Milk Cow Blues (song)

"Milk Cow Blues"
Single by Kokomo Arnold
B-side	"Old Original Kokomo Blues"
Released	October 1934
Format	10″ 78rpm
Recorded	September 10, 1934
Genre	Blues
Length	3:07
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 Sleepy John Estes in 1930.^[1]

Robert Johnson version

Robert Johnson recorded a version of Sleepy John Estes' song, re-titled "Milkcow's Calf Blues", at his last recording session on June 20, 1937.^[1] It was released by Vocalion Records in September 1937 as the B-side to "Malted Milk."

Johnnie Lee Wills version

In 1941, Johnnie Lee Wills (younger brother of Bob Wills) recorded a version which was released the same year by Decca Records as "Milkcow Blues" by Johnny [sic] Lee Wills & His Boys. It was sung by Cotton Thompson.^[2]

Bob Wills also recorded it on the Tiffany Transcriptions with a vocal by Tommy Duncan. The Wills/Duncan release "Brain Cloudy Blues" is heavily influenced by "Milk cow blues" too.

Elvis Presley & The Blue Moon Boys version

"Milkcow Blues Boogie"
"Milkcow Blues Boogie" cover
Song by Elvis Presley, Scotty and Bill from the album A Date With Elvis
Released	January 8, 1955
A-side	You're a Heartbreaker
Recorded	November–December 1954
Genre	Rockabilly
Length	2:39
Label	Sun, RCA
Writer(s)	Kokomo Arnold

Elvis Presley, accompanied by Scotty Moore on guitar and Bill Black on bass, recorded a rockabilly version retitled "Milkcow Blues Boogie" at Sun Records in November or December 1954. The arrangement was closer to Wills' version than to the Arnold original.^[2] The song was released in January 8, 1955 with "You're a Heartbreaker" as the A-side, but would not be released on LP until 1959, when it was included on the RCA LP A Date with Elvis. The tune was also released as a 45 rpm single, along with "You're a Heartbreaker" on RCA Victor records (47-6382). It is listed as 2:34 minutes long, with the publisher Leeds Music ASCAP. It has catalog number F2WW-8044.

Eddie Cochran version

"Milk Cow Blues"
Song by Eddie Cochran from the album Never to Be Forgotten
Released	1962
Recorded	August 25, 1959
Genre	Blues
Length	2:40
Label	Liberty
Writer(s)	Kokomo Arnold
Producer(s)	Eddie Cochran

Eddie Cochran's version of "Milk Cow Blues" was posthumously released on the album Never to Be Forgotten.

Musicians:

• Eddie Cochran: vocal and guitar
• Dave Shriver: electric bass
• Gene Riggio: drums
• Jim Stivers: piano

Other versions

• The McGee Brothers (Sam and Kirk) recorded a version of the song.
• 1934: Kokomo Arnold recorded two versions of the song, and was believed to be the first one after Sleepy John Estes in 1930.
• 1946: Cotton Thompson. On King Records. This is sometimes incorrectly credited to Moon Mullican because Cotton was part of Moon's band and recorded this after a Mullican session in 1946. Available on 2 Mullican CDs nowadays and called "New Milk cow blues".
• 1947 The Maddox Brothers and Rose
• 1955: Mike Seeger recorded a banjo version that was inspired by the Johnnie Lee Wills version.^[3]
• 1956: [Bob Crosby] b-side of 'Bob Crosby and his Orchestra in Hi Fi' album with Nappy Lamar on vocals. http://www.discogs.com/artist/374399-Bob-Crosby-And-His-Orchestra
• 1960: Ricky Nelson b-side of single w/ You Are The Only One, also included on album Million Sellers and compilation Legendary Masters
• 1962: George Lewis on his album Endless The Trek Endless The Search
• 1965: The Kinks on their album The Kink Kontroversy (although they credit the song to Sleepy John Estes on the UK release).
• 1967: The Chocolate Watchband on the 1994 CD reissue of their album No Way Out.
• 1970: We Five on their album Catch the Wind.^[4]
• 1971: Mungo Jerry on the second side of their maxi-single, "Lady Rose".
• 1976: Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen on their live album We've Got A Live One Here.
• 1977: Levon Helm & the RCO All-Stars on their self-titled album as 'Milk Cow Boogie'.
• 1977: Aerosmith their album Draw the Line.
• 1977: Pirates former Johnny Kidd's band recorded the song. It appears on their 1977 live album "Out Of Their Skulls".
• 1979: Jerry Lee Lewis recorded on the Elektra label.
• 1981: Glen Campbell recorded the song on his album Glen Campbell Live.
• 1990: Dead Moon on their 1990 album, Defiance.
• 1990: Aerosmith on their 1990 MTV Unplugged Live Performance in New York.
• 1991: George Strait on his 1991 album, Chill of an Early Fall.
• 2000: Willie Nelson on his 2000 album, Milk Cow Blues.
• 2001: Doc Watson on his album, Doc Watson at Gerdes Folk City, recorded live in 1962 and 1963 but never released until 2001.
• 2002: The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, featuring Doc Watson, on the 2002 album Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Volume III
• 2004: Eric Clapton on his 2004 tribute to Robert Johnson, Me and Mr. Johnson, titled as Milkcow's Calf Blues.
• 2008: Patrick Wall (Irish blues artist) on his album "Lay me down beside my darling".
• 2008: Wayne "The Train" Hancock ((Progressive Torch & Twang)(Country)) Live in 2008 on Impact Radio89FM
• 2009: Obits on their debut album I Blame You.
• 2016: The Kinks featured a live version on their 2016 Record Store Day exclusive album, "The Kinks in Koncert 1965"
• Roscoe Holcomb recorded "Milk Cow Blues" on his album "An Untamed Sense of Control".
• Mississippi Fred McDowell recorded "Milk Cow Blues" on a self-titled album.
• The song is also featured in the film Walk the Line, in which it is covered by Tyler Hilton.

References

1. The Blues Line: Blues Lyrics from Leadbelly to Muddy Waters, edited by Eric Sackheim, Jonathan Shahn, Da Capo Press, 2003
2. Russell, Tony (2007). Country Music Originals: The Legends and the Lost. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-532509-5. OCLC 85822512.
3. The McGee Brothers rendition of "Milk Cow Blues" can be found on this anthology: . It is described in more detail in both French and English in its online booklet:
4. We Five, Catch the Wind Retrieved February 29, 2012.