The members of Ram Jam tell the story behind 'Black Betty'. A short documentary by Top 2000 a gogo (Dutch Public TV) from 2007.
Пікірлер: 957
@nonyabiznass8930 Жыл бұрын
This is one of the greatest songs ever made. It's a classic and will never die.
@maxwellpollville16985 жыл бұрын
This band is much better than they got credit for.
@jamesbarrick34035 жыл бұрын
If they had a second act you would know about it. No - they are a typical one hit wonder, and any half decent bar band can play this song. You just really like this song, and I get that. If you think they are so great pleases post another song here and let us be the judge.
@harislade66765 жыл бұрын
They didn't wright Black Betty.
@claudioperotti94394 жыл бұрын
@@jamesbarrick3403 any bar band could play black betty, in the wrong way
@Moises-mj2yx4 жыл бұрын
@@jamesbarrick3403 dude, not tryin' to be a smart mouth but... Actually that song is more complex than you think, i mean yeah, the song has 4/4 time signature except for the chorus that has some weird time signature and the 4ths used during this one that are also weird because Bill played them between the third and fourth beat, the solo is one of a kind with a common but iconic chromatic play with the intervals, this song it's just too awesome to be described as you do.
@SamofCR4 жыл бұрын
@@harislade6676 write
@williamtower57025 жыл бұрын
Thumbs up everytime this song comes on the radio and you crank it up instinctively.
@christelheadington11365 жыл бұрын
I've got on my play list here, on KZbin, when I have a lazy day I play it , to get my butt in gear.
@lobitome5 жыл бұрын
I still hear it regularly on radio, and not just on rock radio. It is also often on the "jack" format station going right into an Ed Sheeran song, etc.
@Sam-tz7cd5 жыл бұрын
Yesss! Always.🤙🏼
@erinkenny43275 жыл бұрын
No. No I don't.
@aixide5 жыл бұрын
never heard it on radio... sadly
@SilverStallionVideos5 жыл бұрын
I saw them live in the Fall of '77. Ram Jam opened, followed by Little River Band, and then the headliner Foreigner. All three bands were great.
@WG-tt6hk4 жыл бұрын
Everyone encounters diamonds on their road of life. That is one of yours.
@RaininMortars3 жыл бұрын
I was 7 in '77
@nickajk12 жыл бұрын
@@RaininMortars that's good to know thank God you'd learn math in school
@RaininMortars2 жыл бұрын
@@nickajk1 yes, thank God
@marcussmith49132 жыл бұрын
now that must of been a show.... 1 year before I was born.
@diva70smusic4 жыл бұрын
I loved the song in 1977 and in 2020. I am a Southern, black female. I also liked "Brother Louie" the version by Stories even though Hot Chocolate released it months earlier. Both songs written by black men.
@TedBronson19184 жыл бұрын
classic frigging tune. absolutely deserved number one spot. I hate censors !
@jerig282011 ай бұрын
Believe it or not, I'm a 67 yr old white woman who just heard this song recently! And I love it!! I've watched ALL of the reaction videos! I can't stop playing it!♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
@ritamead63183 ай бұрын
Me either and I'm 75..
@prog19625 жыл бұрын
Rolling Stone the silliest magazine of 1978 etc etc etc.Great song still very popular
@terrypussypower5 жыл бұрын
alex may Fuck, “Rolling Stone” eh? Those are the tossers that hated Led Zeppelin’s first album! How dim can you get?
@meademorgan66144 жыл бұрын
True, how do people let a magazine tell them what music is good or not? All you have todo is listen, you will very quickly know exactly what YOU like and what YOU don’t. And some songs even grow on you, like when you first hear a song and aren’t sure you like it. But the next thing you know it’s in your personal rotation quite often. Music is universal, you don’t need someone to tell you what to like or dislike. Like Bob Marley said, “Who feels it, knows it.” ☮️🇨🇦
@radio-su6lh3 жыл бұрын
Rolling Stone first simply pretentious, now woke & pretentious 👏
@velociraptor89845 жыл бұрын
One of the greatest rock song ever ...
