: Viola Lee Blues

Viola Lee Blues

Composer: Noah Lewis

Written by Noah Lewis who was a member of Cannon's Jug Stompers. Some recordings of the song use the title Penitentiary Bound.

Many of the lyrics of Viola Lee Blues also occur in the similar song Joliet Bound, which is usually credited to Kansas Joe McCoy and which also appears to have been first recorded around 1929/30. It is possible that both songs derived from an earlier song or family of songs.

The Grateful Dead performed the song live between 1966 and 1970. Brief film of the Grateful Dead pplaying Viola Lee Blues can be seen in the 1968 movie Petulia and in the 1990's documentary Berkeley In The Sixties.

Grateful Dead recordings

The Grateful Dead, 1967
The Grateful Dead / Anthem Of The Sun, 1976?
Dick's Picks, Vol. 8, 1997
Fallout From The Phil Zone, 1997
Dick's Picks, Vol. 22, 2001
The Golden Road (1965-1973), 2001
The Grateful Dead, 2003 expanded CD
The Birth Of The Dead, 2003
Rhino Hi-Five: The Grateful Dead, Grateful Dead, 2005
Road Trips: Vol 2, Number 2: Feb 14, 1968, Carousel Ballroom, 2009
Road Trips: Vol 2, Number 2: Feb 14, 1968, Carousel Ballroom Bonus CD, Grateful Dead, 2009

The Dead

Mansfield, MA, June 22, 2003
St. Louis, MO, July 2, 2003
Morrison, CO, July 11, 2003
Morrison, CO, June 20, 2004
Sacramento, CA, June 27, 2004
St.Louis, MO, July 23, 2004
Camden, NJ, August 7, 2004
Dead ’09: Albany, NY, April 17, 2009
Dead ’09: Hartford, CT, April 26, 2009
Dead ’09: Los Angeles, CA, May 9, 2009

Phil Lesh & Friends

Instant Live: June 20, 2006, Nashville, TN, Phil Lesh & Friends, 2006
Instant Live: June 27, 2006, Asheville, NC, Phil Lesh & Friends, 2006
Instant Live: July 3, 2006, Hartford, CT, Phil Lesh & Friends, 2006
Instant Live: July 12, 2006, Essex Junction, VT, Phil Lesh & Friends, 2006
Instant Live: July 15, 2006, Indianapolis, IN, Phil Lesh & Friends, 2006
Instant Live: July 19, 2006, Kansas City, MO, Phil Lesh & Friends, 2006

Other recordings

no info Victor V-38523 (w/ Heart Breakin' Blues), Cannon's Jug Stompers, 1928
See Reverse for Title, Jim Kweskin and The Jug Band, 1966
Purple Gang Strikes, Purple Gang, 1968
Panama Limited Jug Band, Panama Limited Jug Band, 1969
Cannon's Jug Stompers: The Complete Works In Chronological Order 1927-1930, Cannon's Jug Stompers, 1975
Great Jug Bands, 1926-34, Various Artists, 197?
Jazz Tribune No. 51: Memphis Blues (1928 - 1930), Various Artists, 1984
Crossroads Soundtrack, Ry Cooder, 1986
The Complete Works: 1927-1930, Cannon's Jug Stompers, 1989
Complete Recorded Works Vol 1 1927-1928, Gus Cannon, 1990
Saturday Rolling Around, The GPs, 1991 (as Penitentiary Bound)
Twilight Dance, Solar Circus, 1992
Relix Bay Rock Shop No. 2, Various Artists (Solar Circus), 1992
Blues Masters, Vol. 12, Memphis Blues, Various Artists, 1993
Legendary 1928-30 Recordings, Gus Cannon and His Jug Stompers, 1994
The World We Knew, Tav Falco's Panther Burns, 1994 (bonus track on CD)
Music By Ry Cooder, Ry Cooder, 1995
Art and Grit, Steve James, 1996
Back! Back! Back!, Mad-Words, 1997
My Rough and Rowdy Ways Volume 1, Various Artists, 1998
Dead Delites, Vol. 2, Various Artists (Solar Circus), 1998
Chasin' Gus' Ghost, John Sebastian And The J-Band, 1999
Living Country Blues: An Anthology, Various Artists (Hammie Nixon), 1999
no info Chasing Rainbows, Double Decker String Band, 19??
The Best of Cannon's Jug Stompers, Cannon's Jug Stompers, 2001
The Roots Of The Grateful Dead & Jerry Garcia, Various Artists, 2001
Roots of Ry Cooder, Various Artists, 2002
When the Sun Goes Down, Vol. 2, Various Artists, 2002
When the Sun Goes Down Box Set, Various Artists, 2002
The Legendary 1928-1930 Recordings, Gus Cannon and His Jug Stompers / Sleepy John Estes, 2002
Werewolves of Atlanta: Halloween 2004, Dark Star Orchestra, 2005
Memphis Jug Band with Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, Memphis Jug Band / Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, 2005
The Journey: Recordings 1965-2006, Ralph McTell, 2006
The Roots of the Grateful Dead, Various Artists, 2008

Unless otherwise indicated all various artists compilations listed above include the Cannon's Jug Stompers version of Viola Lee Blues.

As Some Got Six Months

no info Angola Prisoners' Blues, Various Artists, 1996

Versions of Joliet Bound can be found on the following recordings;

no info Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 3, 1931-32, Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy, 1991
no info When A Woman Gets The Blues, Rory Block, 1995
Hills of Home: 25 Years of Folk Music on Rounder, Various Artists (Rory Block), 1995
The Real Music Box: Rounder Records 25th Anniversary, Various Artists (Rory Block), 1995
no info Queen of the Blues, Memphis Minnie, 1997
no info Gone Woman Blues, Rory Block, 1997
no info Tommy Johnson & Associates, Tommy Johnson, 1999
no info Every Road I Take: The Best of Contemporary Acoustic Blues, Various Artists, 1999
no info Best of Kansas Joe, Vol. 1, 1929-35, Kansas Joe McCoy, 19??
no info Memphis Jamborree, Various Artists (Kansas Joe McCoy), 19??