Randy Burns and the Sky Dog Band recorded a song called "Seventeen Years on the River" on their 1971 eponymous album, and on their 1973 album "Still on Our Feet." Randy Burns claimed credit for writing it, but it's common for people to do that when they only modified an older traditional song.

I found this information by using Google and the search argument "Seventeen Years on * River" (in quotes). Strangely, Google doesn't publicize the fact that you can use wild cards, but it seems to work.