| "Crawling King Snake" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Big Joe Williams | |
| B-side | "Meet Me Around the Corner" |
| Released | 1941 |
| Recorded | Chicago, March 27, 1941 |
| Genre | Blues |
| Length | 2:51 |
| Label | Bluebird |
| Songwriter(s) | Unknown |
"Crawling King Snake" (alternatively "Crawlin' King Snake" or "Crawling/Crawlin' Kingsnake") is a blues song that has been recorded by numerous blues and other artists. It is believed to have originated as a Delta blues in the 1920s[1] and be related to earlier songs, such as "Black Snake Blues" by Victoria Spivey[2] and "Black Snake Moan" by Blind Lemon Jefferson.[3]
As "Crawling King Snake", it was first recorded by Big Joe Williams on March 27, 1941. The song is a country-style blues, with Williams on vocal and nine-string guitar and William Mitchell providing imitation bass[4] accompaniment. On June 3, 1941, Delta bluesman Tony Hollins recorded "a markedly different version",[5][6] which served as the basis for many subsequent versions.
- ^ Herzhaft, Gerard (1992). "Crawling King Snake". Encyclopedia of the Blues. Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press. p. 443. ISBN 1-55728-252-8.
- ^ OKeh Records 8338 (1926)
- ^ OKeh Records 8455 (1926)
- ^ Usually a jug or washtub bass.
- ^ Young, Alan (1997). Woke Me Up This Morning: Black Gospel Singers and the Gospel Life. University Press of Mississippi. p. 292. ISBN 978-0-87805-944-7.
- ^ OKeh Records 06350
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