Skip James - Hard Times Killing Floor Blues, American Folk and Blues Festival, Cologne Oct. 9, 1967

[@RamblinBob]

UPDATE NOVEMBER 2018: please enjoy my new VintageBlues4K version of Skip's original 1931 recording of this song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnmof31np8ydZ7M

[@bellapheron]

great document. thanks for posting.

[@RamblinBob]

And the article about this song: steemit.com/music/@ramblin-bob/vintageblues4k-episode-05-hard-times-killing-floor-blues-by-skip-james-1931

[@f.c.6101]

By far the cleanist version. Always loved this piece, but this version penetrates as to mute all question after the finish..just sittin' after that.

[@professorpatpending8731]

Ramblin' Bob 👏

[@Wood111112]

What are you talking about referring to "next Great Depression?"

[@Hollowsmith]

"The blues don't sound like sadness. It sounds like suffering through something. And suffering through something ain't sadness. It's fighting the sadness off with strength. That's what the blues sounds like. It's a tougher sound than sadness. It's the sound of carrying on somehow." - Buddy Guy (1982)

[@matthewwynn3025]

I've never heard this quote before, and it honestly made me tear up from the raw truth of it. I learned how to play the blues by ear when I was a teenager, and have been playing/ writing stuff ever since. That quote just encapsulates the feelings/ sounds/ feel of the blues so well Another thing that struck me from this quote is the philosophical similarities to some of Nietzsche's ideas. The main idea being: "To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering." - Friedrich Nietzsche

[@evmanbutts]

As my grandfather put it, blues is not sadness, is carrying that sadness on your back as you continue on.

[@toddholmes4480]

Buddy Guy was a great drummer, but I think he was a bit of an asshole, not all talented people are necessarily nice people.

[@Hollowsmith]

@@toddholmes4480 You're thinking of Buddy Rich. Buddy Guy was a black blues guitarist and singer. Buddy Rich was the famous drummer.

[@toddholmes4480]

@@Hollowsmith Boy is my face red! My deepest apology to Buddy Guy, and to his fans. Thanks for setting me straight! However, Buddy Rich could be a bit of a dick, especially when he was bitching about country music.

[@Evitaschannel]

Crazy how someone from such a different time and life as my own can make such a great impact on me.

[@treroney4720]

Hard times are universal. Jesus went through them. Mohamed went through them. Without a doubt our grandchildren will go through them. That’s essentially what the blues is about

[@ishmaeldiz2995]

Hell yeah,, made such a difference in my musical choices when learning to play,, such a legend, such a song

[@bluesloverdelux5010]

Music is universal when it has a soul..

[@johnchappell9232]

Ah...bullshit..ain't about Jesus..its about the truth..right now..and every now..no one was ever saved by a book..

[@ALIOOP1234]

@@johnchappell9232 it's not about the "book" ... it's about The Great I Am there is no creation without a creator keep it simple amen

[@therealsi-b1141]

This is unquestionably my favourite blues song - but this man's voice is a thing of such haunting beauty it mesmerizes you completely

[@kzustang]

Skip James is the most haunting and unique blues figure ever. This song specifically is my all time favorite blues song. It's just on another level.

[@censusgary]

This performance was in October 1967, when I was 9. And now I’m the age Skip James was then, and this song is as up-to-date as ever. The Blues are eternal.

[@kelvyquayo]

🙏🏼❤️

[@B.Schmidt-c9v]

I can appreciate these clean sounding performances from the 1960's....but IMHO the scratchy old 78's from the 20's and 30's have something exceptional about them....they are what I call "distant" sounding.

[@tomjacobson9906]

Some 50 years ago I met and befriended Skip James, and I can testify that this was one of his finest performances - maybe his best. He was fighting cancer at this point, and he knew that his days were numbered. It was a truly hard times killing floor for Skip and you "can feel it in your deep down" - as he would say. Skip was more than a blues singer - he was a musical genius. It is lucky for us that he had a chance to go to Europe, and to be recorded in such a dignified manner. This video is a treasure....

