
Dock Boggs: Country Blues [1927]
The psychic intensity of this recording is insane. From the first second, you're hypnotized. It's eerie. Other highlights include the lyrics, Dock kicking ass on the banjo, and the title. Who says "ooh!" after the line "Sweet heaven when I die"?
Some background on the song, from the liner notes:
"Homer Crawford, the itinerant photographer and musician from Tennessee, taught the song to Dock as
Hustling Gamblers, probably around 1914. Dock added verses of his own...
Hustling Gamblers and
Darling Cory belong to the same lyric and tune family, one that has been around in the Southern mountains for over a century. The family of tunes probably originates late in the 19th century and belongs to the then developing tradition of white blues ballads. Dock's tune differs from the common versions..."
There are some fascinating (and scary) stories about Dock's life on
The Celestial Monochord, from which I also nicked this photo of Dock, age 9 (in 1907).
This song is available on the Dock Boggs collection
Country Blues as well as the legendary
Anthology Of American Folk Music.
recorded in New York City