@JacqueCRISCOsd2 жыл бұрын
I’d give you a like but you’re at 69. Rock on.
@lindamaemullins51513 жыл бұрын
I have decades accumulation of speeding tickets to prove it’s an awesome driving song 😂😂😂😂☺️
@irouen5 жыл бұрын
Leadbelly got Black Betty from prison road crews in the south. It was sung to time the rhythm for breaking rock to gravel the road.
@URKillingme1005 жыл бұрын
The prison crew got Black Betty from Fred Flintstone. It was inspired by his burning desire for his best friends wife.
@kevenoneal88385 жыл бұрын
Running down a dream Tom Petty.
@URKillingme1005 жыл бұрын
Rime Time WTF is wrong with you?
@leeellenwood54615 жыл бұрын
Hahaha I think if you really know history it would probly be vice versa you cornball ass nazi. Stay under that rock u live under coward boy.
@ajdhjaoakdn2ndgoogleaccoun9295 жыл бұрын
@@URKillingme100 true story.
@Superjet1135 жыл бұрын
I was 15 when this came out. I had not heard anything like this(including the gainedout/distorted guitars) before and it totally steered me to rock, hard rock, and metal for LIFE! Before I heard Black Betty I was buying Elton John and Barry Manilow 45's..
@andyblack56874 жыл бұрын
I'm so glad Ram Jam turned things around for you. I would hate to live life having to listen to Elton John and Barry Manilow all the time.
@anarojas12104 жыл бұрын
superjet113 my mum told me that she was 15 when she danced this song for the first time. We are from Chile so she didn’t understand any word of the song, but she still loves this song, the rhythm. it brings good memories I think. I also think this song is great, it has soul/rhythm. I wish the guy who wrote the original lyrics had received the money he deserved, that’s sad 😞
@dougg10754 жыл бұрын
I’m fifty and this song has always been in my life’s soundtrack.
@johnkulpowich52604 жыл бұрын
I'm 70 and still love the song I never grew up
@patriciabarkley7353 жыл бұрын
I’m 68 and I have always loved this song!
@stejer2112 жыл бұрын
@@patriciabarkley735 I'm 18 months and shit in my diapers too.
@patriciabarkley7352 жыл бұрын
@@stejer211 , It’s alright. You will get over it!
@gurger97852 жыл бұрын
@@stejer211 I’m 93 and shit in my diapers over this song
@williamnichols4293 жыл бұрын
Back in the day my buddies and me used to see Starstruck play at the Boar's Head in Oxford, Ohio. Hearing Black Betty brings back memories of my V-8 Vega.
@myfavoriteplanet32473 жыл бұрын
Ram Jam's vesion is the best
@888william93 жыл бұрын
Who doesn't have ram jam in the playlist.
@pennydavis26375 жыл бұрын
To me,this song pays homage to history, it is a great song, nothing malicious....I Loved this song since I was little...
@gangnamstylegrandpa63525 жыл бұрын
This is still one of my all time favorite rock songs ! It has everything a Rock song needs to rock out !
@EF-fc4du Жыл бұрын
Those original versions would never have been radio hits. Arrangement is everything.
@crazyralph6386 Жыл бұрын
Exactly!
@williamstamper4424 жыл бұрын
Love the transparency of these guys in this vid. I thank y'all for a solid driving song in my 50 years of life
@jodong54804 жыл бұрын
I’m not into hard rock but black Betty is one of my favourites!!! Love the story behind it..
@fandlinlv5 жыл бұрын
This was the song we played to crank up the excitement (and the volume) as our high school varsity basketball team hit the floor for the warm-ups before home games (circa '78).
@tfindley0073 жыл бұрын
There were many great driving songs put out by Ram Jam. I used to blast Ram Jam while driving along the water 30 years ago, and I still do!
