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"Black Betty" (Roud 11668) 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;^[1] in this case an 18th century marching cadence about a flintlock musket. There are numerous recorded versions, including a cappella, folk, and rock arrangements. The best known modern recordings are rock versions by Ram Jam and Spiderbait, both of which were hits.

Meaning and origin [link]

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 whisky, a whip, or a penitentiary transfer wagon, as referenced in the following paragraphs:

Some sources claim the song is derived from an 18th century marching cadence about a flint-lock musket with a black painted stock; the "bam-ba-lam" lyric referring to the sound of the gunfire. Soldiers in the field were said to be "hugging Black Betty". In this interpretation, the musket was superseded by its "child", a musket with an unpainted walnut stock known as a "Brown Bess".^[2]

In "Caldwells's Illustrated Combination Centennial Atlas of Washington Co. Pennsylvania of 1876", there is a short section describing wedding ceremonies and marriage customs on page 12. Caldwell describes a wedding tradition where two young men from the bridegroom procession were challenged to run for a bottle of whiskey. This challenge was usually given when the bridegroom party was about a mile from the destination home where the ceremony was to be had. Upon securing prize, referred to as "Black Betty" the winner of the race would bring the bottle back to the bridegroom and his party. The whiskey was offered to the bridegroom first and then successively to each of the grooms friends.

The earliest meaning of "Black Betty" in the United States (from at least 1827) was a liquor bottle.^[3][4] In January 1736, Benjamin Franklin published The Drinker's Dictionary in the Pennsylvania Gazette offering 228 round-about phrases for being drunk. One of those phrases is "He's kiss'd black Betty."^[5][6]

David Hackett Fischer, in his book Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America (Oxford University Press, 1989), states that "Black Betty" was a common term for a bottle of whisky in the borderlands of northern England/southern Scotland, and later in the backcountry areas of the eastern United States.

In an interview^[7] conducted by Alan Lomax with a former prisoner of the Texas penal farm named Doc Reese (aka "Big Head"), Reese stated that the term "Black Betty" was used by prisoners to refer to the "Black Maria" — the penitentiary transfer wagon.

In 1934, John A. and Alan Lomax in their book, American Ballads and Folk Songs described the origins of "Black Betty" as thus:

John Lomax also interviewed blues musician James Baker (better known as "Iron Head") in 1934, almost one year after recording Iron Head performing the first known recording of the song.^[9] In the resulting article for Musical Quarterly, titled ""Sinful Songs" of the Southern Negro", Lomax again mentions the nickname of the bullwhip is "Black Betty".^[10] Steven Cornelius in his book, Music of the Civil War Era, states in a section concerning folk music following the war's end that "..prisoners sang of "Black Betty", the driver's whip."^[11] Robert Vells, in Life Flows On in Endless Song: Folk Songs and American History, writes:

In later versions, 'Black Betty' was depicted as various vehicles, including a motorcycle and a hot rod.

Early recordings, 1933-39 [link]

The song was first recorded in the field by U.S. musicologists John and Alan Lomax in 1933, performed a cappella by the convict James Baker (also known as Iron Head) and a group at Central State Farm, Sugar Land, Texas (a State prison farm).^[13]

The Lomaxes were recording for the Library of Congress and later field recordings in 1934, 1936 and 1939 also include versions of "Black Betty". It was recorded commercially in New York in 1939 for the Musicraft label by Lead Belly, as part of a medley with two other work songs: "Looky Looky Yonder" and "Yellow Woman's Doorbells". Musicraft issued the recording in 1939 as part of a 78rpm five-disc album entitled Negro Sinful Songs sung by Lead Belly.^[14] Lead Belly had a long association with the Lomaxes, and had himself served time in State prison farms.

Post-1939 [link]

While Lead Belly's 1939 recording was also performed a cappella, most subsequent versions added a guitar accompaniment. These include folk-style recordings in 1964 by Odetta (as a medley with "Looky Yonder"), Dave "Snaker" Ray,^[15] and Alan Lomax himself.^[16]

In 1972 the British Progressive Rock group Manfred Mann's Earth Band performed the song live for John Peel's In Concert on the BBC, but this has not been publicly released.^[17] In 1976 a Cincinnati band, Starstruck, recorded a rock version of the song with modified lyrics on the Truckstar label which had little success.

In 1977, the rock band Ram Jam — which included former Starstruck and Lemon Pipers guitarist Bill Bartlett — rereleased an edit of the Starstruck recording of the song with producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz under Epic Records. The song became an instant hit with listeners, as it reached number 18 on the singles charts in the United States and the top ten in the UK and Australia. At the same time, the lyrics became the cause of a boycott by civil rights groups NAACP and Congress of Racial Equality.^{[citation needed]}

In 1990 dance remixes of Ram Jam's version made the top twenty of the US dance and UK charts and top thirty in Australia. Other notable artists such as Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (1986) and Tom Jones (2002) have covered the song.

