Eric Clapton - Ain't Nobody's Business

This is a live performance by Eric Clapton playing his version of the classic 1920's song "Ain't Nobody's Business". At the end of the clip he also plays a little bit of "Drifting Blues" on a Spanish acoustic and stops to ask if there's percussion on it.
I really love the simple nature of this performance and the fact that it's split into two. It starts of with a piano and Clapton singing with only a little light percussion with a drum hit on the edge. The at the end to finish it the horn section kicks in and Clapton starts playing a solo. What you see is Clapton's vocal ability and how good a singer he is. He is one of the few people who can sort of recreate or keep the spirit of 20's and 30's music alive today which is very impressive. And then of course the guitar solo at the end which is just stunning.
The song was originally known under the title "Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do". It was written somewhere in the 1920's by by pianist Porter Grainger who had been Bessie Smith's accompanist and Everett Robbins. It was first recorded by Ann Meyer in 1922 and later by Bessie Smith in 1923. The song is an 8-bar vaudeville blues song. The lyrics were copyrighted in 1922 and now they are in the public domain. Embeded below is the Bessie Smith version, it's not that similar to Clapton's version, but you can clearly hear that this was the source material.

The song has been recorded by a large number of artists over the years. Artist such as: Billie Holiday, Diana Ross, Hank Williams Jr., Freddie King, Eric Clapton, Otis Spann, and Willie Nelson among others.
It's a great song and a great set of lyrics. I really love Clapton's version of this. His singing and his guitar playing it just all adds up to something unbelievable.

Enjoy ; )

Buddy Guy & Eric Clapton - Worried Life Blues

This is a performance by Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy. They perform one of the most covered blues standards ever made. It was first recorded in 1941by Big Maceo as a mid-tempo 8-bar blues. Since then it's become one of the most covered songs in history, the list is almost endless.
What a list (source Wikipedia).  I like this version though, Clapton singing and Buddy and Clapton doing solos and a nice piano solo as well. A really nice performance.

Enjoy ; )

• 1941 Bill Gaither
• 1942 Sonny Boy Williams
• 1942 Honeyboy Edwards
• 1945 Big Maceo as "Things Have Changed" (reached #4 in Billboard R&B chart^[2])
• 1946 Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
• 1949 Charles Brown as "Trouble Blues" (spent 15 weeks at #1 in Billboard R&B chart)
• 1950 Lightnin' Hopkins (also recorded "New Worried Life Blues" and "Someday Baby")
• 1952 Sonny Parker
• 1954 John Lee Hooker (also recorded later version)
• 1955 Muddy Waters as "Trouble No More" (reached #7 in Billboard R&B chart)
• 1957 Big Bill Broonzy
• 1958 Ray Charles as "Someday Baby" (a very faithful version of "WLB" except for the title) from The Genius Sings the Blues (also recorded later version)
• 1959 Little Walter from Essential Little Walter
• 1960 Otis Spann from Otis Spann Is the Blues
• 1960 Chuck Berry from Rockin' at the Hops
• 1963 Johnny Jones with Billy Boy Arnold (also recorded later version)
• 1963 Jimmy Reed (also recorded "Someday Baby")
• 1964 Mississippi Fred McDowell as "Fred's Worried Life Blues" from Fred McDowell: Mississippi Delta Blues^[5]
• 1965 The Animals from Animal Tracks, The Animals On Tour
• 1966 Big Joe Williams (also recorded "Someday Baby" in 1941)
• 1966 Blues Magoos from Psychedelic Lollipop
• 1968 Junior Wells from Coming At You
• 1968 Lowell Fulson from The Complete Kent Recordings 1964-1968 (also recorded 1984 version as "Worried About The Blues" on One More Blues)
• 1969 Johnny Shines with Big Walter Horton from Johnny Shines with Big Walter Horton
• 1969 Junior Parker (aka Little Jr. Parker) Charting 45 rpm single (Minit 32080 1969) (R&B # 34)
• 1970 B.B. King as "Ain't Gonna Worry My Life Anymore" from Indianola Mississippi Seeds (also recorded 1960 version as "Someday Baby," which his former record label released in 1970 as "Worried Life Blues," which reached #48; also recorded 2000 version with Eric Clapton on Riding with the King)
• 1971 Freddie King from Getting Ready
• 1971 Mississippi Fred McDowell from Live in New York
• 1973 Canned Heat with Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown from Live at Montreaux
• 1974 Robert Jr. Lockwood with The Aces from Blues Live in Japan
• 1980 Eric Clapton from Just One Night
• 1991 Louis Myers from Tell My Story Movin'
• 1992 Pinetop Perkins from On Top
• 1993 Robben Ford from Mystic Mile
• 1993 Luther Tucker & The Ford Blues Band from Luther Tucker & The Ford Blues Band
• 1996 James Cotton from Deep In the Blues
• 1999 Jimmy Rogers from Blues Blues Blues
• 2003 Pearlene as "You Done Told Everybody" from Murder Blues & Prayer
• 2006 Bob Dylan as "Someday Baby" from Modern Times
• 2007 Clutch as "Electric Worry" from From Beale Street to Oblivion (the band have stated that inspiration for this song came from the McDowell version)^[6]
• 2007 Procol Harum from One Eye to the Future
• 2010 Night Horse from Perdition Hymns

Jeff Beck & B.B. King - Key to The Highway

This is a performance by B.B. King and Jeff Beck, it's from 2003. They perform the song "Key to The Highway", a song that's been part of King's repertoire for a long time. It is considered a blues classic, originally recorded in 1940 by Charlie Segar, and since covered by a number of blues artists. It was originally a 12-bar blues, but when covered by Big Bill Broonzy, he changed it to an 8-bar blues that sounds similar to the one performed today.
I love this performance, and the playful attitude the players have. There's nothing but respect between them. King's got the feelin', but Beck's got some speed, and in the end they're both great, it's never a competition.

Enjoy ; )