[@impalamama7302]

Wow! As a fledgling nurse working at the John Gaston Hospital in Memphis, I took care of more than one of the ol' blues and jazz greats in their last days. I especially remember Ma Rainey! All of us nurses treated her like a queen in her last days, and made sure she was buried proper and had flowers for her funeral.

[@rcanoli99]

@@impalamama7302 Thank you from all of us who love and respect these artists...

[@dannyharrington4978]

Dam! You got a life experience that can always make you smile.

[@dannyharrington4978]

Did they give you any momentos?

[@tomjacobson9906]

Dan, yes I got a lot of momentos: lots of letters, signed albums, etc. Skip invited me to stay with him in Philadelphia - "As long as you like". He was a prince. See my extensive piece "Meeting Skip James" on the web debunking Stephen Calt's hatchet job on Skip. I think he was angry because Skip didn't leave him anything in his will. Total BS book....

[@panammmsy1869]

The amount of talent and genius in this single performance is hard to comprehend.

[@justinwmusic]

That voice is every bit as brilliant as the guitar playing

[@HbagMbag]

What a voice!? The sound of an angel with the humility of a saint! How can words possibly describe? Such temperance in the voice. ❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@seanpennhauer9133]

Can you believe that he was a pimp and night club owner?

[@blues.baseball.badanxiety]

Skip James gives me goosebumps every time I listen to him. That man right there is a legend.

[@rottenrobb2583]

One of the first songs I ever learned on the guitar as a boy in West Virginia, a few years ago now. My neighbor was an old drunk, and he drank himself to death, but not before teaching me a few old blues, Hank, and Johnny Cash songs. You can hear a classic Appalachian folk influence in the blues, and a heavy delta blues influence in old country artists like Hank Williams, and it is so interesting to follow their progression into modern country and rock today, something that could have only happened right here in America. This song reminds me that we are all interconnected in so many ways, this song speaks to me on a deeper level than anything I hear today, white black or otherwise. Surrounded by poverty, drugs, and despair all of my life the blues resonates within my soul. Thanks for taking the time to read.

[@thanpersand]

Thanks for sharing your story! Good insight.

[@nathandean4412]

this is so amazing, i love seeing the man behind the voice and the song in action, HISTORY, thank you!

[@beefsoda1]

Holy shit that's a quality recording

[@extrasalt4595]

German engineering. Hoomeyow!!

[@Nebraska66]

A haunting melody, soulfully rendered

[@scottgraves4754]

Fantastic that this was preserved for us to enjoy today!

[@Portarius1984]

This song hits hard in 2023.

[@namarupa3015]

Oh boy, does it ever!

[@thelearicist]

Yup

[@aeacidae312]

Relevant song these days.

[@andrewpride5230]

Truth

[@tomfrascina5846]

Listening now in anticipation of the worldwide depression that's probably going to hit once this is over..

[@aeacidae312]

@@tomfrascina5846 beautiful music of today will come of it. old chinese saying "may you live in interesting times" damn sure we do brother.

[@SteveArvey]

Nothing like going back to the original. So many different versions of this song. This one has inspired so many people in the blues world.

[@Mr.Pennington]

A Voice like cold winter wind.

[@seanroche4629]

Damn I wish I wrote that.😯 you mind if I take that for a song👍

[@Auntkekebaby]

Yes!!!! 🌬 and the picking too

[@jamesfreud1]

His voice cuts me to the core. Absolutely beautiful.

[@martimar541]

I am from Mississippi and have played blues on stage for years. I am ashamed to admit I never heard this before....pure blues

[@philippetrie1715]

Looks like we don't really need another awestruck comment here but I can't help it. Skip James just blows me away. One of the great, great originals of the 20th century. This music gets inside the sorrow of the entire Black experience in America and it just stays there but it is not depressing. Haunting, disturbing, unmooring even but not depressing. It is art (and from what I have read of him he knew that). I am grateful that we have this! Amen.

