You Gotta Move (song)

Last updated
"You Got to Move"
Song by Mississippi Fred McDowell
from the album You Gotta Move
Released1965 (1965)
RecordedBerkeley, California, July 5, 1965
Genre Hill country blues
Label Arhoolie
Songwriter(s) Unknown
Producer(s) Chris Strachwitz

"You Gotta Move" is a traditional African-American spiritual song. Since the 1940s, the song has been recorded by a variety of gospel musicians, usually as "You Got to Move" or "You've Got to Move". It was later popularized with blues and blues rock secular adaptations by Mississippi Fred McDowell and the Rolling Stones.

Contents

Early gospel songs

The Two Gospel Keys recorded "You've Got to Move", which was released on a 78-rpm record in 1948. [1] Emma Daniels (vocals and guitar) and Mother Sally Jones (vocals and tambourine) comprised the gospel music duo. [2] Similar renditions followed by Elder Charles D. Beck (1949), [3] Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1950), [4] the Original Five Blind Boys of Alabama (1953), [5] and the Hightower Brothers (1956). [6]

Reverend Gary Davis recorded the song in 1962; [7] his lyrics include: [8]

You may run, can't be caught
You may hide, can't be found
Brother when God gets ready, you got to move

Later renditions

In 1964, soul singer Sam Cooke recast the song with lyrics about a broken relationship for his 1963 album Night Beat . [a] Cash Box described it as having "top shuffle-rhythm blues sounds." [9] In 1965, Mississippi bluesman Fred McDowell recorded it as a slow, slide guitar hill country blues solo piece. The song generally follows a seven-bar or an eight-bar blues arrangement and has been compared to "Sitting on Top of the World". [10] McDowell uses lyrics closer to Davis' 1962 rendition, [10] but adds a haunting slide guitar line that doubles the vocal. [11] A verse from the song is inscribed on his headstone: [12]

You may be high, you may be low
You may be rich child, you may be poor
But when the Lord gets ready, you got to move

In Internet culture

McDowell's version has been used for several memes themed around racism against Black Americans, mainly in TikTok. Some of these memes have received criticism from several users for allegedly promoting said racism. [13]

The Rolling Stones version

"You Gotta Move"
Song by the Rolling Stones
from the album Sticky Fingers
ReleasedApril 23, 1971 (1971-04-23)
Recorded1969–1970
Genre Blues rock
Length2:32
Label Rolling Stones
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Jimmy Miller

McDowell's rendition inspired many subsequent recordings, including a version by the Rolling Stones. The Stones regularly performed "You Gotta Move" during their 1969 US tour. They recorded a version at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Alabama in December 1969, with later recording in England in 1970. It was later included on their 1971 album Sticky Fingers without a songwriter's credit. Later reissues listed the authors as McDowell and Gary Davis.

Mick Jagger sings the song in a Southern black dialect, with Mick Taylor's electric slide-guitar accompaniment. [11] In an interview originally published in Guitar Player , Taylor said he used a Fender Telecaster for the slide part and a 12-string guitar. He explained that Keith Richards played a National guitar, though Taylor could not remember which one Richards used –the all-steel one or the "really great, beautiful guitar ... made of wood and metal." [14]

Two different concert versions are included as bonus tracks on the group's Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! (1970) album and another on Love You Live (1977). The latter features Billy Preston, who had played when he was 16 years old on Sam Cooke's 1963 version. [15] [b]

Personnel

Personnel per liner notes. [16]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ In 1934, Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy recorded the two-part "You Got to Move (You Ain't Got to Move)", which deals with a broken relationship.[ citation needed ]
  2. ↑ Sam Cooke's Night Beat album also contains an updated "Little Red Rooster" along with "You Got to Move", both songs which the Rolling Stones later recorded closer to the original/blues versions.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mississippi Fred McDowell</span> American blues musician (1904–1972)

Fred McDowell, known by his stage name Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist of hill country blues music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mick Taylor</span> British guitarist, former member of the Rolling Stones (born 1949)

Michael Kevin Taylor is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, he appeared on Let It Bleed (1969), Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert (1970), Sticky Fingers (1971), Exile on Main St. (1972), Goats Head Soup (1973) It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974), and Tattoo You (1981).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sister Rosetta Tharpe</span> American gospel musician (1915–1973)

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics and electric guitar. She was the first great recording star of gospel music, and was among the first gospel musicians to appeal to rhythm and blues and rock and roll audiences, later being referred to as "the original soul sister" and "the Godmother of rock and roll". She influenced early rock-and-roll musicians including Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and also later guitarists, such as Eric Clapton.

