#39 'Goodnight, Irene' by The Weavers (1950)

SONG

"This one is a bit too 'all American' for my tastes. Someone pass the vomit bag... Its catchy though, so no doubt I'll be humming it later." - LC

Written by: Traditional; Huddie Ledbetter and John A. Lomax.
Producer: Uncredited.
Label: Decca.

FACTS

• Now here's a fact that links back to #18 'The Gallis Pole' by Lead Belly (1939)... do you remember me telling you that Lead Belly managed to sing his way out of prison?! Well, tada! This would be the very song Huddie Ledbetter sang ;)
• The exact origin of the song is unknown but it suspected that it could stretch back as far as the 1880s and Gussie Lord Davis's Irene, Good Night.
• However, it was Lead Belly's version of the song recorded by Alan and John Lomax that popularised the song.
• The song went on to become one of the greatest American folk standards of the twentieth century, however that ranking wasn't Lead Belly's but this one by the Weavers.
• Pete Seeger's folk quartet learnt the tune straight from Lead Belly but omitted some of the more controversial verses including the line "If Irene turns her back on me, I'm going to take morophine and die."
• The song went to number 1 in the US and stayed on the charts for almost half a year.
• Other cover versions include those by Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Little  Richard and Jimi Hendrix, Meat Puppets, Tom Waits, and Band from TV with Hugh Laurie doing piano and vocals.
• The song is also sung by the supporters of Bristol Rovers FC.

Recommended songs by this artist...

On Top of Old Smoky (1951)