@LordWindemere5 жыл бұрын
While riding the school bus in 1977, the black kids would sing this every day. There weren't many of us whites so we kept to ourselves and no one had any problems.
@joes71663 жыл бұрын
This band Ram Jam use to be Starstruck and played in and around Oxford, Ohio in the early 70's. When I first say this on YT several years ago I recognized Bill and his guitar. I graduated from Miami U in 74 and I saw Starstruck numerous times in my 4 years there. They even opened for a James Gang ( Joel Walsh's first band out of Kent, Ohio) Concert once.
@joshgellis32926 жыл бұрын
The Hell?! It's a fantastic, stunning and timeless HARD Rock song version that doesn't 'mock' the original, rather is some kind of Concorde style vs. the Wright Brothers plane original. lmao.
@JasperJanssen6 жыл бұрын
Josh Gellis who’s claiming otherwise?
@jamesbarrick34035 жыл бұрын
I always thought it was about this smoking hot black chick that was a bit of a nympho... could just be my 14 year old mind taking me there lol
@dickJohnsonpeter4 жыл бұрын
@@JasperJanssen did you watch the video? The NAACP made a big stink about it.
@TheHesseJames2 жыл бұрын
I remember hearing the song the first time on the radio. I was just "Wow!" The guitars blew me away.
@benlogan4306 ай бұрын
Black Betty is like Mississippi Queen to me! One of the best blues rock songs ever! I play em both to this day.
@paulwestenberger37103 жыл бұрын
The Calgary Stampeders of the CFL have Black Betty day during training camp where they play Black Betty on the stadium sound system all day. They have over 20 different versions on a continuous loop. The trainer of the team started the tradition because he got tired of hearing rap all day 😂
@hebneh4 жыл бұрын
When this song was popular, I really anticipated this group becoming well known and successful, with follow-up hits.
@AllSpace2 жыл бұрын
The Best Juke Box song I had ever heard besides zz tops la grange!
@patrickholt22704 жыл бұрын
Proof that quality passes the test of time - even if it's cancelled, the youth will find it and treasure it.
@PtolemyJones5 жыл бұрын
Radar Love is the best driving song ever, but this is definitely top ten... maybe top five. LA Woman is also up there...
@matthewcorya75145 жыл бұрын
PtolemyJones Born to Wild is my go to driving song.
@Burps___5 жыл бұрын
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. 🚗
@URKillingme1005 жыл бұрын
Deep Purple - Highway Star, hands-down winner best driving song ever. Radar Love close 2nd.
@leeellenwood54615 жыл бұрын
Running on empty jackson brown blows all them away
@cjpenning5 жыл бұрын
Gear Jammer, George Thoroughgood
@troddy39254 жыл бұрын
I grew up on Long Island, where these guys were from (or were formed and jamming at the time), and one day I went out to our mail box and there was 45 record inside it, no packaging, brand new in it's sleeve with 'Time Bomb' on the flip side. It was put in our mail box as an early promotional thing I guess. I was 10, I still have it. The thing is probably worth something at this point.
@jerbear79527 ай бұрын
They were from Oxford Ohio.
@chocloditelensman4 жыл бұрын
This song is the one that gets the most attention but there are many others on that album which are very soulful.
@kysersoze363210 ай бұрын
He album is great
@gregedens37123 жыл бұрын
I love this classic song from my youth in the 70's......
@gregedens37123 жыл бұрын
They had a great talented guitarists & drummer... and great singer...number - one
@spacealienjesus7095 жыл бұрын
I miss when music had balls And you knew who the artist was due to their distinctive sound.
@robertallen67104 жыл бұрын
..sad but true
@txicocamotl4 жыл бұрын
I'm more into music with boobs.
@Vlasko604 жыл бұрын
I didn't know music could have balls.
@bremCZ3 жыл бұрын
This was released in the disco era where a million songs all sounded the same. People have this warped view of music history because they forget all the forgettable songs. They make up 80% of what you hear. Only the good songs survive which feeds your belief that music was good in the old days. I was there in the 70s... the radios were full of shit.
