| "Baby, Please Don't Go" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single byJoe Williams' Washboard Blues Singers | |
| B-side | "Wild Cow Blues" |
| Released | 1935 (1935) |
| Recorded | Chicago, October 31, 1935 |
| Genre | Blues |
| Length | 3:22 |
| Label | Bluebird |
| Songwriter | Traditional (J. Williams credited on record) |
| Producer | Lester Melrose |
| Official audio | |
| "Baby, Please Don't Go" onYouTube | |
"Baby, Please Don't Go" is a traditionalblues song that was popularized byDelta blues musicianBig Joe Williams in 1935. Many cover versions followed, leading to its description as "one of the most played, arranged, and rearranged pieces in blues history" by French music historian Gérard Herzhaft.
After World War II,Chicago blues andrhythm and blues artists adapted the song to newer music styles. In 1952, adoo-wop version bythe Orioles reached the top ten on the R&B chart. In 1953,Muddy Waters recorded the song as an electric Chicago-ensemble blues piece, which influenced many subsequent renditions. By the early 1950s, the song became ablues standard.
In the 1960s, "Baby, Please Don't Go" became a popularrock song after the Northern Irish groupThem recorded it in 1964.Jimmy Page, a studio guitarist at the time, participated in the recording session, possibly onrhythm guitar. Subsequently, Them's uptempo rock arrangement also made it a rock standard.Paul Revere & The Raiders,AC/DC,Aerosmith,John Mellencamp,Amboy Dukes, and Welshpower trioBudgie are among the rock groups who have recorded the song. "Baby, Please Don't Go" has been inducted into both theBlues andRock and Roll Halls of Fame.
"Baby, Please Don't Go" is likely an adaptation of "Long John", an old folk theme that dates back to the time ofslavery in the United States.[1] Blues researcher Paul Garon notes that the melody is based on "Alabamy Bound", composed byTin Pan Alley writerRay Henderson, with lyrics byBuddy DeSylva andBud Green in 1925.[2][a] The song, avaudeville show tune, inspired several other songs between 1925 and 1935, such as "Elder Greene Blues", "Alabama Bound", and "Don't You Leave Me Here".[2][3] These variants were recorded byCharlie Patton,Lead Belly,Monette Moore,Henry Thomas, andTampa Red.[2]
Author Linda Dahl suggests a connection to a song with the same title byMary Williams Johnson in the late 1920s and early 1930s.[4] However, Johnson, who was married to jazz-influenced blues guitaristLonnie Johnson, never recorded it and her song is not discussed as influencing later performers.[1][3][5] Blues researcherJim O'Neal notes that Williams "sometimes said that the song was written by his wife, singerBessie Mae Smitha.k.a. Blue Belle and St. Louis Bessie."[3]
Big Joe Williams used an imprisonment theme for his October 31, 1935, recording of "Baby, Please Don't Go". He recorded it during his first session forLester Melrose andBluebird Records in Chicago.[3] It is an ensemble piece with Williams on vocal and guitar accompanied by Dad Tracy on one-string fiddle and Chasey "Kokomo" Collins onwashboard, who are listed as "Joe Williams' Washboard Blues Singers" on the single.[3] Musical notation for the song indicates a moderate-tempo fifteen-bar blues in 4/4 orcommon time in thekey of B flat.[6][b] As with many Delta blues songs of the era, it remains on thetonic chord (I) throughout without the progression to thesubdominant (IV) ordominant (V) chords.[6] The lyrics express a prisoner's anxiety about his lover leaving before he returns home:[8]
Now baby please don't go, now baby please don't go
Baby please don't go back to New Orleans, and get your cold ice cream
I believe there's a man done gone, I believe there's a man done gone
I believe there's a man done gone to the county farm, with a long chain on
The song became a hit and established Williams' recording career.[9] On December 12, 1941, he recorded a second version titled "Please Don't Go" in Chicago for Bluebird, with a more modern arrangement and lyrics.[10] Blues historian Gerard Herzhaft calls it "the most exciting version",[1] which Williams recorded using his trademarknine-string guitar. Accompanying him areSonny Boy Williamson I on harmonica and Alfred Elkins on imitation bass (possibly awashtub bass).[11] Since both songs appeared before recording industry publications began tracking such releases, it is unknown which version was more popular. In 1947, he recorded it forColumbia Records with Williamson andRansom Knowling on bass and Judge Riley on drums.[2] This version did not reach theBillboard Race Records chart,[12] but represents a move toward a more urban blues treatment of the song.
