| "Roll and Tumble Blues" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single byHambone Willie Newbern | |
| Released | 1929 (1929) |
| Recorded | March 14, 1929, Atlanta, Georgia |
| Genre | Blues |
| Length | 3:03 |
| Label | Okeh |
| Songwriter | Unknown (Newbern credited on single) |
"Rollin' and Tumblin'" (or "Roll and Tumble Blues") is ablues standard first recorded by American singer-guitaristHambone Willie Newbern in 1929.[1] Called a "greatDelta blues classic", it has been interpreted by hundreds of Delta and Chicago blues artists, including well-known recordings byMuddy Waters.[2] Rock musicians usually follow Waters' versions, with the 1960s groupCream's rendition being perhaps the best known.
Hambone Willie Newbern recorded "Roll and Tumble Blues" on March 14, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia forOkeh Records. It shares several elements of "Minglewood Blues", first recorded in 1928 byGus Cannon's Jug Stompers.[3] Newbern's "Roll and Tumble Blues" is a solo piece with his vocal and slide-guitar accompaniment.
The song is performed in the key of A using an open tuning and an irregular number of bars[4] with an additional bar and a half at the end of each phrase. The tempo varies from an initial 140 beats per minute to a final 158 bpm.[4] A key feature of the song is that the first verse begins on the IV chord, rather than on the more usual I chord (e.g., in the key of A this would be the D chord rather than the A chord).[5] After the first two measures the IV chord resolves to the I chord. Often the IV chord moves to IV♭7 on the second measure or the last two beats of the second measure.[3]
The lyrics follow a standard blues AAB pattern and relate a failed relationship:
And I rolled and I tumbled and I cried the whole night long (2×)
And I rose this mornin' mama and I didn't know right from wrong ...
And I fold my arms lord and I walked away (2×)
Said "that's all right sweet mama your trouble gon' come some day"
"Roll and Tumble Blues" is one of six songs Newbern recorded during his only recording session. It was released before the advent ofrace records charts, however, it soon became "an oft-covered standard"[6] and Newbern's best-known song. In 1929,Okeh Records issued the song on a78 rpm record, backed with "Nobody Knows What the Good Deacon Says".
Robert Johnson adapted "Rollin' and Tumblin'" with the title "If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day" during his third recording session in San Antonio, Texas, in 1936.[7] Musically, his version is based on the original, but added new lyrics: "where Newbern sang about love, Robert sang about sex and power, combining his own fears of them with the fantasy of controlling them", according to biographers.[8] The song was not released until 1961, when it was included on the first Johnson compilation album,King of the Delta Blues Singers. He also based his "Traveling Riverside Blues" on Newbern's song.[8]
In 1950, Muddy Waters recorded two early versions of "Rollin' and Tumblin'". On a session for the Parkway label, he provided the guitar withLittle Walter on vocal and harmonica andBaby Face Leroy Foster on drums.[5] BiographerRobert Gordon described the performance as a "standout track [which] could have easily have disintegrated into an overenthused party record".[9] Parkway Records released the song as a two-part single (Part 1 backed with Part 2) and listed the artist as the Baby Face Leroy Trio.[10] In 2022, this recording was inducted into theBlues Hall of Fame in the "Classics of Blues Recording – Singles" category.[10]
ForAristocrat Records, Waters sang as well as played guitar with bass accompaniment byErnest "Big" Crawford.[9] Gordon called their version "exciting", but felt that it did not have the power or passion of the one with Walter and Foster.[9] In 1960,Elmore James recorded a different arrangement of the song[11] and a year later,Howlin' Wolf recorded "Down in the Bottom", which employed a new set of lyrics and is credited toWillie Dixon.[12]
Blues historian Edward Komara notes that subsequent versions by rock groups are based on the Muddy Waters versions, with the one recorded byCream for their debut album,Fresh Cream (1966) as "perhaps the best known".[5] A recording from May 1968 is included onLive Cream (1970), which is described in an album review as a "searing, rollicking high energy rendition".[13] As another noteworthy rendition, Komara includesthe Yardbirds' tribute "Drinking Muddy Water" and notes singerKeith Relf's harmonica playing on theLittle Games studio version andJimmy Page'sslide guitar solos on the live version that first appeared onLive Yardbirds: Featuring Jimmy Page (1971) (released by Page in 2017 asYardbirds '68).[5] Versions of "Rollin' and Tumblin'" byCanned Heat andJohnny Winter reached the extended singles charts and were included on their debut albums,Canned Heat (1967) andThe Progressive Blues Experiment (1968).[14][15]
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