Episode 258: Black Dog Blues ft. John Lennon

BDJ's Cellar Full of Remixes

The Beatles recorded this blues jam on the last day of the Get Back sessions, 31st of January 1969. In 1964 John Lennon had told an English music paper that his favourite album of the year was the great folk album, Lots More Blues, Rags and Hollers by Koerner, Ray & Glover (1963). This album contains the Black Dog Blues. Obviously, the backing track of Koemer et al. comes in handy to spice up the Lennon vocals.
Now slow the Black Dog Blues down a bit, change the lyrics and - presto! - there's Crippled Inside from Lennon's Imagine album (1971). Black Dog Blues is a traditional American country blues dating back to at least 1920. Lennon was clever enough to use a 'traditional' for Crippled Inside, so he could not be sued for plagiarism.