In 1992 remixer Hank Shocklee of The Bomb Squad used a riff from the Ram Jam single as a sample for a remix of Live's "Pain Lies on the Riverside". It was not until 1997 that the remix became commercially available.

In 2004, Spiderbait's re-working of Ram Jam's rock arrangement was a hit in Australia. The song, from their Tonight Alright album, was also used in the movie Without A Paddle and Electronic Arts's 2004 game Need for Speed: Underground 2.

In 2006 the University of New Hampshire administration controversially banned the playing of Ram Jam's "Black Betty" at UNH Hockey games. UNH Athletic Director Marty Scarano explained the reason for the decision: "UNH is not going to stand for something that insults any segment of society".^[18] In 2006 the students of University of New Hampshire started the "Save Black Betty" campaign. Students protested at the hockey games by singing Ram Jam's "Black Betty", wearing t-shirts that were blue with white writing on the front "Save Black Betty" and white writing on the back "Bam-A-Lam", and holding up campaign posters at the game.

In 2008 a franchise of bars first opened in New Jersey named "Black Bettys Saloon". One of the aspects of the franchise is the playing of various versions of the "Black Betty" song, which the barmaids dance to.^{[citation needed]}

On May 15, 2011 A new version called "Black Betty (she gets me high)" by Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, Travis Barker, Mick Mars and Sebastian Bach was world premiered on "Anything Anything with Rich Russo" on WRXP-FM in New York City. The song is slated for fall 2011 release. Additionally, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion released a version on a 7" single in 2011.

In the media [link]

The inclusion or exclusion of items from this list, or length of this list, is disputed. Please discuss this issue on the talk page. March 2012

Movies [link]

• 1967 movie Shanty Tramp.^[19]
• 2001 film Blow.
• 2001 comedy film Super Troopers.
• 2002 comedy movie Kung Pow! Enter the Fist.
• 2003 film Basic.
• 2004 film Without a Paddle
• Spiderbait's version can be heard in the movies Miss Congeniality 2, Guess Who, The Brave One (2007 film), and The Condemned (2007), the trailer for the 2007 film Smokin' Aces
• 2005 film The Dukes of Hazzard used both versions by Spiderbait (on the trailer) and Ram Jam (in the film itself).
• 2006 film Arthur and the Invisibles.
• 2007 film TMNT. This version is by the band Big City Rock.
• 2007 film The Brave One.
• 2008 film Rex has a cover as its opening scene music.
• 2008 skateboard video "Baker Has A Deathwish." by Baker Skateboards.
• 2010 film Cop Out, as a character was going to climb a building to commit a robbery
• 2010 film The Losers it is played as the soldiers enter the drug camp.
• 2011 film Death Race 2 when Carl "Luke" Lucas drive the Mustang GT in a Terminal State.
• 2011 film Harold and Kumar 3 used for all trailers

Television [link]

• In the Malcolm in the Middle episode "Reese joins the Army" (2), and once in an episode of Wildboys on MTV
• Ram Jam's version used in the TV show My Name Is Earl episode "Randy's Touchdown".
• In the pilot episode of NBC's television show Friday Night Lights.
• Appeared in BBC sketch show Dry Your Eyes in the form of a cursed motorbike.
• Underbelly, an Australian television drama series, 2008.
• Was used in So You Think You Can Dance by Mark Kanemura in one of his solos on Season 4.
• Was used in the pilot episode of Eastbound & Down HBO 2009
• Was used on MTV Show Viva La Bam (a spinoff of Jackass). MTV 2007
• Was used in the FlashForward episode "Blowback". ABC 2010
• Was used in the The Defenders (2010 TV series) episode "Las Vegas vs. Johnson". CBS 2010

Advertising [link]

• Was used on a Toyota ad in Australia in 2005 promoting the then new Hilux.
• Was used in Nintendo's Mario Pinball Land commercial.
• Was used in commercials for Battlefield: Bad Company
• Was used in an ad for Smiths Chips
• Was used in an ad for E*Trade
• Was used in an ad for the video game Pac-Man World 2
• Was used in an ad for the New Style Volkswagen Beetle in Super Bowl XLV in 2011.
• Kalgoolie Cops Fox Australia

Games [link]

• The song appears in the video game The Darkness II while the Spiderbait version appears in Need for Speed: Underground 2.
• Five performance styles of the song (including Marching Band) are included in the Wii game Battle of the Bands.
• The song is a downloadable in the game Guitar Hero World Tour.
• In the Australian version of 2006 FIFA World Cup the song is played when Jake Verry is unlocked as a playable character.

Books [link]

• Bob Dylan parodied the song in his experimental novel Tarantula (published 1971).
• Walter Mosley titled his fourth Easy Rawlins novel Black Betty (published 1994).

