Junker's Blues is a piano blues song first recorded in 1940 by Champion Jack Dupree. It formed the basis of several later songs including "The Fat Man" by Fats Domino and "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" by Lloyd Price. The song is about a drug user's conflict with life and the law, and makes references to cocaine, "needles", "reefer", and the famous Louisiana prison farm at Angola .
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History
The song was written by Willie Hall, known as "Drive 'em Down", a blues and boogie-woogie pianist from New Orleans. Hall never recorded nor received credit for the song. In 1940, Champion Jack Dupree, an American pianist who referred to Hall as his "father", recorded the song for the first time on OKeh Records.
Covers
Fats Domino attracted national attention to the song by varying the tune, changing the lyrics and calling it "The Fat Man". Domino recorded the song for Imperial Records in Cosimo Matassa's J&M studio on Rampart Street in New Orleans, Louisiana on Saturday, 10 December 1949. The song, an example of early rock and roll, features a rolling piano with Domino doing "wah-wah" vocalizing over a fat back beat. The recording sold over a million copies, and is widely regarded as the first rock and roll record to do so.
According to some sources, the song served as a template for the 1951 song, "Junco Partner".
Lloyd Price used the melody of "Junker's Blues" in 1952 for his song, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", as did Professor Longhair in 1972 for "Tipitina", a song from his album, New Orleans Piano. Smiley Lewis's "Tee-Nah-Nah" was yet another close copy.
In 1990, Willy DeVille recorded the song for his Victory Mixture album. English actor and vocalist Hugh Laurie covered the song on his 2013 album, Didn't It Rain.