She Caught the Katy

Last updated

"She Caught the Katy (And Left Me a Mule to Ride)" is an upbeat blues written by Taj Mahal and James Rachell. [1] It was first released on Taj Mahal's 1968 album The Natch'l Blues , [2] and it is one of Mahal's most famous compositions. [3]

The song has since become a blues standard and has been covered many times. It was used on the soundtrack for the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers (the song plays over the opening credits as Jake Blues leaves prison). [4] According to John Belushi's widow, it was Belushi's favorite blues song. [5]

The "Katy" refers to the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Belushi</span> American comedian, actor and musician (1949–1982)

John Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was one of seven Saturday Night Live cast members of the first season. Along with Chevy Chase, he was arguably the most popular member of the Saturday Night Live ensemble. Belushi had a partnership with Dan Aykroyd. They had first met while at Chicago's The Second City comedy club, remaining together as cast members on the inaugural season of the television show Saturday Night Live.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Blues Brothers</span> American blues and soul band

The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revue band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, who met and began collaborating as original cast members of Saturday Night Live.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ry Cooder</span> American musician (born 1947)

Ryland Peter Cooder is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taj Mahal (musician)</span> American blues musician (born 1942)

Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr., better known by his stage name Taj Mahal, is an American blues musician. He plays the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and many other instruments, often incorporating elements of world music into his work. Mahal has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music over the course of his more than 50-year career by fusing it with nontraditional forms, including sounds from the Caribbean, Africa, India, Hawaii, and the South Pacific.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statesboro Blues</span> Blues song written by Blind Willie McTell

"Statesboro Blues" is a Piedmont blues song written by Blind Willie McTell, who recorded it in 1928. The title refers to the town of Statesboro, Georgia. In 1968, Taj Mahal recorded a popular blues rock adaptation of the song with a prominent slide guitar part by Jesse Ed Davis. His rendition inspired a recording by the Allman Brothers Band, which is ranked number nine on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time". In 2005, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ranked "Statesboro Blues" number 57 on its list of "100 Songs of the South".

<i>Señor Blues</i> (Taj Mahal album) 1997 studio album by Taj Mahal

Señor Blues is a 1997 studio album by the blues musician Taj Mahal. It contains a cover of James Brown's "Think". It won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 40th Grammy Awards.

<i>Lovejoy</i> (album) 1971 studio album by Albert King

Lovejoy is a studio album by Albert King, released in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yank Rachell</span> American country blues musician

Yank Rachell was an American country blues musician who has been called an "elder statesman of the blues". His career as a performer spanned nearly seventy years, from the late 1920s to the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtis Salgado</span> American singer-songwriter

Curtis Salgado is a Portland, Oregon-based blues, blues rock, and blue-eyed soul singer-songwriter. He plays harmonica and fronts his own band as lead vocalist.

<i>The Blues Brothers</i> (film) 1980 film by John Landis

The Blues Brothers is a 1980 American musical action comedy film directed by John Landis. It stars John Belushi as "Joliet" Jake Blues and Dan Aykroyd as his brother Elwood, characters developed from the recurring musical sketch "The Blues Brothers" on NBC's variety series Saturday Night Live. The script is set in and around Chicago, Illinois, where it was filmed, and the screenplay is by Aykroyd and Landis. It features musical numbers by singers James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and John Lee Hooker. It features non-musical supporting performances by Carrie Fisher and Henry Gibson.

<i>Best of The Blues Brothers</i> 1981 greatest hits album by The Blues Brothers

Best of the Blues Brothers is the fourth and final Blues Brothers album released before John Belushi's death in 1982. It is the first compilation album by the band and it was released by Atlantic Records on November 30, 1981. Along with tracks from the first three albums, Briefcase Full of Blues, The Blues Brothers: Music from the Soundtrack and Made in America, it includes unreleased live versions of "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", "Rubber Biscuit", and a new song, "Expressway to Your Heart". The album was remixed by Steve Jordan and Donald “Duck” Dunn. Belushi’s wife, Judith Jacklin, designed the sleeve.

