Drop Down Mama - "Sleepy" John Estes.

[Winters362]

Robert Plant was a huge fan of John Estes, he even wanted his voice... Custards Pie would be more of a "tribute" as often in blues music artist would "cover" each others music without asking...after all its about the music not the money right?

[dreacul]

Such a great song!!!!!

Respects from Romania!

[midtrain1981]

nice



[beelzabubba]

L&ter known &s "Cust&rd Pie" by Led Zeppelin. My (letter before B) key don't work.

[JimiHendrixFeyenoord]

real blues story

[punketoxtremo]

solo los mejores

[bassmule]

Woman I'm lovin' whoa, 'n' she's solid gold/Only woman I mortgage on my soul.

[bluesman769]

CLASSIC OF THE BLUES!



[sackasilver]

I just added an old magazine to my collection with Sleepy John Estes on the cover with a great interview inside. It's for sale at guitarpulp com I love these old blues recordings.

[woodbell67]

He looks like he's crazy

[supergriz1949]

John spent practically his entire life in Brownsville, TN. And to MoleDFigg, the locals (I am one of 'em) pronounce it ESStuss. In my earlier banking career, I was a teller at the former Brownsville Bank. Both Sleepy John Estes and Hammie Nixon came to my window for banking service. John didn't have much to say, but Hammie would talk your ear off. I miss Hammie; he was a real character.

[siderealspace]

"I may look like I'm crazy, but I do know right from wrong".

[lordkoos]

Some of the descendants of these musician are still alive, and they should be getting any royalties from the material... unfortunately some unscrupulous scum have recently copyrighted tunes which fell into the public domain over time. Google "Steven LeVere" sometime.

[clappzzz]

If you take the main riff and you take the lyrics, you've taken the song. I don't care if it's public domain or not. Searching on the web, I see David Crosby gets credit for Drop Down Mama...give me a break. And Bob Dylan wrote Shenandoah.

[pmay222]

sounds like "rory gallagher"

[steveshowse]

Influence is one thing, just tell people where you heard it or learned it. Don't flat out rip it off and not even give a hat tip, that is straight thievery and Zepplin were the kings of that. pretentious wankerz...

[mcp666]

All this talk of 'ripping off' bores me silly. There are times when 'ripping off' is blatant and times when influence should be credited but in general, most songs sound like some other song somewhere, live with it. Custard Pie rips off Drop Down Mama and Shake em Down apparently, except that it don't cos it sounds much more original than that. It uses "Shake 'em on down" and "Drop down Baby" in its lyrics probably as a direct reference to show where the influence come from?

[lynettekomidar]

@mcp666  the thing is some of these musicians were still alive when their music was ripped off .. band made a mint ... originator zilch. I'd whinge

[mcp666]

It almost as daft as accusing Stock, Aitken & Waterman of ripping off Pachabel with virtually every 80's pop hit they put out. I'm not a Zep fan or a Blues afficiando and it would be very easy for me to generalise with a sweeping statement and say "most Delta Blues songs sound the same anyway." It would also be very satisfying for me to say "Zeppelin were not unique or even very original." but both statements would be shallow and ignorant. Appreciate the roots & admire what talent done with it.

[zodiacbluesbaby]

It's mostly lawyers complaining about Led Zep ripping off old blues artists, when their copyright was probably already stolen years ago.

[zed0469]

@zodiacbluesbaby ... most of those old blues and spiritual songs are public domain now. The original composer has long since been dead. But, most of the time when musicians use this old music, they put Traditional: Arranged by " .... " Led Zeppelin never did that.

[bluestate69]

@zed0469 it's messed up that they didn't credit the originals. in zep's defense, the music and the riff are original. even if they did credit the original artist, the royalties probably would have gone to a record company instead of the families. which really sucks. what people forget, is that these same artists never saw the money, even if they had a recording contract.

[buffalobilly]

this man had an exceptional voice, almost like crying.

[clean3]

Died in '77; that's not that long ago....but being 17 years old then, I was completely unaware of a lot of these people, the last of a generation of delta bluesmen....I wish I had been more switched on.

[ncooke24]

everyone got famous off a black mans song.. the stones, the who, elvis, dylan, lennon, zeppelin, the doors.. ect.. need proof message me. i'm a white musicologist and real blues came from some pour black man who never got a dime or credit. look it up!

