Single Song Sunday: Come On In My Kitchen
(Rory Block, Greg Brown, John Renbourn, Crooked Still & more!)
It’s been a long time since we put together one of these Single Song Sunday posts. But we’re hosting our first House Concert next Sunday, and the prospect of inviting folks into our kitchen has left this tune ringing in my ears…
Come On In My Kitchen was first recorded in 1936, back when the country blues was a form of folk music; the song is itself a partial cover, having lifted much of its melody from The Mississippi Sheik’s depression-era hit Sittin’ On Top of the World.
But unlike much of the Robert Johnson canon which would permeate black culture in the following decades, the song didn’t truly take hold until its rerelease in the sixties, when - despite a lack of the standard 12-bar blues structure - it was picked up by the emerging blues/rock/folkstream of the day and carried out to its logical conclusion by (predominantly British) white boys with electric guitars and a growing affinity for the blues.
Plenty of Robert Johnson tunes live on through the folkworld, of course. But because its cultural emergence is grounded in the same time and space as modern singer-songwriter folk music, this one is especially common in the genre, especially in the hands of white folk musicians who look to the blues for their inspiration.
The range of coverage here is surprisingly diverse, though the slide guitar and slow tempo linger in the vast majority of interpretations. Folk blues musicians Jo Ann Kelly and Rory Block stay close to their roots, for example, but the difference in tone and tempo between Kelly’s full-bodied acoustic blues and Block’s muddier, hollower take speaks of broad possibility even within the subgenre. Polish bluesman Romek Puchowski may be farthest from the Mississippi delta, but his cover is equally true to the original, though his accent lends a lovely air.
But the song has a lot of room for silence, and the loose tempo creates an opportunity for play; it is how musicians manage this space which makes all the difference. The addition of a simple harmonica has a transformative effect on John Renbourn’s take, while Cat Power’s simplified and shortened title anticipates its strummed, repeated chord and typically breathy vocal treatment. Iowan Greg Brown doesn’t drift far, either, but he still manages to produce something low and tender with just a guitar and that deep, wry basso growl.
Farther out on the other end of the spectrum, the full band treatment makes for something richer and broader in potential. Cassandra Wilson’s loose approach floats crooning scatvocals over drumtrap, slapped bass and concertina, making a typically bluesy mood piece of the familiar lyrics and tune. By adding a gospel woodblock rhythm and barrelhouse piano, Delaney and Bonnie take the piece halfway to church. Meanwhile, the full sawed strings and banjo undertones of Crooked Still nurture a slow driving pace, creating a folk blues with rhythm and swing.
- Jo Ann Kelly: Come On In My Kitchen
(from Jo Ann Kelly, 1969) - Rory Block: Come On In My Kitchen
(from Ain’t I A Woman, 1992) - Romek Puchowski: Come On In My Kitchen
(from Simply, 2006) - John Renbourn: Come On In My Kitchen
(from Faro Annie, 1971) - Cat Power: C’mon In My Kitchen
(live from BBC 1, 2000) - Greg Brown: Come On In My Kitchen
(live in Paris, 2008) - Cassandra Wilson: Come On In My Kitchen
(from Blue Light ‘Til Dawn, 1993) - Delaney and Bonnie and Friends: Come On In My Kitchen
(from Motel Shot, 1971) - Crooked Still: Come On In My Kitchen
(from Shaken By a Low Sound, 2006)
As always, folks, the songs posted here at Cover Lay Down are designed to entice and spread the good word. If you like what you hear, follow links above to purchase albums and songs direct from artist-preferred sources, the better to support the next generation of working musicians.
Just for fun, here’s a bonus video track from amateur uke bluesman The Baron.
PS: If you’re a regular reader with a hankerin’ for some incredible up-and-coming singer-songwriter folk, you’re free from 2-5 on Sunday, March 29th, and you live within driving distance of Springfield, Massachusetts, contact me for more info about our upcoming set with Austin folk troubadour, dust poet, and Red House Records recording artist Danny Schmidt. Like all house concerts, it’s friends-only, but if you’re a nice person, I’m sure we can work something out.
Category: Single Song Sunday
March 22nd, 2009 at 8:20 am
I love the Annie Gallup song, Great Distance (from her album Swerve), which pays homage to this song, in both melody and lyrics - sending it to you via e-mail to do with as you wish…
http://www.anniegallup.com/music/swerve/greatdistance.htm
March 22nd, 2009 at 9:43 pm
LOVE this song. perfect song to listen to on a sunday night. thanks for the post.
March 22nd, 2009 at 11:35 pm
I’m besotted, but the Cat Power version is my favorite.
March 23rd, 2009 at 10:41 am
I have a live version (part of a UK tour that was broadcast on BBC radio many years ago) of “Come On In My Kitchen” by Taj Mahal. An incredible sound. If I can find it (I transferred it from cassette to digital a while back) I’ll try sending it in…
March 23rd, 2009 at 11:28 am
Graem, If the Taj Mahal can be found, I’d love to hear it — BBC broadcasts are hard to come by on this side of the pond, since the BBC protects their release beyond the borders based on licensure structures in the UK.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:53 pm
[...] first post to pop is this one, with nine versions of Come on in My Kitchen, including one by Crooked [...]
March 25th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
I was in driving distance thirty eight - forty years ago but would love to see Danny Schmidt. He is fabulous and a wonderful writer. Thirty eight - forty-some years ago I was seeing Bonny and Delaney in concert all through the area.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
The Cassandra Wilson version is a long time favourite of mine. A stellar track on a great album.
April 1st, 2009 at 8:56 am
Patti Smith does a version of this I’ve been trying to track down forever for a RJ album post. One day.
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:33 am
[...] of an authentic tradition of music, one must learn the trade authentically, too. From blueswoman Rory Block to Kentucky Appalachian Brett Ratliff, such modern followers of the folkways eschew records and [...]