@bremCZ3 жыл бұрын
@@txicocamotl Pavarotti?
@rodneysettle81064 жыл бұрын
Are people too sensitive about everything, it’s a great song for drums and guitar just enjoy it.
@HARDWORKCORP4 жыл бұрын
Sensitive about EVERYTHING??? naw, just MONEY AND RESPECT basically
@elizabethsullivan71763 жыл бұрын
Evidently they were "sensitive" back in the 1970s too
@indigameriseminalindian3 жыл бұрын
I wonder how sensitive would "people" be if I went on tour singing a song about white Betty in a negative light, being a "black" man.
@rodneysettle81063 жыл бұрын
@@indigameriseminalindian the song was written originally by a black artist if you wrote a cool song.
@indigameriseminalindian3 жыл бұрын
@@rodneysettle8106 I know that, because I watched the video
@OZRIC19855 жыл бұрын
This is a killer old classic song and Ram Jam really rocks the heck out of it!!! What a great band! :)
@DukesMusic844 жыл бұрын
These interviews are fantastic. As a musician they are a life saver. Keep ‘em coming, thanks!
@jasonladd64004 жыл бұрын
Shocking Bartlett never got a dime for his additions. He brought it to life and added so much.
@Kairi0914 жыл бұрын
Yeah, that's freaking wild. The Leadbelly version wasn't gonna be this kind of hit. The guitar drums and Bartlett's intense vocals are what makes this song so good.
@TexasDog33 жыл бұрын
The silliest song of 1977!! What a load of crap! That WAS a GREAT song!!
@jayfunk5988 Жыл бұрын
Legendary Classic that crossed genre's a Hip Hop staple....!
@antoniobanderas97693 жыл бұрын
I grown up ,with the funky song in the Sonoran Desert 🌵 Mexico too.
@kisle31954 жыл бұрын
This one of my favorite songs from the 70's, my 5 year old always sings it. Isn't the same without Bill Bartlett singing.
@kirkfrench13114 жыл бұрын
First time I ever heard black betty my cousin pulled in my yard with a 68 camaro he just bought and black betty blasting from the FM it was 1978 i was12
@deaneawilliams22722 жыл бұрын
This song kicks ass!!!!💜💜💜💜
@cristiancastro326 Жыл бұрын
Excelente , saludos desde Costa Rica, pura vida !!!
@edp.19176 жыл бұрын
Fantastic tune. As hard hitting as ever and I don’t hear anything “ offensive “ in it other than the beating the drums are taking.
@yourain676 жыл бұрын
Thats my jam
@dougal123able5 жыл бұрын
Joalberto
@yyz47613 жыл бұрын
In high school my best friend had the album on 8 track and he would play the whole thing at parties. The whole album is quite good.
@ChimeraAZ3 жыл бұрын
I absolutely LOVE this song!
@andrewpipitone1572 Жыл бұрын
It becaus we play for our kids my kids been hearing since they were very little. I love the long and hearing its origins is interesting. You guys should have had a top spot on in this song. I was born in 62 my kids are now 15 and 18 and play music influenced by rock. :-)
@BOSZAY4 жыл бұрын
My favorite song as of 2019...
@DigiPal5 жыл бұрын
"best driving song ever made"... No... "Radar Love" is the one, the lyrics themselves are about someone driving, and the music is just perfect.
@mole62ssf5 жыл бұрын
I love this song and love lore. Thank you for combining two things I love!
@catwoman23293 жыл бұрын
Love this song.....its on my Spotify playlist ....you'd never get away with this today
@wagherbert5 жыл бұрын
Just an amazingly good song, and if it's history is from the chain gangs, even more remarkable that it has stayed with us through so much pain. Thanks to all who recorded it :)BTW, this series is phenomenal!!!
