I remnember the first time I heard Mule Skinner Blues. Some kids in a small town in Wisconsin reorded the song on a small lable and ended up on American Bandstand. Fender guitars were in their youth, and the recording was a raw, rocking version of the old song. The song was old, but It was brand new to us. It was a folk song. None of us knew whether it was traditional, or country music, or the history of the song. We responded to the song. None of us had ever driven a mule, and never would. We didn't know what a folk singer was. Our knowledge of folk songs (if we had any) was Burl Ives and Lavender Blue, Dilly Dilly. It didn't make any difference whether we knew who had recorded Mule Skinner Blues before the Fendermen; who wrote it, or whether it should have been played on banjo and acoustic guitar. We liked the song, we liked the driving rhythm, the energy and the humor of the song. We liked that it came out of kids in a small town. When I listen to it today, I respond to it the same way I did when I first heard it.

Here's the recording. I still have 45.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m5UGT3jOh4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m5UGT3jOh4