[Gargansieber]

@ncooke24

I'll wager that without those bands ripping off these great blues musicians they would have either quit and got real jobs or died and had their music go without the recognition it gets today, so I'm glad that popular acts like Led Zeppelin, Cream, The Stones, and The Doors did these numbers and turned loads of people on to the older stuff, who'd know Memphis Minnie today without them? or Bukka White? Maybe even Robert Johnson!

[ncooke24]

@Gargansieber you wouldn't hear of many artists due the the lack of advancements in technology. ever listen to a radio station that is playing the greatest hits for the 20's 30's 40's and today? mainstream media is what is pushing most of these songs on radio. i happen to like blues music, and anyone who like a type of music will most likely educate themselves on how is started. we can find who made a song easy today. 10 years ago is was harder. artists pawned songs off as their own

[lynettekomidar]

@Gargansieber most credited their work to the originals, that is how I began my blues history music research. However, Zep didn't..

[alydar21]

Steppenwolf has a version, I forget which album.

[wfriverrats]

@alydar21 : In the song "Ball Crusher" on the album "Steppenwolf 7", the opening lyric is "Drop down mama, let your bossman see,if you can howl just like a dog for me".....is that what you're thinking of? (But they never recorded this actual song, Kay just lifted a lyric.)

[copperkick]

I am same town Sleepy John lived in. I played blues harp with him on his porch one night , He was blind and said he could not believe I was a white girl. Liked my blues harp playing. Brownsville Tn. Miss ole sleep John.

[copperkick]

I lived in the same town with Sleepy John. Played some blues harp for him on his porch one night. He couldn't believe I am a white girl. He was blind and his neice about 12 yrs old led him around town -Brownsville Tn.

[KoolKaelkShoelaces]

Thank god for Led Zeppelin, if it hadnt been Custard Pie, I never wouldve heard this

[wfriverrats]

@KoolKaelkShoelaces : Yeah, Zeppelin ripped off LOTS of American black music. I always liked the Simpsons episode where Homer refers to Jimmy Page as "the greatest thief of American black music who ever lived" or something like that.

[thewillismon]

@wfriverrats "Custard Pie" by Led Zep is a rip off of this song. Custard Pie is really more like the 1970 cover by Tom Rush than this original. But Zep had a alot of gall...they had the audacity to credit it to Page-Plant

[kathfie]

@wfriverrats what episode is that??

[stevelpatterson]

living 25 miles from brownsville tennesse and being a blues guitarist, having played with Hammie Nixon, and Yank Rachell, Im here to tell ya,,they were POOR! I played a benefit just to buy a window airconditioner for the Estes family. Gota tell ya, Lots of poor folks in this area,,,,LOTS!

[ItsudemoAibon]

I was a member of the South Bend Blues Society and we used to sell tee-shirts to raise money for Yank. One of my proudest moments was handing him $800 on the stage of the Slippery Noodle Inn from the tee-shirt sales. We didn't do this to toot our own horn but to encourage others to buy shirts and give willingly.

[bobbybluz1]

@ItsudemoAibon I got to do a few songs with Yank Ratchell in 1990 or so. He was a very nice guy.

[heinbanjo12]

He was very impressive in 1968 in Scheveningen Holland. I saw and heard him there. Never forgot him. Hein

[EXCESSIVENOISETIRES]

Love the hissing from the record! That is what music really sounds like!

[rocktenniscat]

Happy Celestial Birthday Sleepy John!

[Horwellston]

One of the only songs to make me cry was a sleepy john estes song... Jailhouse Blues. The dreamy mandolin and the harmonica sounded like crying. oh my god. couldn't hear all the lyrics but I could tell..

[HieronymousLex]

How do you say his name? Estes?

[MoleDFigg]

I always pronounce it "Esstees"

[seledia]

Always accusig Zep. But also this song is close(r) to Bob Dylan's "On the Road Again". He gave credit and all?

[nirvgardengod]

far out,,love this. thank you!

[TheRabidfan]

wow really makes me wish i was born A LOT earlier. they just don't make songs like they used to.

[meatloafguy]

boy did Robert Plant take a lot of lyrics here for "Custard Pie"

[DELACRUX15]

Yeah, its like the more blues songs I hear the less credit I have to give to Plant for stealing lyrics and not giving credit.

[ericoulthwaite]

surely the whole blues thing is lika a folkish

songbook. they all borrow lyrics and melodies tetc from each other

[DELACRUX15]

yeah but most bluesmem died poor and obscure. Zeppelin didn't suffer the same fate and didnt come from the same blues songwriting tradition.

