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Lyr Req: Mighty Crazy (Lightnin' Hopkins)

18 Nov 03 - 11:31 AM (#1056248)
Subject: looking for a Lightning Hopkins song
From: clueless don

I was just reading yet another thread where someone requested a pop song, and various mudcatters did the "Why are you asking on a folk and blues forum?" thing. So I thought I would ask about a blues song.

I have been looking for quite a long time for a particular Lightning Hopkins song (or is it "Lightnin' Hopkins"?) I heard it, I believe, in the late sixties or early seventies. The problem is, I have been looking for it for so long, I've forgotten the title! I seem to remember that there was a line in it something like "What's that you're drinking?" "that's wine!" I also had the impression that it was on an album called "Lightning Hopkins in New York". I do not know whether this is the same album as, or a different album from, "Lightnin' in New York".

Problem is, I have never found "Lighning Hopkins in New York" in any music store I have ever looked in since I decided to try to track down the song.

I would not expect anyone to be able to identify the song from the little snippet I gave above (it may not even be accurate!), but I thought I would ask: Does anyone own a copy of "Lightning Hopkins in New York", and if so would you be willing to give the playlist for the album here?

A GOOGLE search on "Lightning Hopkins in New York" yielded no useful information.


18 Nov 03 - 11:39 AM (#1056258)
Subject: RE: looking for a Lightning Hopkins song
From: TheBigPinkLad

Try sifting through all the discography on Lightening at www.allmusic.com


18 Nov 03 - 12:35 PM (#1056321)
Subject: RE: looking for a Lightning Hopkins song
From: clueless don

I couldn't find "Lightning Hopkins in New York" at www.allmusic.com. But some other cyber wanderings have led me to believe that the song I am looking for is either called "Ain't it Crazy" or else "Mighty Crazy". I am fairly certain that the song I heard was by Lightning Hopkins, not Lightnin' Slim.

Can anyone verify that a song with either of these titles appears on "Lightning Hopkins in New York"? Can anyone even verify that an album called "Lightning Hopkins in New York" ever existed?


18 Nov 03 - 01:03 PM (#1056342)
Subject: RE: looking for a Lightning Hopkins song
From: GUEST,Poppa Gator, cookieless at work

I heard a song recently, on WWOZ radio (available worldwide at www.wwoz.org, by the way), that might be the one you're thinking of. It was a live performance, with Lightin' joining with Brownie McGhee (alternating on vocals, both on acoustic guitar) and Sonny Terry (harmonica). Lightin' extols the superiority of whiskey to wine and Brownie begs to differ, all within the familiar 12-bar blues format.

Wish I had more to contribute, but I can't even remember a decently representative couple of lines of lyric. Brownie and Sonny have a large discography as does Lightin', but maybe searching for a recoding featuring all three will narrow things down considerably.

Now, "Crazy Ain't It Crazy (to keep on rubbin' that same old thing)" is another tune entirely. I heard a version recently on an old CD by Mother Machree's [Uptown?] Jug Stompers, a precursor of the Grateful Dead that featured Jerry Garcia, Pigpen, and (I think) Bobby Weir -- about half the eventual membership of the original GD. It's probably on at least one later Dead recording, as well as whatever earlier folk/blues recording from which the guys learned it.


18 Nov 03 - 01:29 PM (#1056364)
Subject: RE: looking for a Lightning Hopkins song
From: Amos

Might be "It Ain't Nothiung Like Whiskey":

DOWN SOUTH SUMMIT MEETING (B.McGhee,S.Terry) – World Pacific WP-1296 (LP)

AIN'T NOTHNG LIKE WHISKY
PENITENTIARY BLUES
IF YOU STEAL MY CHICKENS, YOU CAN'T MAKE 'EM LAY
FIRST MEETING
HOW LONG HAVE IT BEEN SINCE YOU BEEN HOME
WIMMIN FROM COAST TO COAST
LIGHTNING HOPKINS, BROWNIE McGHEE, BIG JOE WILLIAMS, guitar, vocal; SONNY TERRY, harmonica, vocal; JIMMY BOND, bass. Recorded at Pacific Jazz Studios, LA, end of first week of July, 1960. Engineering by Dino Lappas.


18 Nov 03 - 09:24 PM (#1056619)
Subject: RE: looking for a Lightning Hopkins song
From: rangeroger

Amos, I have "First Meeting/Lightnin'Hopkins" World Pacific 1817. Same playlist,same performers, only difference, it was recorded at World Pacific Studios, July 1960.I'll listen to it and see if it is the one clueless Don is looking for.

I'll also check out "Drinkin' In The Blues" with Brownie and Sonny on "Lightnin' Hopkins" Everest Records FS-241.