@HigherWaysWoman2 жыл бұрын
one of the most iconic legendary songs you never really got to know about. I'll never forget it when it came out couldn't understand why this song didn't shoot them into Star status. I had a '71 Gran Prix with a 400 under the hood 4 barrel carb. great racing tires....I put this song on hit the rolling hills & back then they made the roads to fit the landscape so coming down a hill entering a bend they would angel the road so the vehicle would suck down into the bend banking off of it like a race track. turn around get back to the beginning & do it again......omg nothing could compare....!!!!!!!!!!! Ram Jam....what they did to them is shameful. I'd like to see them compensated write these guy the checks & attention they deserve & placed in Rock n Roll Hall of Fame to make up for suppressing them because of prejudice
@doveseye.46662 жыл бұрын
No one but the prison crew deserves it!
@frankimpa3 жыл бұрын
Love this. Actually searched for this about 2 months ago. Now today KZbin decides to put this in my recommended lol.
@deputyduffy3 жыл бұрын
Number one ... One hit wonder of all time..
@broncodeviltexas4 жыл бұрын
Bartlett was in the Lemon Pipers who had a hit with" Green Tambourine."
@MichaelSotoCE5 жыл бұрын
something I always wanted to have a discussion about is the difference between the Leadbelly version and the ram jam version. The Leadbelly version has a clap at sort of a weird part of the measure. It's pretty hard to get down. Ram jam's "clap" (they replaced it with a musical hit on the guitars bass and drums) makes it easier to follow along. I always wondered if that was a conscious choice or something they never even noticed.
@kasperkapteijn65853 жыл бұрын
Back in the nineties this song ended all the parties of my secondary school. It screams “this is your last chance to get kissed” :)
@larryronkq5863 жыл бұрын
A song from the 70s Ended 90s Parties .. HOW Coll is that The 70s ,, WERE FAAAAN TAST TIC
@mikekaatman31943 жыл бұрын
Well i was thirteen years old when it came out .i am from The Netherlands and it did go number one there..i still love it.
@kurtn48194 жыл бұрын
"Black Betty" is a 20th-century African-American work song often credited to Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter as the author, though the earliest recordings are not by him. Some sources claim it is one of Lead Belly's many adaptations of earlier folk material; in this case an 18th-century marching cadence about a flintlock musket. The origin and meaning of the lyrics are subject to debate. Historically the "Black Betty" of the title may refer to the nickname given to a number of objects: a musket, a bottle of whiskey, a whip, or a penitentiary transfer wagon. "Black Betty" used as an expression for a liquor bottle may ultimately owe its origin to the famous pretty black barmaid who worked at the notorious Tom King's Coffee House in Covent Garden, London, which opened in 1720. Another claim: "Black Betty is not another Frankie & Johnny, nor yet a two-timing woman that a man can moan his blues about. She is the whip that was and is used in some Southern prisons. A convict on the Darrington State Farm in Texas, where, by the way, whipping has been practically discontinued, laughed at Black Betty and mimicked her conversation in the song.". And yet another reference: As late as the 1960s, the vehicle that carried men to prison was known as "Black Betty," though the same name was also used for the whip that so often was laid on the prisoners' backs, "bam-ba-lam." While Lead Belly's 1939 recording was also performed a-cappella (with hand claps in place of hammer blows), most subsequent versions added guitar accompaniment. These include folk-style recordings in 1964 by Odetta and countless adaptations since then. The NAACP gave it negative press due to ignorance which is in itself far more degrading.
@brucelinton68814 жыл бұрын
Cheers for that, Kurt...I didnt realise there were earlier versions than Leadbelly's...I always thought the song was his :)
@johnkulpowich52604 жыл бұрын
Love your research
@profd654 жыл бұрын
Nice copy-paste.
@brianshockledge32414 жыл бұрын
@@KevinJDildonik That`s exactly right it was a British Army marching song from the early 1700s. It was later replaced with a slightly more accurate musket with an oiled walnut stock that became known as the Brown Bess.