[ericoulthwaite]

i don't think its relevant that they aren't poor. there are some 20 century bluesman who aren't poor. BB, John lee hooker. it has no bearing on the music. And as far as not coming from the same tradition goes, of course they did. it was just further down the road. Just cos they ain't black and from louisiana doesn't mean its not same. 60's white boy blues transcends directly from delta blues. it may be corrupted but its same tradition. thats like saying schoenberg isn't from same trad as mozart

[Raymantico]

I saw Sleepy John play accompanied by Ry Cooder on mandolin at Northeastern U. in Boston..he still had it

[bostonteabagger71739]

this is the sound of AMERICA. god what a country! what a people!

[doubleotwentyone]

What about the fact that he was one of the true greats of the country blues and we all can appreciate it?

[TzzX78]

the world can tell what music came from what race, pretty obvious blues came from the Balck folks. They are the king of the blues, with all respect, but your have to be black to sing the blues the right way...from the heart...and Black folks got heart. a lot of heart.

[acefrancisco]

Careful, you're on the point of being patronising. 'They'?, 'folks'?. C'mon. Its all about honesty with the blues. No music resides in just one race, it would like saying certain styles of music reside in certain social classes. Dangerous and a bit silly.

[AgentCarter]

how are the words "they" and "folks" patronizing?

[TzzX78]

@acefrancisco I am mexican and I love this music however I coulnd never produce this music why? because it comes from deep inside man's soul. and you cannot copy a man's soul never ever...I can copy the sound in my harp but never put the final touch...the soul.. so in this one case yes "they" is correct and respecfully so.

[meraklees]

@acefrancisco /watch?v=9EpmGIA4u-I&feature=r­elated

Greek songs written same time in Smyrna. None of them ever heard of blues

[pekoe67]

The number of records most blues artists were selling at the point of their songs being recorded by white musicians was pretty close to or exactly zero.

The credit given by blues artists to one another at the time of covering or adapting other blues artist's songs was close to or exactly zero.

Led Zep is 100% in the blues tradition in this matter.

[uncunabula]

just made my day!

[bowtie1960]

George Thorogood just recorded this song for his new album "The Dirty Dozen" Put his signature on another great blues song! Will be released in July.

[hollowbullet]

The dude who tried to upstage Chuck Berry..

[B0FF01]

Thanks for sharing this record and the history.

[mkerwin1]

I love the blues and I love Zep.

I am sticking to the facts without opinion. Guys like SRV, Richards, Clapton, Hendrix..speak with a HUGE passion about individual blues artists that influenced them -You never hear any of that from Zep.

I saw an interview with Plant and he said along.. 'we're all beggars and theives' when it comes to the blues -Great- There was little respect by taking their songs word for word and publishing as their own. Specifically, this has to do with Plant's motives.

[geeyouknit345]

though we they all stole from eachother they gave credit where it was do

[HeteroBoy]

haha

The 'original' blues artists never told us where they got there songs from!

I don't want to bash you because you said this all with respect, but some people get so emotional about how they didn't cite a lot of times... Whether it was wrong or not, it's over, they fixed it.. and

WHO

CARES

?

Just close your eyes and listen to the music.

:]

[TREYOLDHIPPIE]

mkerwin1 - Thanks for standing up and telling the truth about Zep. Their fight against paying the poor blues writers and artists is legendary. Yet new fans get so defensive and angry. Sadly they think that rights and props are NO BIG DEAL. when you are starving in the slums (still) in Chicago and elsewhere.. its a real big deal. Keep on rockin.

[Iputrandomstuff]

I think Zeppelin didn't credit the original artists because maybe, one, a lot of blues songs are too old to be dated back to original artists, or, two, they had changed the song so much that it wasn't in any way recognizable other than the lyrics. I'm a huge fan of Zeppelin and I know they stole some songs, but who knows...

[bobbybluz1]

@Iputrandomstuff Zep had to pay Willie Dixon over $7,000,000 for songs of his that they ripped off. Willie didn't even know it, his kids brought it to his attention.

[PelleSansIos]

Can´t be much better than this! Brilliant singer and the harmonica player is amazing. Thank you!

[menneskeabe]

Real music! This is music! I love blues!

BLUES! BLUES! BLUES! BLUES!

[ranker2020]

O.K. Big question. Which one of you would be talking about this song if Led Zepplin had' used some of the lyrics. I know that they did'nt give them as much credit for using there lyrics or blues riffs, but at least they got these guys some exposure.

[DropDownFreddie]

And Jimmy Page played a lot of skiffle music before he done Led Zeppelin - skiffle also originated from black people. So pick on Lonnie Donnegan!!

