Milk Cow Blues (song)

"Milk Cow Blues"
Single by Kokomo Arnold
B-side	"Old Original Kokomo Blues"
Released	October 1934 (1934-10)
Format	10″ 78rpm
Recorded	September 10, 1934[1]
Genre	Blues
Label	Decca
Writer(s)	Kokomo Arnold
Kokomo Arnold singles chronology
"Gitfiddle Jim" (1934) "Milk Cow Blues" (1934) "Back to the Woods" (1934)

Milk Cow Blues is a blues song written and originally recorded by Kokomo Arnold.

Original version

The original version was recorded by Arnold in Chicago on September 10, 1934,^[1] and released the next month by Decca Records.

Robert Johnson version

"Milkcow's Calf Blues"
Single by Robert Johnson
A-side	"Malted Milk"
Released	September 1937 (1937-09)
Format	10″ 78rpm
Recorded	June 20, 1937
Genre	Blues
Length	02:14
Label	Vocalion
Writer(s)	Kokomo Arnold (credited to Robert Johnson)
Robert Johnson singles chronology
"From Four Until Late" (1937) "Malted Milk" (1937) "Stones in My Passway" (1937)

Robert Johnson recorded a version, retitled "Milkcow's Calf Blues", at his last recording session on June 20, 1937. It was released by Vocalion Records in September 1937, as the B-side to "Malted Milk".

Johnnie Lee Wills version

"Milkcow Blues"
Single by Johnny Lee Wills & His Boys
Released	1941 (1941)
Format	10″ 78rpm
Recorded	1941[2]
Genre	Western swing
Label	Decca
Writer(s)	Kokomo Arnold

In 1941, Johnnie Lee Wills (no relation to James Robert Wills aka Bob Wills) recorded a version which was released the same year by Decca Records as "Milkcow Blues" by Johnny [sic] Lee Willis & His Boys. It was sung by Cotton Thompson.^[2]

Elvis Presley version

"Milkcow Blues Boogie"
Single by Elvis Presley
from the album A Date with Elvis
B-side	"You're a Heartbreaker"
Released	January 1955[3]
Format	10″ 78rpm
Recorded	November or December 1954[3]
Genre	Rockabilly
Label	Sun Records
Writer(s)	Kokomo Arnold
Producer	Sam Phillips
Elvis Presley singles chronology
"Good Rockin' Tonight" (1954) "Milkcow Blues Boogie" (1955) "Baby Let's Play House" (1955)

Elvis Presley, accompanied by Scotty Moore on guitar and Bill Black on bass, recorded a rockabilly version, retitled "Milk Cow Blues Boogie", at Sun Records in November or December 1954.^[3] The arrangement was closer to Willis's version than to the Arnold original.^[2] The single was released in January 1955, but would not be released on LP until 1959, when it was included on the RCA LP A Date with Elvis.^[3]

Other versions

Grand Ole Opry regulars The McGee Brothers (Sam and Kirk) were probably the first artists to record the song after Elvis Presley. Recorded by Mike Seeger in 1955, their banjo version^[4] was inspired by the Johnnie Lee Wills version mentioned above. The Kinks covered the song on their album The Kink Kontroversy, released in 1965. Aerosmith covered "Milk Cow Blues" on their 1977 album Draw the Line, Dead Moon covered it on their 1990 album Defiance, George Strait on his 1991 album Chill of an Early Fall and Willie Nelson on the 2000 album Milk Cow Blues. The song is also featured in the film Walk the Line, in which it is covered by Tyler Hilton. Obits covered the song for their debut album "I Blame You" in 2009.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Wirz, Stefan (April 6, 2006). "Illustrated Kokomo Arnold discography". American Music. Hannover, Germany: Stefan Wirz. http://www.wirz.de/music/arnold.htm. Retrieved December 18, 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Russell, Tony (2007). Country Music Originals: The Legends and the Lost. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195325095. OCLC 85822512. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Jorgensen, Ernst (July 1998). Elvis Presley: A Life in Music. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312185723. OCLC 38168234. 
4. ^ The McGee Brothers rendition of "Milk Cow Blues" can be found on this anthology: [1]. It is described in more detail in both French and English in its online booklet: [2]