@WinkysWorldPsionicParallax4 жыл бұрын
@@brianshockledge3241 Perhaps the prisoners heard the prison guards sing it first= or it was just an all around known song. History is interesting but complicated with speculation
@derekwalker46223 жыл бұрын
I would love to see Bill Bartlett come back out of hiding and take his rightful place among this iconic band.
@randywoolum26483 жыл бұрын
You want the truth I'll tell you. My dad played in a very popular cover band in the 80's in Cincinnati called Southern Rain. Bill was the other guitar player along with my dad. Black Betty was actually recorded by the band Starstruck....not Ram Jam, these guys are full of shit. My dad talked to Bill on the phone about 2 years ago. Bill lives in Liberty, IN and has for over 40 years. He has finally started getting royalties from Black Betty since the movie "Blow" came out with Johnny Depp. Bill for a while was playing in Oxford, OH playing piano a couple of times a week. My friend Jeremy delivers mail to Bill every day. I have cassette recordings and videos of Bill playing with southern rain(my dad's old band) in which he was a member of for a good 10 years.
@randywoolum26483 жыл бұрын
If I can get your email, I will send you some pictures and recordings of Bill with Southern Rain
@adamericsson69032 жыл бұрын
@@randywoolum2648 what's your email address, Randy?! I'm interested
@emadueno12 жыл бұрын
@@adamericsson6903 me 2
@rodneyowens41772 жыл бұрын
@@randywoolum2648 you’re absolute correct… the meme era of Ram Jam had NOTHING to do with this song. It was recorded by Starstruck before Bill even joined Ram Jam. Bill lives outside Oxford Ohio and doesn’t really play anymore.
@amaliazahav19034 жыл бұрын
I'm a NYEr and damn straight,NEVER heard this song on the radio or anywhere in NY in 77 or 78 and I mean I was all over Manhattan..............never even heard of it til a a couple years ago.............................LOVE ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!
@b.hornetiii.67717 ай бұрын
The timing of the guitars and the whole composition is just a masterpiece. It's stands on it's own.
@thevacuumtubejunky97745 жыл бұрын
Bill Bartlett was the lead guitarist for the band The Lemon Pipers in 67/68'
@jean-charlesweyland1295 жыл бұрын
Drop your silver in my tambourine Help a poor man fill his pretty dream It's been a while since I haven't heard that song ^^
@thevacuumtubejunky97745 жыл бұрын
Jean-Charles Weyland : Not long ago I ran into Ivan Brown and he was kind enough to Autograph my 1968' original Vynal L.P. "Green Tambourine", super cool guy, I wish I could get Bill and R.G. Nave' s autographs, I believe the original drummer past away???
@jimmykoeninger73275 жыл бұрын
The song Black Betty was first recorded by the band Starstruck (A band made up of former members of the Lemon Pipers) in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Truckstar records. After they broke up, Bill Bartlett moved, made the band Ram Jam, and then took the Starstruck version of Black Betty, took out some parts and switched around some parts in the song. There used to be a video of the Starstruck version (45 spinning on a record player) on KZbin but I think it got taken down.
@thevacuumtubejunky97745 жыл бұрын
@Batphink Reynolds : Not sure what your referring to?
@thevacuumtubejunky97745 жыл бұрын
@Batphink Reynolds : Ohhhh I got ya, yes he went into retirement so to speak. Ivan Brown "Lemon Pipers lead singer " is alive and well, he lives in northern California, I mailed my original 68' copy Vynal L..p and signed it and shipped it back with a ton of the Lemon Pipers gig itineraries, band photos, a c.d. of one of his current jam sessions pretty cool guy, very upbeat and outgoing.
@lesliecaldwell27993 жыл бұрын
Bill Bartlett, lead guitar and the rest of the band, RAM JAM, were cheated out of their careers. What sad story!
@davisxd47453 жыл бұрын
what how? why they only have song on their account?
@ianbeckermusic88463 жыл бұрын
@@davisxd4745 watch the video. That’s how.