<i>The Real Thing</i> (Taj Mahal album) 1971 live album by Taj Mahal

The Real Thing is a double live album by Taj Mahal, released in 1971. It was recorded on February 13, 1971, at the Fillmore East in New York City and features Taj Mahal backed by a band that includes four tuba players.

<i>The Natchl Blues</i> 1968 studio album by Taj Mahal

The Natch'l Blues is the second studio album by American blues artist Taj Mahal, released in 1968.

<i>Taj Mahal</i> (album) 1968 studio album by Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal is the debut album by American guitarist and vocalist Taj Mahal. Recorded in 1967, it contains blues songs by Sleepy John Estes, Robert Johnson, and Sonny Boy Williamson II reworked in contemporary blues- and folk-rock styles. Also included is Taj Mahal's adaptation of Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues", which inspired the popular Allman Brothers Band recording.

"It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" is a song written by Bob Dylan, that was originally released on his album Highway 61 Revisited. It was recorded on July 29, 1965. The song was also included on an early, European Dylan compilation album entitled Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits 2.

<i>In Progress & in Motion: 1965–1998</i> 1998 compilation album by Taj Mahal

In Progress & In Motion: 1965-1998 is a compilation album by American blues artist Taj Mahal, which was released in 1998.

<i>Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues – Taj Mahal</i> 2003 compilation album by Taj Mahal

Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues – Taj Mahal is an album by American blues artist Taj Mahal.

<i>The Essential Taj Mahal</i> 2005 greatest hits album by Taj Mahal

The Essential Taj Mahal is a "best of" album by American blues artist Taj Mahal. AllMusic stated that "The Essential Taj Mahal pulls together the bluesman's Columbia, Warner, Gramavision Private Music, and Hannibal labels' recordings, making it the first truly cross-licensed compilation of his work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denny Freeman</span> American guitarist (1944–2021)

Dennis Edward Freeman was an American Texas and electric blues guitarist. Although he is primarily known as a guitar player, Freeman also played piano and electronic organ, both in concert and on various recordings. He worked with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, Bob Dylan, Angela Strehli, Lou Ann Barton, James Cotton, Taj Mahal, Barry Goldberg and Percy Sledge amongst others.

Tony Braunagel is an American drummer, producer, and songwriter from Houston, Texas, United States, who is based in Los Angeles, California. Braunagel has played on many film scores and television shows as well as numerous albums as a musician, composer and producer. He is best known as a session drummer and/or percussionist of over 200 albums including those of Otis Rush, Eric Burdon, Johnny Nash, Coco Montoya, Lucky Peterson, as well as Grammy winning albums of Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Buddy Guy (percussion) and for performing live with dozens of music icons including Bonnie Raitt, Rickie Lee Jones, BB King, Lightnin’ Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, Robert Cray, Bette Midler, Lyle Lovett, and Taj Mahal to name just a few.

References

  1. Ratliff, Ben (20 April 1997). "Yank Rachell, 87, Mandolinist And Elder Statesman of the Blues". The New York Times . Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  2. Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The new Rolling Stone album guide. Simon and Schuster. pp.  801. ISBN   978-0-7432-0169-8.
  3. Coyle, Jake (25 February 2009). "Taj Mahal to be inducted into Blues Hall of Fame". FOX News. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  4. Denisoff, R. Serge; William D. Romanowski (1991). Risky business: rock in film, Volume 1990. Transaction Publishers. p. 293. ISBN   978-0-88738-843-9.
  5. Johnson, Jeff (20 April 2004). "Blues Brothers bonanza: 12 of the best". Chicago Sun-Times .
  6. Scheer, George (1991). Booked on the morning train: a journey through America. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. pp.  62. ISBN   978-0-945575-40-5.