Big Joe Williams' various recordings inspired other blues musicians to record their interpretations of the song[13] and it became ablues standard.[1] Early examples includePapa Charlie McCoy as "Tampa Kid" (1936),Leonard "Baby Doo" Caston (1939),Lightnin' Hopkins — called "Back to New Orleans" (1947),John Lee Hooker (1949), andBig Bill Broonzy (1952).[14] By the early 1950s, the song was reworked in contemporary musical styles, with an earlyrhythm and blues/jump blues version byBilly Wright (1951),[1] a harmonizeddoo-wop version bythe Orioles (a number eight R&B hit in 1952),[c][d] and anAfro-Cuban-influenced rendition by Rose Mitchell (1954).[1]Mose Allison recorded the tune in his jazz-blues piano style for the albumTransfiguration of Hiram Brown (1960).[17]
In 1953,Muddy Waters recast the song as a Chicago-blues ensemble piece withLittle Walter andJimmy Rogers.[18]Chess Records originally issued the single with the title "Turn the Lamp Down Low", although the song is also referred to as "Turn Your Lamp Down Low",[3] "Turn Your Light Down Low",[14] or "Baby Please Don't Go".[e] He regularly played the song, several performances were recorded. Live versions appear onMuddy Waters at Newport 1960 and onLive at the Checkerboard Lounge, Chicago 1981 with members ofthe Rolling Stones.[19]AllMusic critic Bill Janovitz cites the influence of Waters' adaptation:
The most likely link between the Williams recordings and all the rock covers that came in the 1960s and 1970s would be the Muddy Waters 1953 Chess side, which retains the same swinging phrasing as the Williams takes, but the session musicians beef it up with a steady driving rhythm section, electrified instruments and Little Walter Jacobs wailing on blues harp.[20]
Moses Allison recorded a jazzy version on his album Mose Allison Takes To the Hills (Epic, 1962).
| "Baby, Please Don't Go" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byThem | ||||
| B-side | "Gloria" | |||
| Released |
| |||
| Recorded | October 1964 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:40 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter | Traditional (J. Williams credited on record) | |||
| Producer | Bert Berns | |||
| Them singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Baby Please Don't Go" was one of the earliest songs recorded byThem, fronted by a 19-year-oldVan Morrison. Their rendition of the song was derived from a version recorded by John Lee Hooker in 1949 as "Don't Go Baby".[21][f] Hooker's song later appeared on a 1959 album,Highway of Blues, which Van Morrison heard and felt was "something really unique and different" with "more soul" than he had previously heard.[21]
Them recorded "Baby, Please Don't Go" forDecca Records in October 1964. Besides Morrison, there is conflicting information about who participated in the session. In addition to the group's original members (guitarist Billy Harrison, bassist Alan Henderson, drummer Ronnie Millings and keyboard playerEric Wrixon), others have been suggested: Pat McAuley on keyboards, Bobby Graham on a second drum kit,Jimmy Page on guitar,[22] andPeter Bardens on keyboards.[23] As Page biographer George Case notes, "There is a dispute over whether it is Page's piercing blues line that defines the song, if he only played a run Harrison had already devised, or if Page only backed up Harrison himself".[24] Morrison has acknowledged Page's participation in the early sessions: "He playedrhythm guitar on one thing and doubled a bass riff on the other"[25] and Morrison biographerJohnny Rogan notes that Page "doubled the distinctive riff already worked out by Billy Harrison".[25]
Janovitz identifies the riff as "the backbone of the arrangement" and describes Henderson's contribution as an "amphetamine-rush, pulsing two-note bass line."[20][g] Music criticGreil Marcus comments that during the song's quieter middle passage "the guitarist, session player Jimmy Page or not, seems to be feeling his way into another song, flipping half-riffs, high, random, distracted metal shavings".[26][h] Them's blues rock arrangement is "now regarded justly as definitive", according to music writer Alan Clayson.[28]
Decca released "Baby, Please Don't Go" as Them's second single on November 6, 1964.[22] With the B-side, "Gloria", it became their first hit, reaching number ten on theUK Singles Chart in February 1965.[29] In the US, the single was released byParrot Records.[30] On March 20,Billboard magazine first listed the song on its extended "Bubbling Under the Hot 100" chart,[31] where it eventually peaked at number 102 on April 24.[32] The single fared better on the West Coast, where both songs topped the weekly Top 40 playlists for Los Angeles radio stationsKRLA andKFWB.[33][i]Cash Box described it as "a funky, hard-driving pleader that the fellas rock out with telling effect".[36]
The song was not included on Them's original British or American albums (The Angry Young Them (1965) andThem Again). Later, it was included on several compilation albums, such asThe Best of Van Morrison (1990) andThe Story of Them Featuring Van Morrison (1997).[37] In 1990, Them's version appeared on the soundtrack of theDavid Lynch filmWild at Heart.[38] The appearance prompted a reissue in the UK, where the single reached number 65 in the chart.[29] Van Morrison also accompanied John Lee Hooker during a 1992 performance, where Hooker sings and plays "Baby, Please Don't Go" on guitar while sitting on a dock, with harmonica backing by Morrison; it was released on the 2004Come See About Me Hooker DVD.[39]
