Show 28: Weather and Blues
Rain in the blues is weather, mood, memory, and excuse all at once. These tracks belong together because storm songs let singers talk about loneliness, bad luck, waiting, and dread without ever needing to say the whole thing straight.
For today's 28th episode of the CC Blues Show, I have elected to use today's Florida hurricane weather as inspiration for today's theme of blues relating to rain, floods, and muddy water in general. The first track is sung by Bessie Smith in 1927 and was written about a flood in Nashville, Tennessee, on Christmas Day during the prior year. Here's "Backwater Blues."
Rain in the blues is weather, mood, memory, and excuse all at once. These tracks belong together because storm songs let singers talk about loneliness, bad luck, waiting, and dread without ever needing to say the whole thing straight.
| Order | Track | Artist | Segment | Bridge | Story |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Backwater Blues | Bessie Smith | 1 | - | |
| 1 | Backwater Blues (That Mean Old Twister) | Lightnin' Hopkins | 1 | - | |
| 2 | The Flood Blues | Sippie Wallace | 1 | - | |
| 3 | When the Levee Breaks | Memphis Minnie | 1 | Story | |
| 4 | Southern Flood Blues | Big Bill Broonzy | 1 | - | |
| 5 | Come on in My Kitchen | Robert Johnson | 1 | - | |
| 6 | High Water Everywhere, Pt. 1 | Charley Patton | 1 | - | |
| 7 | High Water Everywhere, Pt. 2 | Charley Patton | 1 | - | |
| 8 | Rainy Day Blues | Sonny Boy Williamson I | 1 | - | |
| 9 | Flood Water Blues | Casey Bill Weldon | 1 | Yes | - |
| 10 | Rising High Water Blues | Blind Lemon Jefferson | 2 | Yes | - |
| 11 | Mississippi Heavy Water Blues | Barbecue Bob | 2 | - | |
| 12 | Noah (031980) | The Golden Gate Quartet | 2 | - | |
| 13 | Muddy Water | Leroy Carr | 2 | - | |
| 14 | Mississippi Flood Blues | Rob Cooper | 2 | - | |
| 15 | Broken Levee Blues | Lonnie Johnson | 2 | - | |
| 16 | Hurricane Betsy | Lightnin' Hopkins | 2 | - | |
| 18 | Tupelo | John Lee Hooker | 3 | Yes | Story |
| 19 | Drifting Blues | John Lee Hooker | 3 | - | |
| 20 | Let The Mermaids Flirt With Me | Mississippi John Hurt | 3 | - | |
| 21 | Floating Bridge | Sleepy John Estes | 3 | - | |
| 22 | Going Down to the River | Mississippi Fred McDowell | 3 | - | |
| 23 | Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall | The Ink Spots,Ella Fitzgerald | 3 | - | |
| 24 | Call It Stormy Monday | T-Bone Walker | 3 | Story | |
| 25 | Flood | Muddy Waters | 3 | - | |
| 26 | Blow Wind Blow | Muddy Waters | 3 | Yes | - |
| 27 | Didn't It Rain | Sister Rosetta Tharpe | 4 | Yes | - |
| 28 | Pouring Down Rain | Lonnie Johnson | 4 | - | |
| 29 | Falling Rain Blues | Lonnie Johnson | 4 | - | |
| 30 | The Sky Is Crying | Elmore James | 4 | Story | |
| 31 | Feels Like Rain (feat. Bonnie Raitt) | Buddy Guy,Bonnie Raitt | 4 | - | |
| 32 | I Get The Blues When It Rains | Snooks Eaglin | 4 | - | |
| 33 | Mississippi Delta Blues | Jimmie Rodgers | 4 | - | |
| 34 | Drifting Too Far From The Shore - 2019 | Hank Williams | 4 | - | |
| 35 | High Water (For Charley Patton) | Bob Dylan | 4 | - |