[@davidwalker5054]

You have got to admire and respect the old black bluesmen. They had style and class that you dont see anymore

[@Forthestate]

The Bentonia Blues style, from Bentonia, Mississippi; Skip James was its greatest exponent. I don't think I've ever heard anything in the blues more hauntingly beautiful than this man's voice, or guitar playing more sophisticated. Amazing to think that hard times drove him to give the guitar up virtually for nearly thirty years. In 1964 he was discovered in a hospital in Tunica, Mississippi, being treated for the cancer which would kill him five years later, and while in remission that same year, they put him up before an astonished audience at the Newport Folk Festival. He was virtually unknown.

[@methodinsane]

A whole minute of an introduction giving real background to the song and Skip James. The don't write em' like the used to, they don't show em' how they used to. Beautiful.

[@Comeasyouare77]

This is a gem. I pray we never lose this video

[@huggniceman4975]

I've listened to this quite a bit lately, and this man's voice always gives me chills. Sounds downright haunting and I love it.

[@CH-ns4gv]

The lower I get in life, the better music I listen to. Needless to say I'm pretty damn low

[@wd8779]

Man is just me or can you feel the blues deep down in your soul?

[@pevvyndrake]

This is the best version of this song. Jesus...

[@legendofgood4278]

this song saved my life when I was 19. first time I heard it I cried . from that day forward I knew I wasn't alone and not only that. that others needed me.

[@tiagobjesus]

Chris Miller that's amazing dude. This song is quite something indeed. All good to you man

[@randommodnar7141]

Absolutely haunting vocal performance. Incredible

[@edk5765]

The man leaves the hospital bed to play us a tune...in turn left his mark forever.....thank you Mr. James.

[@rodsreel]

His voice could awake the dead from all those deep depression years - a voice that suffocates, mighty powerful,

[@MatthiasProspero]

America didn't deserve you. You were a voice crying out in the wilderness. But some of us were fortunate enough to find you, and so you will live forever. Nehemiah "Skip" James. Legend.

[@soulstorm8806]

This song is my hands down favorite blues song and it is indeed hauntingly vibrantly brilliantly beautiful. Thank you Brother Skip James.

[@lemoi4102]

this must be one of the most beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard. His music is like wind. It floats straight through you. Catches your inner side like a gust can.

[@tom4v52]

One of the greatest songwriters in popular music.. fragile like a flower in the wind, and haunting like a moan in the dark

[@fullwaverecked]

Exactly. Right after you get thumped with a ball bat.

[@stevee7774]

Full Wave Recked - Another good one man!

[@dannyharrington4978]

Haunting voice. Why do I keep coming back to this song

[@laggardly6201]

this guy literally pulls the mystery, the cosmos and eons of old time with this song. The truth in this piece of music should make us all very humble

[@LauraBurnett-n6j]

This song came first but reminds me of Blind Faith's "Cant find My Way Home" in feel. You can really hear how famous musicians were heavily influenced by him, John Hurt and others. Thank you to all the blues legends. They paved the way.

[@agustinvidal99]

this is one of many humanity’s treasures and must be cherished and appreciated.

[@davidwalker5054]

Love all these old black bluesmen. They had class and style and some of the coolest muthas to walk the earth

[@dddpvt]

DAMN STRAIGHT

[@davidgordon4798]

Hard times is here and everywhere you go Times are harder than ever been before You know that people they are drifting from door to door But they can't find no heaven, I don't care where they go You know you say you have some money, but you better be sure Y'know these hard times goin' kill you, just drag on slow You know when you hear me singing this old, lonesome song People you know these hard times can stay here so long Now if I can ever get up off of this old, hard tiring floor People I'll never get down this low no more

[@FortunateJuice]

Audio quality is incredible for a 1967 recording.