[oramikleepunk]

Is Skiffle and ragtime guitar the same?

[DropDownFreddie]

oramikleepunk -

Did i say they were????

(is that a proper question or are you having a go at me?)

[DropDownFreddie]

Why picking on Zeppelin only??? Even Elvis borrowed music from the original blues. They've all been at it!!!!!!!!

[mercsport]

I recall seeing Sleepy John on his first jaunt to Europe , early sixties , and being amazed that this 1930's hero of mine - who I thought was long dead along with all the 'Blind Boys' - had been found and was still up for getting back on the road . I've got to say that the harp blowing on this is great .

[TREYOLDHIPPIE]

mercsport--Hey I just saw that "Blind Boys" are coming to the overated HOB in Chgo in December..maybe they are touring I dont know. Just thought I would mention it. I could have checked their website but its 5am.. got to sleep!

[mercsport]

Hope you had a good sleep.

But, no, the 'Blind Boys' I meant were the pre-war giants of the blues who had the Blind Boy prefix to their names; Lemon Jefferson; Blake; Boy Fuller; Willie Johnson; Willie McTell and some others whose names I cannot dredge up at the moment. All of them, long gone.

I would suppose you are alluding to the 'Blind Boys of Alabama' who are still up and doing it. And long may they do so.

[TREYOLDHIPPIE]

mercsport.. Funny! Man you are so far ahead of me in blues who's just who's. Yeah. Bless you and glad that you set that straight. Long live blues.

[DeltaBluesMen]

Awesome playing. Oh and for the few talking of Led, Page and Plant came to the US JUST to see blues musicians play. The two were in Houston during 71' I believe, dropped everything and came down here to New Orleans.. While watching BB play, they were asked to play a song, and stated that they were nowhere near the calibur of musicians.. just there to simply marvel at the greatness of American Blues. Ps. Most British bands at that time, centered their playing, and studying around the Blues.

[PROGBETA12]

Just another song Led Zeppelin ripped off.

[ccircelli]

Idiot

[rievans57]

Some have irony in their voice, in their playing, in their lyrics, Sleepy John Estes had all of the above.

[djhurao]

Great song. I love this. Thank you!

[downonme666]

nhenshall I was thinking of the same thing! Thinking of it Zeppelin weren't that original...

[brentlayzee]

you're right, they weren't that original...

Zeppelin's entire song list is full of some say "borrowed", I say stolen,

Blues riffs and lyrics...

I do like Led Zeppelin,

but all they did was "Electrify" the old guys

[oramikleepunk]

lets be honest....rock n roll from the 50's-60's-70's was all about Electrify old and renewing old music.

[woodycobain]

Really Zep's riffs were mostly original with only a couple exceptions (the same could be said of most every band), but they really got in trouble with the lyrics, which Plant mostly kept the same

[oramikleepunk]

I agree Zep's riffs were 50% original,but the other 50% was blues riffs.Page was a blues freak.

[nhenshall]

Amazing, thanks for the post! Led Zeppelin swiped almost every word from this song for their song "Custard Pie" which opens their 1975 "Physical Graffiti" album. I wonder if he ever thought of suing?

[ccircelli]

They swiped every word from this song from for Custard Pie?, look up the lyrics for custard pie and tell me almost every word is stolen.....

[mkerwin1]

You are absolutely right man. I find it amazing how many Page & Plant 'borrowed' w/out giving credit to the blues original artist. I can't think of one other prominent white blues artist that has done that-there is too much respect.

It sucks, cause I like Zeppelin...ALOT. When you put it all together, the list of songs borrowed is very large, resulting in a tainted opinion of Zep for me. Willie Dixon was the only guy that had the capacity to successfully sue Zep - The rest are now dead.

[oramikleepunk]

I'm just glad they never covered up their blues roots

[zezt]

well it is typical white middle class man thing

[acidcasual07]

If i was not for the middle class white man they would have no credit at all.

[zezt]

yeah your right. I dont like to say 'class' really........as yu know this is complex shit

we is all humans!!! And we ALL feel the Blues

[Cthulhussama]

Oh yeah USA don't like Karl marx, class isn't race :)

And the word class exist because class are not ( and that's sade ) equals

[zezt]

YES your right.

I dont really like saying 'class' or 'white'

We ALL can feel the BLUES!

[shockthesky]

did they give proper credit??

[stacyblue1980]

Love this! Love his voice. Thank you so much 4 posting. xx