Sports theme [link]

• Former Major League Baseball pitcher Mike Timlin used the song when he came out of the bullpen at home games.
• Texas Rangers' second baseman Ian Kinsler uses this song as his intro music when he comes up to bat.
• During his NHL career, Cam Neely reportedly would listen to this song once before every game as part of a supersitious ritual.
• MLB' first baseman-outfielder Darin Erstad uses this song as his intro music when he comes up to bat.
• The New York Yankees commonly play this song during their home games in Yankee Stadium most often during key rallies.
• ABN Amro used the name Black Betty for their main boat which won the Volvo Ocean Race 05/06.
• The Kansas City Chiefs play "Black Betty" before every kick at home games at Arrowhead Stadium at the Truman Sports Complex.
• The New Zealand A1 GP Team use a modified version of "Black Betty" sung as "Black Beauty" as the new theme song for their "Black Beauty" race car
• The Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders use the song to pump up the crowd, usually before a big face-off
• The UNH Wildcats men's hockey team used to use the song during warmups until it was banned by the NCAA.
• The New York Mets major league baseball team used the Ram Jam version of this song as the theme song to their pre-game and post-game/Mets Extra shows on their radio station WFAN 660 AM New York for all of 2006 through 2011.
• Was used as the entrance song for Jesse Lennox at UFC 101.
• The Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League hold a "Black Betty Day" once during training camp. The song is played all day long in the dressing room and on the practise field. In 2010, seven different versions of the song were played.
• World Snooker number 5 Stephen Maguire used the song as his entrance music at the 2010 World Open.
• Professional wrestler Adam Pearce used a remix of this song as theme music while appearing with Ring of Honor and Full Impact Pro. Japanese wrestler Togi Makabe was known to have used this too.

Selected list of recorded versions [link]

• 1933 James Baker (AKA Iron Head) and group^[20]
• 1939 Mose Platt (AKA Clear Rock)^[21]
• 1939 Huddie Ledbetter (AKA Lead Belly), originally on the 78rpm album Negro Sinful Songs
• 1964 Odetta, Odetta Sings of Many Things album
• 1964 Alan Lomax, Texas Folk Songs album
• 1964 Koerner, Ray & Glover, Lots More Blues, Rags and Hollers album
• 1972 Manfred Mann's Earth Band, BBC live recording for John Peel's In Concert (unreleased)
• 1976 Starstruck
• 1977 Ram Jam, UK #7 single, US #18 single, also on the US #34 album Ram Jam
• 1986 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Kicking Against the Pricks album
• 1989 Mekong Delta (band), Toccata 12" Maxi-Single
• 1990 Ram Jam, Australia #17 single, Ben Liebrand remix of the original 1977 version called the "Rough 'n' Ready Remix"
• 1992 Electric Boys, Dying To Be Loved CD Single (Taken from the album Groovus Maximus )
• 1994 Electric Boys, Freewheelin' album
• 1994 Electric Boys, Groover CD Single (Taken from the album Freewheelin')
• 2001 The Candy Snatchers on the "Taking a Ride" EP.
• 2002 Tom Jones UK #50 single, also on the UK #36 album Mr. Tom Jones
• 2002 Throttlerod, on the compilation album Sucking The '70s
• 2004 Spiderbait, AUS #1 single, also on the AUS #14 album Tonight Alright
• 2005 Pumpjack, Triple Platinum album
• 2005 Tony C. and the Truth
• 2006 Meat Loaf, Bat Out Of Hell III single B-side
• 2006 Joe Brown, Down To Earth album
• 2006 Ying Yang Twins' song "Dangerous" contains a sample of the Ram Jam version
• 2007 Big City Rock on the TMNT soundtrack
• 2007 Soil, on the re-release of the album Throttle Junkies
• 2008 Ministry, on their cover album Cover Up
• 2011 Blues Explosion, in a teaser for the not-yet revealed Volkswagen Beetle^[22]
• 2011 Melvins

Fleetwood Mac take-off [link]

On Fleetwood Mac's 2003 album Say You Will, guitarist Lindsey Buckingham reworked the chorus of "Black Betty" for his song "Murrow Turning Over In His Grave," an attack on the contemporary news media. For the "Black Betty had a child" line, Buckingham substituted the name of the reporter Ed Murrow.

See also [link]

• Brown Bess - the rifle that superseded Black Betty
• Roud Folk Song Index

References [link]

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0991028/ https://www.worldsnooker.com/world_open_blog.htm

Bibliography [link]

• Collins, Lewis. Historical Sketches of Kentucky. Cincinnati: James & Co. (1848).
• Thornton, Richard H. (ed.). An American Glossary. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company (1912).

External links [link]

• Black Betty at Allmusic
• SecondHandSongs: List of cover versions