[@jimmonaghan5745]

High quality audio playback has been possible since the dawning of tape as long as you have the masters and you store them correctly. This looks like it's a direct feed before broadcast

[@portoflongbeach]

@@jimmonaghan5745 And the video quality of this is also amazing if you have the original. It lost something in the upload.

[@jimmonaghan5745]

@@portoflongbeach for sure. KZbin codec lowers quality of video.and audio. But makes sense. How else do you fit millions of HD and 4k video onto the servers?

[@Truetoo102]

Wow, never heard Skip before, he had a beautiful soulful voice.

[@kingloverodrigues2103]

One of the best songs ever made in the history of music

[@cementeagle3596]

thank you blind owl wilson for tracking down skip james and showing him he was loved.

[@redskindan78]

I heard about Skip James and then saw him at the Ontario Place, in Washington, DC, about 1964. Eerie. I'm glad people have not forgotten him.

[@tomjacobson9906]

Wow! Over a million views! When I saw him perform in a tiny club in San Diego there were about 30 or so people in the audience. I knew at the time that he was a very important artist, and it was really a shame that he didn't get the recognition he deserved. He would write me, "Haven't had a show in 4 months" etc., etc.. He was hurting. If he could only see that he got over a million views! He was a true national treasure.....

[@orlandochristopher7325]

One of my favorite songs ever written.

[@andrewalvey188]

This man walked through more than a few graveyards. He stopped playing his secular music but continued playing in the church. When he was "rediscovered" he was one of only a couple bluesmen( imo) that played better than when they were younger. A serious man singing about serious things. "There is a war between the The Lord and The Devil. It's battlefield is in the hearts of men." To me, Skip James' life and music embody that.

[@saulgoodman7509]

Wow what a voice! Its high and melodic, smooth as honey but with a little gravel underneath.

[@Jiv_Ing57819]

n with that guitar twang coming from playing near the bridge, his own one man band : -D

[@airguitarmaster]

Why is the audio quality so fantastic? Them damn Germans. On point

[@SneakyCheeseThief]

For real! I’m genuinely amazed.

[@Zb_Calisthenic]

Wondering the same thing! Damn

[@thebr0wnhornet]

Neumann microphones were way ahead of their time

[@charlie863]

Recorded 1967 technology was pretty good

[@stewartcunningham3818]

Look up Telefunken microphone technology...Germany got stiffed in post WW2 allocation of radio bandwidth...so they had to re-design their equipment and systems to be better quality.

[@literallyshaking8019]

Hard times is here and everywhere you go Times are harder than ever been before You know that people, they are are driftin' from door to door But you can't find no heaven, I don't care where they go People, if I ever can get up off of this old hard killin' floor Lord, I'll never get down this low no more When you hear me singin' this old lonesome song People, you know these hard times can last us so long You know, you say you had money, you better be sure Lord, these hard times gon' kill you, just drag on slow

[@catdaddy3302]

I’m from The Mississippi Delta, and I regret never seeing him. 💙

[@melanieyork11]

I "see" his triumphant spirit when I listen to him sing. He (Nehemiah), Son House, and J. B. Lenoire are what can I say, indescribably all I love in early Delta Blues ...

[@audiophileman7047]

Skip James is one of the truly great blues artists of the 20th Century. The world would be a less bright place without his extraordinary songs! 👍👍👍👍👍

[@faintiam2070]

My great auntie had memorized this song.. she didn’t have any way to record it.. she memorized this song from hearing her dad sing and hum it.. I’m so blessed to hear this again from its roots..

[@campyoldie]

I saw this great artist in the early 60's in Birmingham (UK). He was amazing and seemed to sing from his life experiences. As far as I know, he also wrote "I'm So Glad'; later made famous by the brilliant 'Cream' ; sang by Jack Bruce.

[@averypiper2850]

This is one of the greatest live performances of all time.

[@ant1952]

Holy shit, that voice is so haunting

[@sockmonkey22]

What a magnificent voice, soft and harsh woven together.