@IanPanth4 жыл бұрын
I was 4 when this song came out. It was my first 45. Ram Jam’s Black Betty taught me that some music must be played loud!
@greenvillearts5024 жыл бұрын
As a kid growing up in New York City in the late 70s early 80s this song was never heard on the radio. However we were Introduced to this song in the 90’s It had became a massive club hit with a really fire remix. Never ever knew the original was by a black dude though.
@guibox35 жыл бұрын
By far he grooviest rock riff in history. It annoys the piss out of me that radio stations always cut out the upbeat guitar solo part. I mean...WHY?? They will play the last 16 choruses of 'Hey Jude', but they won't include that part of Black Betty? Same thing with the middle guitar part of 'Don't Fear the Reaper'. Stupid radio...
@davidhoward24875 жыл бұрын
"Hey Jude" drives me nuts!!!
@bombercountyblues5 жыл бұрын
All I can say to that is don't listen to radio.
@synthonaplinth59805 жыл бұрын
What about the single version of 'Roundabout' or the extended solo on 'Hold Your Head Up' by Argent?
@SecretaryBootyyJuice5 жыл бұрын
It always comes down to money, time costs money...
@jamesbarrick34035 жыл бұрын
the grooviest riff in rock history? hmmm I really doubt that. possibly a million songs, maybe more and this is the one? Nope. It is a great song that has survived 40+ years... it is really good. no need for hyperbole.
@bombercountyblues5 жыл бұрын
I challenge anyone to walk down the street with this on headphones without syncing up your footsteps to the kick drum.
@jamesbarrick34035 жыл бұрын
I'm a drummer and anybody with rythm would step to the backbeat.
@stratman60685 жыл бұрын
Cool vid. Thanks. I've loved this song since it first came out. I always thought the band was super tight.
@lizzietheheretic78314 жыл бұрын
Omg that’s fantastic ..so much I never heard about...still one of my fav rock songs 🎸🙌🙌
@hashtag4155 жыл бұрын
The song Leadbelly got his version from was about a gun. "Black Betty" was a gun, hence Bam-a-lam.
@hashtag4155 жыл бұрын
@Carolina to the Caribbean I suspect something like that perhaps.
@iganatiousjr5 жыл бұрын
A Black Betty is not a gun. It was the name given by black road gangs to the club that the guards used to keep the prisoners in line. The Bam-a lam is the sound of it being used on the back.
@markblack11635 жыл бұрын
Every body claims they know what Black Betty means.
@iganatiousjr5 жыл бұрын
@@markblack1163 Yeah, I agree. I've heard a number of explanations, including Leadbelly's own. Suffice to say, it is most likely to do with Blacks in prison.
@bugsby46635 жыл бұрын
@stringbenderE2E Funny how conservatives are the most thin skinned snowflakes though eh?
@TowManDave005 жыл бұрын
I played the shit out of this song in the early 80's
@TrueblueDC4L-G595 жыл бұрын
Everytime i had to take i BIG SHIT I played this song so I could squeeze it out
@larryronkq5863 жыл бұрын
Late 70s to When it was RELEASED ,, 70s BABY
@mikemb1235 жыл бұрын
This is one of the best songs of the 70's.
@larryronkq5863 жыл бұрын
And there were 1000s and 1000s Of Huge hits in the 1970s
@AmericanWay725 жыл бұрын
Did not know all of that. Thanks!
@vicmorrison81285 жыл бұрын
Good song. I like it. I dont need to politicize it.
@jefferysmom6964 жыл бұрын
Was also in a Little known movie called "Blow" ☺
@jimcabdriver5 жыл бұрын
hadn't heard Black Betty on radio since I was a teen, in 2006 I bought a 76 black Mustang II, trying to name her. Then one day crussin around Black Betty came on the radio I cranked it up and said that's it, and she's been known as Black Betty ever since! just want thank the band Ram Jam
@andrewrobinson16643 жыл бұрын
Great job you guys.
