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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

info The Grateful Dead, 1967
info The Grateful Dead / Anthem Of The Sun, 1976?
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 8, 1997
info Fallout From The Phil Zone, 1997
info Dick's Picks, Vol. 22, 2001
info The Golden Road (1965-1973), 2001
info The Grateful Dead, 2003 expanded CD
info The Birth Of The Dead, 2003

The Dead / Phil Lesh & Friends

info Mansfield, MA - June 22, The Dead, 2003
info St. Louis, MO - July 2, The Dead, 2003
info Morrison, CO - July 11, The Dead, 2003
info Morrison, CO - June 20, 2004, The Dead, 2004
info Sacramento, CA - June 27, 2004, The Dead, 2004
info St.Louis, MO - July 23, 2004, The Dead, 2004
info Camden, NJ - August 7, 2004, The Dead, 2004
info Instant Live: June 20, 2006, Nashville, TN, Phil Lesh & Friends, 2006
info Instant Live: June 27, 2006, Asheville, NC, Phil Lesh & Friends, 2006
info Instant Live: July 3, 2006, Hartford, CT, Phil Lesh & Friends, 2006
info Instant Live: July 12, 2006, Essex Junction, VT, Phil Lesh & Friends, 2006
info Instant Live: July 15, 2006, Indianapolis, IN, Phil Lesh & Friends, 2006
info 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
info See Reverse for Title, Jim Kweskin and The Jug Band, 1966
info Purple Gang Strikes, Purple Gang, 1968
info Panama Limited Jug Band, Panama Limited Jug Band, 1969
info Cannon's Jug Stompers: The Complete Works In Chronological Order 1927-1930, Cannon's Jug Stompers, 1975
info Great Jug Bands, 1926-34, Various Artists, 197?
info Jazz Tribune No. 51: Memphis Blues (1928 - 1930), Various Artists, 1984
info Crossroads Soundtrack, Ry Cooder, 1986
info The Complete Works: 1927-1930, Cannon's Jug Stompers, 1989
info Complete Recorded Works Vol 1 1927-1928, Gus Cannon, 1990
info Saturday Rolling Around, The GPs, 1991 (as Penitentiary Bound)
info Twilight Dance, Solar Circus, 1992
info Relix Bay Rock Shop No. 2, Various Artists (Solar Circus), 1992
info Blues Masters, Vol. 12, Memphis Blues, Various Artists, 1993
info Legendary 1928-30 Recordings, Gus Cannon and His Jug Stompers, 1994
info The World We Knew, Tav Falco's Panther Burns, 1994 (bonus track on CD)
info Music By Ry Cooder, Ry Cooder, 1995
info Art and Grit, Steve James, 1996
info Back! Back! Back!, Mad-Words, 1997
info My Rough and Rowdy Ways Volume 1, Various Artists, 1998
info Dead Delites, Vol. 2, Various Artists (Solar Circus), 1998
info Chasin' Gus' Ghost, John Sebastian And The J-Band, 1999
info Living Country Blues: An Anthology, Various Artists (Hammie Nixon), 1999
no info Chasing Rainbows, Double Decker String Band, 19??
info The Best of Cannon's Jug Stompers, Cannon's Jug Stompers, 2001
info The Roots Of The Grateful Dead & Jerry Garcia, Various Artists, 2001
info Roots of Ry Cooder, Various Artists, 2002
info When the Sun Goes Down, Vol. 2, Various Artists, 2002
info When the Sun Goes Down Box Set, Various Artists, 2002
info The Legendary 1928-1930 Recordings, Gus Cannon and His Jug Stompers / Sleepy John Estes, 2002
info Werewolves of Atlanta: Halloween 2004, Dark Star Orchestra, 2005
info Memphis Jug Band with Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, Memphis Jug Band / Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, 2005
info The Journey: Recordings 1965-2006, Ralph McTell, 2006

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
info Hills of Home: 25 Years of Folk Music on Rounder, Various Artists (Rory Block), 1995
info 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??

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