[@allangow4746]

Skip James was a giant talent that wasn't recognised at his peak. He is now remembered in blues circles for his remarkable ability. Thanks for posting.

[@wendypope37]

60+ years since this was played on the German TV Music show 100 years since it was first played . I know life is before I was born I'm not stupid as to not know history, but it's still mind boggling with the lyrics still as valid today as then

[@wendypope9211]

@@RasTona_ I agree I've seen a few old recordings with German TV and they've bothered to keep them in storage, the presenters are there to not make the program all about them and they are the star they have these as the guest singers are there to sort of record for prosperity the music lyrics and the singer I get that feeling anyway and it's a complete platform for the singer to shine in their performance and the presenter just introduces even if in a stilted way like 'here is so n so' with no interaction it is a bit weird. But I suppose we are used to presenters and chat show hosts in modern day.

[@goodun2974]

@@wendypope9211 , check out the Folk Seattle channel on KZbin: excellent tv-studio performances by and interviews with blues players such as Brownie McGhee and Elizabeth Cotten. Good sound, and closeup video of their hands. Lots of great stuff there!

[@wendypope9211]

@@goodun2974 I will look this up I do appreciate good music of any type I only struggle with jazz but you know got a few years to try again Miles Davis I suppose i can look at again saw the film birth of cool i think 4? years back that was really good

[@Auntkekebaby]

Great music and souls will always be relevant/timeless. He's singing the blues about the killing floor. You can transfer that blues to Walmart or Amazon workers, overseas factory work...it goes on and on.

[@mrmockatoo6786]

If that ain't the blues...what is? I feel like crying every time I hear it - so sad, so beautiful.

[@dudeok5978]

I had only ever heard Skip's recordings from the 1930's. Seeing him here in such good audio and video quality blew the top of my head off. I may add too that I think Skip may have gotten better with age, this performance is stunning.

[@thefriendsofcoal1152]

His voice shoots lightning through my spine

[@ryantrimble356]

His voice is proof that his soul has felt hard times.

[@Baghdadbatterymusic]

Probably my favorite song of all time. haunting, powerful, timeless, painfully human... like nothing i've ever heard.

[@greatalaska6429]

How these hard times just keep coming back around.

[@AnonymousBosch3158]

They have never gone actually...

[@schechter01]

They always do, sooner or later.

[@andrewbabooshkin3557]

He don't shred. I very like it . To say the truth it's one of my favourite bluesman. You don't need to roar to sing the blues

[@daeds.paints]

First notes and my back is full of shivers. I want to hear this when I go.

[@bluto212]

Jaw dropped the first time I heard his voice

[@circlecloud11]

His angelic voice sends shivers up my spine.......smooth, beautiful and tortuous. Combined with his haunting guitar playing it's just so beautiful.

[@johnstrawb3521]

Extraordinary voice. Just extraordinary. Seems to float above this plane.

[@sethw997]

That mic and vocal sound is phenomenal for a 54 year old recording

[@mcfcguvnors]

incredible isnt it

[@beaksofeagles]

Is it because it's German technology?

[@GuitarTuningOnline]

@@beaksofeagles its weird how so many great live performances that can be found on youtube are from German music shows (Louis Armstrong, Samy Davis Jr. and so on ...)

[@OGaian]

@@beaksofeagles its because the technology for microphones never changed; the unfortunate truth was the schematics for the Microphone had been patented and protected for luxury application. on a tangent, recently the patent for microphones expired; so, recently, there's been a big boom of third party microphone mods. (aka people getting cheap microphones, then buying 'mods' that fit the mic they bought for about the same price as the mic, giving a~100$ mic about 3000$ worth quality- same 'pieces' just a more refined version from the same schematics all mics follow)

[@beaksofeagles]

@@OGaian Haha! Ernie Seeler was born in Cuba of GERMAN parents.