@gotham612 жыл бұрын
What they kind of gloss over is the fact that the Ram Jam record is not actually these guys, but is really just an edited version of the older recording Bartlett had made with his prior band Starstruck. Bartlett didn't totally disappear. Here's a recent interview by a fan who tracked him down and cold called him. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2jVdKmIiK-dl80
@RoverT655369 ай бұрын
Thanks, I knew the story but that interview is very cool. Interesting, he says, his version is about Betty Page.
@RoverT655369 ай бұрын
Any fan of this song might want to check out the original Starstruck edit, it's freaky how they chopped it up and got it to work kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2iWhWh7f9KUiZYsi=ZCxc5xkCm1RXgyBS
@sheddingmyvelvet4 жыл бұрын
wish someone would interview bill about this.
@thelegend25713 жыл бұрын
I just did. I found him, Ill post it soon
@sheddingmyvelvet3 жыл бұрын
@@thelegend2571 cant wait
@thelegend25713 жыл бұрын
@@sheddingmyvelvet ill try to have it posted by end of the month it will be on the "brutalityinbuddha" youtube channel
@sheddingmyvelvet3 жыл бұрын
@@thelegend2571 can you link me to that channel?
@fluidstatic55643 жыл бұрын
Here's the video m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2jVdKmIiK-dl80
@perrycorsetti36743 ай бұрын
Peter was an awsome drummer RIP🥁🎼🎵🎶🎸🎙
@truthteller95223 жыл бұрын
You learn something new every day.
@gperrin90505 жыл бұрын
I had NO IDEA that Ned Flanders wrote Black Betty...I'm Shook
@BlindTom614 жыл бұрын
He didn’t write it. Where the hell you get that? This is a direct rip off of three guys who played it around 1963 as folk music. They were Korner, Ray, and Glover. Young pickers you’re so lame… Don’t worry about Leadbelly listen to the three guys above.
@GTVAlfaMan4 жыл бұрын
G Perrin Ned Flanders?
@FlyWhistle4 жыл бұрын
Running on empty another great cruisin tune
@dalemareew31444 жыл бұрын
Loved it!
@tennisace40 Жыл бұрын
I could listen to this all day.
@brennensbootlegs1968 Жыл бұрын
Bill Bartlett is not a recluse and will answer anybody on the phone! He just doesn't want to talk to Jam Ram! I should know because I just spoke with Bill Bartlett! He's 80 and lives in Indiana. Bill was never a painter and has lived in Indiana since 1970!
@thomaskaaz13 жыл бұрын
"He faded into oblivion" stuff like that bugs me out, dude could be dead and we'll never know.
@Littleathquakes2 жыл бұрын
he wasn’t answering phone calls
@angel12boucher172 жыл бұрын
This was and is actually an amazing record…..love it…still love it
@HensleyDon5 жыл бұрын
'Round about 2008 - 2010 I was working on the assembly line in a factory and was genuinely shocked that absolutely never HEARD this song!
@kirbymarchbarcena5 жыл бұрын
Whoever wrote this originally really love rock music.
@orcaflotta78675 жыл бұрын
Didn't you watch the video? Leadbelly, or even some guy way before him, wrote the original. That was decades before the advent of rock'n'roll!
@gregarioussolitudinist56955 жыл бұрын
It was an ole blues song when it was written. Milk Cow Blues or Big Ten Inch Record, performed by Aerosmith, are two more GREAT examples that will have you tappin' your toes.
@3rdmm5 жыл бұрын
...and please check out Elvis' version of Milk Cow Blues.
@Jason9181145 жыл бұрын
Leadbelly also sang Midnight Special and My Girl, covered by Nirvana.
@brianglade8485 жыл бұрын
Bill Bartlett rocks
@douglascompton60165 жыл бұрын
THE GREATEST ROCK & ROLL SONG EVER RAM JAM VERSION.
@HighSierraDawn4 жыл бұрын
Thankfully they didn't ban the song from being played in the Chicago stations! Love this one! =)