Actually, it looks like I'm just going to have to spend the evening listening to all my Lightnin' LPs and get back to ya later.

rr


18 Nov 03 - 10:48 PM (#1056661)
Subject: RE: looking for a Lightning Hopkins song
From: rangeroger

clueless Don and Amos, thank you for a good start to an evening.

From the afore-mentioned World Pacific album. Two lines from "Ain't nothing like whiskey";

" If I can't get you no whiskey
I sure won't get you no wine"

" I just wanta drink your whiskey
You can dismiss your wine"

It would take me years to transcribe the entire lyrics, but I tell you,these guys had a lot of fun playin' the blues.

Don, I have no clue as to the " New York" album.

Now back to the blues, which are still in progress.

rr


19 Nov 03 - 09:06 AM (#1056929)
Subject: RE: looking for a Lightning Hopkins song
From: Jim Dixon

Lightnin' Hopkins did indeed record a live album called "In New York" in 1970, and it has been reissued as a CD on the Candid label, #79070, in 2000. There is a song on that album called MIGHTY CRAZY. (I found this info at AMG - here.)

Barnes&Noble has a sound sample:

Sister got it rub-(?). Mama got it too.
They goin' aroun' doin' the rub-de-rub.
Ain't it crazy? Now, ain't it crazy?
You know it's crazy to keep on rubbin' at that—.

It also appears on two other Hopkins albums: "Blues Masters: The Very Best of Lightnin' Hopkins" (Rhino CD 79860, 2000) and "Take It Easy" (Past Perfect CD 220377, 2002).

Don't know why you couldn't find it. Did you forget his name was spelled "Lightnin' " and not "Lightning"? Spelling can be crucial when doing searches.


19 Nov 03 - 09:36 AM (#1056953)
Subject: RE: looking for a Lightning Hopkins song
From: clueless don

Thank you Jim! Yes, I was looking for "Lightning Hopkins in New York", while the album is apparently called "In New York" or "Lightnin' in New York".

The song I was looking for is indeed "Mighty Crazy (to keep on rubbin' that ...)". I'm not sure where I got that bit about "What's that you're drinkin'?" "That's wine!" that I mentioned in the original posting. Either that is in the song as incidental dialogue, or else I was remembering something else.

The recording with Lightnin', Sonny Terry, and Brownie McGhee doing "Ain't Nothing Like Whiskey" sounds like a really good one. Maybe I'll look into it someday. But that's not the song I was looking for.

Thank you to all who replied!


24 Feb 06 - 11:08 AM (#1677749)
Subject: RE: looking for a Lightning Hopkins song
From: GUEST,Dirk makaranga@web.de

I have the Orginal Album Lightning Hopkins in New York


24 Feb 06 - 03:24 PM (#1677970)
Subject: RE: looking for a Lightning Hopkins song
From: Goose Gander

I also have a copy of "Lightning Hopkins in New York" on vinyl. I put it up on ebay for $5.00 and got no takers. Is Clueless Don still looking for that song?


25 Feb 06 - 10:35 AM (#1678521)
Subject: RE: looking for a Lightning Hopkins song
From: Bob the Postman

Here's the solution to a 3 year old mystery. On one of Mr. Hopkins' recordings of "Keep On Rubbin" he interpolates a spoken back-story to the song. Daughter's boyfriend introduces her to wine-drinking, and mother catches daughter taking a nip on wash-day.
--What is that?
--Just wine.
--What is wine?
--Why, Mama, you know every Sunday morning at the church they give you wine and crackers.
--Then gimme some of that stuff.
Mother and daughter commence to rubbin' like never before.
I think I have this on an LP (Arhoolie label?) down in the dimly lit basement but I don't want to spend all weekend finding it.


25 Feb 06 - 07:19 PM (#1678901)
Subject: RE: looking for a Lightning Hopkins song
From: Bob the Postman

Found it, it's called Lightnin' Hopkins In New York, and is presumably the same LP to which everyone refers above. Mine is issued on Barnaby/Candid as Z-30247 (AL-30247) and the liner notes indicate that it is a re-issue on Barnaby of a Candid Records release from the early sixties--so I maybe that means it's not a concert recording from 1970. The notes quote a "down beat" magazine review of the original release, authored by a John S. Wilson, which might clarify the date. The cut Mighty Crazy is over 7 minutes long and definitely contains the dialogue about wine mentioned in clueless don's original post.


22 Oct 12 - 06:38 PM (#3424420)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mighty Crazy (Lightnin' Hopkins)
From: GUEST

argentina...


the name of the song is MIGHTY CRAZY...and you`re right there`s a part in the song when lightning tell abot a time when he got caught by his mother drinking wine...


22 Oct 12 - 07:03 PM (#3424434)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mighty Crazy (Lightnin' Hopkins)
From: GUEST,999

It's on Youtube.


22 Oct 12 - 07:07 PM (#3424436)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mighty Crazy (Lightnin' Hopkins)
From: GUEST,999

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0b_hiLsuYg