| "Baby, Please Don't Go" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byAC/DC | ||||
| from the albumHigh Voltage | ||||
| A-side | "Love Song (Oh Jene)" | |||
| Released | February 1975 (1975-02) | |||
| Recorded | November 1974 | |||
| Studio | Albert, Sydney | |||
| Genre | Blues rock | |||
| Length | 4:47 | |||
| Label | Albert | |||
| Songwriter | Traditional (Williams credited) | |||
| Producers | ||||
| AC/DC singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Baby, Please Don't Go" was a feature ofAC/DC's live shows since their beginning.[40] Although they have expressed their interest and inspiration in early blues songs,[41] music writerMick Wall identifies Them's adaptation of the song as the likely source.[42] In November 1974,Angus Young,Malcolm Young, andBon Scott recorded it for their 1975 Australian debut album,High Voltage.[41]Tony Currenti is sometimes identified as the drummer for the song, although he suggests that it had been already recorded byPeter Clack.[43] Wall notes that producerGeorge Young played bass for most of the album,[42] althoughRob Bailey claims that many of the album's tracks were recorded with him.[44]
High Voltage and a single with "Baby, Please Don't Go" were released simultaneously in Australia in February 1975.[44][j]Albert Productions issued it as the single's B-side. However, the A-side "Love Song (Oh Jene)" was largely ignored and "Baby, Please Don't Go" began receiving airplay.[42] The single entered the chart at the end of March 1975[45] and peaked at number 10 in April.[46] AllMusic critic Eduardo Rivadavia called the song "positively explosive",[47] while music writer Dave Rubin described it as "primal blues rock".[48]
On March 23, 1975, one month after drummerPhil Rudd and bassistMark Evans joined AC/DC, the group performed the song for the first time (this performance would also be repeated on April 6 and 27, which is why there is often conflicting dates for this performance) on the Australian music programCountdown.[49][50] For their appearance, "Angus wore his trade mark schoolboy uniform while Scott took the stage wearing a wig of blonde braids, a dress, make-up, and earrings", according to author Heather Miller.[49]Joe Bonomo describes Scott as "a dementedPippi Longstocking", and Perkins notes his "tattoos and a disturbingly short skirt."[41] Evans describes the reaction:
As soon as his vocals are about to begin he comes out from behind the drums dressed as a schoolgirl. And it was like a bomb went off in the joint; it was pandemonium, everybody broke out in laughter. [Scott] had a wonderful sense of humor.[49]
Scott mugs for the camera and, during the guitar solo/vocal improvization section, he lights a cigarette as he duels with Angus with a green mallet. Rudd laughs throughout the performance.[50] Although "Baby, Please Don't Go" was a popular part of AC/DC's performances (often as the closing number), the song was not released internationally until their 1984 compilationEP'74 Jailbreak.[41] The video from theCountdown show is included on 2005'sFamily Jewels DVD compilation.
Aerosmith recorded "Baby, Please Don't Go" for their blues cover album,Honkin' on Bobo, which was released on March 30, 2004.[51] The album was produced byJack Douglas, who had worked on the group's earlier albums, and reflects a return to theirhard rock roots.[51]Billboard magazine describes the song as "the kind of straight-ahead, hard-driving track that always typified the band's [1970s] records".[52]Edna Gundersen ofUSA Today called their version a "terrific revival."[53] It was the first single to be released from the album and reached number seven on theMainstream Rock Tracks chart.[54] A music video, directed by Mark Haefeli, was produced to promote the single.[55] Subsequently, the song has become a staple of the band's concert repertoire.[56][57]
"Baby, Please Don't Go" is recognized as ablues standard, including by French blues historianGérard Herzhaft [fr], who described it as "one of the most played, arranged, and rearranged pieces in blues history".[1] TheRock and Roll Hall of Fame included Big Joe Williams' rendition in list of "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".[58] In 1992, Williams' song was inducted into theBlues Foundation Hall of Fame in the "Classics of Blues Recordings" category.[3] Writing for the Foundation,Jim O'Neal noted that, in addition to various blues recordings, "the song was revived in revved-up fashion by rock bands in the '60s such as Them,the Amboy Dukes, andTen Years After".[3]
In 1967, the Amboy Dukes recorded the song for theirself-titled debut album. An album review mentions Them's version, but adds that the Amboy Dukes' "Ted Nugent and the boys totally twist it to their point-of-view, even tossing a completeJimi Hendrix [guitar line from "Third Stone from the Sun"] nick into the mix."[59] Released as a single, it reached number 106 onBillboard's extended "Bubbling Under the Hot 100" chart.[60] In 1969, Ten Years After included some lyrics from "Baby, Please Don't Go" during their performance of "I'm Going Home" at theWoodstock festival in Bethel, New York.[61]Alvin Lee's 10-minute guitar workout was a highlight of the event's1970 documentary film,[62] which "would cement their reputation for decades to come".[63]
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