Milkcow Blues Boogie

"Milk Cow Blues" is a blues song written and originally recorded by Sleepy John Estes in 1930 (The Blues Line: Blues Lyrics from Leadbelly to Muddy Waters, edited by Eric Sackheim, Jonathan Shahn, Da Capo Press, 2003).



Contents
[hide]  *1 Robert Johnson version  ==Robert Johnson version[ edit] == Robert Johnson recorded a version of Sleepy John [1] Estes' song, re-titled "Milkcow's Calf Blues", at his last recording session on 20 June 1937. It was released by Vocalion Records in September 1937 as the B-side to "Malted Milk." ==Johnnie Lee Wills version[ edit] == In 1941, Johnnie Lee Wills (younger brother of James Robert Wills aka Bob Wills) recorded a version which was released the same year by Decca Records as "Milkcow Blues" by Johnny [sic] Lee Wills & His Boys. It was sung by Cotton Thompson.[2]
 * 2 Johnnie Lee Wills version
 * 3 Elvis Presley & The Blue Moon Boys version
 * 4 Eddie Cochran version
 * 5 Other versions
 * 6 References

Bob Wills also recorded it on the Tiffany Transcriptions with a vocal by Tommy Duncan. The Wills/Duncan release "Brain cloudy blues" is heavily influenced by "Milk cow blues" too. ==Elvis Presley & The Blue Moon Boys version[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Elvis Presley, accompanied by Scotty Moore on guitar and Bill Black on bass, recorded a rockabilly version retitled "Milkcow Blues Boogie" at Sun Records in November or December 1954. The arrangement was closer to Wills' version than to the Arnold original.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-russell_2-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[2]  The single was released in January 8, 1955 with "You're a Heartbreaker" as the B-side, but would not be released on LP until 1959, when it was included on the RCA LP A Date with Elvis. ==Eddie Cochran version<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Eddie Cochran's version of Milk Cow Blues was posthumously released on the album Never to Be Forgotten.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">Musicians:

==Other versions<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:20.3636360168457px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13.63636302948px;">The song is also featured in the film Walk the Line, in which it is covered by Tyler Hilton.
 * Eddie Cochran: vocal and guitar
 * Dave Shriver: electric bass
 * Gene Riggio: drums
 * Jim Stivers: piano
 * Grand Ole Opry regulars The McGee Brothers (Sam and Kirk) recorded a version of the song.
 * 1946: Cotton Thompson. On King Records. This is sometimes incorrectly credited to Moon Mullican because Cotton was part of Moon's band and recorded this after a Mullican session in 1946. Available on 2 Mullican CDs nowadays and called "New Milk cow blues".
 * 1955: Mike Seeger recorded a banjo version that was inspired by the Johnnie Lee Wills version.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[3]
 * 1965: The Kinks on their album The Kink Kontroversy (although they credit the song to Sleepy John Estes on the UK release).
 * 1967: The Chocolate Watchband on the 1994 CD reissue of their album No Way Out.
 * 1970: We Five on their album Catch the Wind.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:10.9090909957886px;">[4]
 * 1976: Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen on their live album We've Got A Live One Here.
 * 1977: Levon Helm & The RCO All-Stars on their self-titled album as 'Milk Cow Boogie'.
 * 1977: Aerosmith their album Draw the Line.
 * 1977: Pirates former Johnny Kidd's band recorded the song. It appears on their 1977 live album "Out Of Their Skulls".
 * 1979: Jerry Lee Lewis recorded on the Elektra label.
 * 1990: Dead Moon on their 1990 album, Defiance.
 * 1990: Aerosmith on their 1990 MTV Unplugged Live Performance in New York.
 * 1991: George Strait on his 1991 album, Chill of an Early Fall.
 * 2000: Willie Nelson on his 2000 album, Milk Cow Blues.
 * 2002: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, featuring Doc Watson, on the 2002 album Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Volume III
 * 2004: Eric Clapton on his 2004 tribute to Robert Johnson, Me and Mr. Johnson, titled as Milkcow's Calf Blues.
 * 2008: Patrick Wall (Irish blues artist) on his album "Lay me down beside my darling".
 * 2008: Wayne "The Train" Hancock ((Progressive Torch & Twang)(Country)) Live in 2008 on Impact Radio89FM
 * 2009: Obits on their debut album I Blame You.