[@johnbutler5650]

You can hear the field holler skeleton in the structure of this song, but Skip’s voice gives it such subtleness that it just borders on the ethereal! His guitar work is so in sync with his singing as well. Listening to his lyrics, you could see how his songs( as well as other blues musicians’ ) would appeal to European audiences. Even in the early 60’s there were plenty of people still dealing with hardships brought on by a post-war recovery.

[@Datanditto]

Yeah huh

[@oninbo]

Spine tingling... Skip was incredible. That voice... wow. Never seen this live footage.

[@Jim-oe9pt]

This video is so precious, we are all so lucky that it even exists. Thank you for posting this integral piece of American Civilization. Skip James is surely up in heaven now, resting from all his labors. Where would the blues be without him and Son House and Charley Patton and all the other giants?

[@GixxerRider1991]

God what a beautiful voice.

[@pierric2748]

I've always known the Chris Thomas King version from the O'Brother soundtrack, that I loved so much, but this one is haunting. Really glad to discover it, I'll keep coming back here

[@ElBrooklyn1]

Chris King’s version is great. But this is the real shit, son.

[@Richard-xu4cj]

classic footage of a brilliant musician! TY Ramblin' Bob and youtube!

[@MN-qr2zi]

Incredible, the passion, the sound, the soul. What happened to music...

[@commoneuropeanstarling]

sadly, it sold its soul to the satanic free market capitalism

[@timepanini]

@@commoneuropeanstarlingsatanic free market sounds metal as fuck. Instead we are stuck with the Christian free market. It sucks

[@highsocietysongchannel]

I had heard of Skip James and always loved anything blues. This means I have attended a lot of concerts and purchased a lot of music. The vocals (especially) and guitar expertise of this performance from 1967 is absolutely magical.

[@usmh]

This is why I love Skip James. The -skill-. He sings so beautifully, and it's like fingers were made to find their way perfectly on those frets. His skill doesn't turn him in a pompous direction either, but rather his style is just through and through cool.

[@Whitman1819]

I must come back to this performance every month...just mesmerizing. R.I.P. brother...

[@sabatheus]

This has the weight, the gravitas, of someone who lived through the Great Depression. Yes, there have been covers of this song, but none that resonate with such desperation and melancholy.

[@michaelfriel1776]

To the uploader of this: it's an absolutely unusually beautiful and emotional piece of magic. I hope if there's a God up there that Skip James receives in heavenly royalties a millionfold of what he invested in beauty for us down here on earth to listen to him. Thank you!

[@tonyt303]

Totally stunned...Know this tune but never seen this video before...Amazing !!!!

[@HerveMendell]

This is utterly historic. I had a record called "The Great Blues Men" back in 1985. I highly recommend it if you can find it. Skip James is on it singing a song called "Cyprus Grove." Just hypnotic, melancholy, and absolutely authentic. This is real music, so different that the corporate crap we have today.

[@ALovelyLad]

As soon as I heard the timbre in his voice I was absolutely floored

[@zainpunka1703]

me too, thats the blues right there!

[@robpattison6606]

falsetto like no no ones business!

[@robpattison6606]

@@zainpunka1703 ‘tis

[@runraven9025]

among the most beautiful songs ever

[@chucknola484]

Damn we’re in a tight spot!

[@unclenogbad1509]

Thanks for posting this, wonderful piece of culture. Aside from the great voice and expressive feelings, I'm fascinated just watching his fingers on the guitar neck and strings, speaking as emotionally through his instrument as through his song. Unassuming genius.

[@nathankop6148]

Haunting and beautiful at the same time.

[@kdxracer184]

This man lived this song and it shows.

[@JoshHenery]

I thought I felt it in the O brother were art thou film but this really hits the soul!

[@coyotecreekblues6935]

Skips voice was silky smooth and so hypnotic.

[@raoufbasit]

Music so real it pierces right through your heart and sou5

[@jerryrodriguez5431]

Whoa...first time seeing this. Such a treasure to have these lost performances.