Heard a radio feature just a couple of days ago showcasing Kokomo Arnold's "Sissy Man Blues" as the direct precursor to Rbt Johnson's "Dust My Broom." Same tune, same guitar riff, completely different lyrics. ("If you can't get me a woman / at least bring me some sissy man.")

Kokomo was a *big* selling blues artist at the time, while Robert Johnson was a nobody until after he died. The "authority" being interviewed, who brought the Arnold rcording, was on a crusade to increase awareness of the forgotten blues artists who were more successful in their own time than those like Robert Johnson who have been lionized in retrospect. "Not that I don't love and respect Johnson, we just need to rememebr thse others as well."

I was once told that to "dust one's broom" meant to masturbate. I found the idea interesting, but have no idea whether there's any truth to it, and cannot cite the source. Might make some kind of sense, since the singer's woman done left him.