<i>Let It Bleed</i> 1969 studio album by the Rolling Stones

Let It Bleed is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 28 November 1969 by London Records in the United States and on 5 December 1969 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. Released during the band's 1969 American Tour, it is the follow-up to Beggars Banquet (1968), and like that album is a return to the group's more blues-oriented approach that was prominent in the pre-Aftermath (1966) period of their career. Additional sounds on the album draw influence from gospel, country blues and country rock.

<i>Metamorphosis</i> (Rolling Stones album) 1975 compilation album by the Rolling Stones

Metamorphosis is the third compilation album of the Rolling Stones music released by former manager Allen Klein's ABKCO Records after the band's departure from Decca and Klein. Released in 1975, Metamorphosis centres on outtakes and alternate versions of well-known songs recorded from 1964 to 1970.

<i>Rarities 1971–2003</i> 2005 compilation album by The Rolling Stones

Rarities 1971–2003 is a compilation album by The Rolling Stones that was released in 2005 worldwide by Virgin Records – as well as by the coffee-chain Starbucks in North America – and features a selection of rare and obscure material recorded between 1971 and 2003. The album peaked at No. 76 on the Billboard chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridges to Babylon Tour</span> 1997–98 concert tour by the Rolling Stones

The Bridges to Babylon Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Rolling Stones. Staged in support of their album Bridges to Babylon, the tour visited stadiums from 1997 to 1998. It grossed over $274 million, becoming the second-highest-grossing tour at that time, behind their own Voodoo Lounge Tour of 1994–1995. The Bridges to Babylon Tour was followed by 1999's No Security Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No Security Tour</span> 1999 concert tour by the Rolling Stones

The No Security Tour was a Rolling Stones concert tour to promote the concert album No Security. The tour spanned over 40 shows in North America and Europe in 1999 and grossed $88.5 million from over a million tickets sold.

"Sway" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1971 album Sticky Fingers. It was also released as the b-side of the "Wild Horses" single in June 1971. This single was released in the US only. Initial pressings of the single contain an alternate take; later pressings include the album version instead.

"Midnight Rambler" is a song by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released on their 1969 album Let It Bleed. The song is a loose biography of Albert DeSalvo, who confessed to being the Boston Strangler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Star Star</span> 1973 single by The Rolling Stones

"Star Star" is a song recorded by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. In a few select countries, the song was released as a single from the band's album Goats Head Soup (1973), with "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)" as its B-side. The song's title was changed to "Star Star" from "Starfucker" after Ahmet Ertegün of Atlantic Records insisted on the change.

"You Got the Silver" is a song by the English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones from their 1969 album Let It Bleed. It was also released as the B-side to the "Let It Bleed" single in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wake Up Little Susie</span> 1957 single by The Everly Brothers

"Wake Up Little Susie" is a popular song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant and published in 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rollin' and Tumblin'</span> Blues standard popularized by Muddy Waters

"Rollin' and Tumblin'" is a blues standard first recorded by American singer-guitarist Hambone Willie Newbern in 1929. Called a "great Delta blues classic", it has been interpreted by hundreds of Delta and Chicago blues artists, including well-known recordings by Muddy Waters. Rock musicians usually follow Waters' versions, with the 1960s group Cream's rendition being perhaps the best known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stop Breaking Down</span> Song first recorded by Robert Johnson in 1937

"Stop Breaking Down" or "Stop Breakin' Down Blues" is a Delta blues song recorded by Robert Johnson in 1937. An "upbeat boogie with a strong chorus line", the lyrics are partly based on Johnson's experience with certain women:

<i>Arthurs Club-Geneve 1995</i> 1995 live album by Mick Taylor & Snowy White

Arthur's Club-Geneve 1995 was a 75-minute performance in Geneva by blues guitarist Mick Taylor, featuring Snowy White, recorded for a television special and a promotional album. It consists of a collections of blues classics, a Jimi Hendrix song and a Rolling Stones song with long jams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley song)</span> 1956 song by Bo Diddley

"Who Do You Love?" is a song written by American rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley. Recorded in 1956, it is one of his most popular and enduring works. The song represents one of Bo Diddley's strongest lyrical efforts and uses a combination of hoodoo-type imagery and boasting. It is an upbeat rocker, but the original did not use the signature Bo Diddley beat rhythm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Red Rooster</span> Blues standard credited to Willie Dixon

"Little Red Rooster" is a blues standard credited to arranger and songwriter Willie Dixon. The song was first recorded in 1961 by American blues musician Howlin' Wolf in the Chicago blues style. His vocal and slide guitar playing are key elements of the song. It is rooted in the Delta blues tradition and the theme is derived from folklore. Musical antecedents to "Little Red Rooster" appear in earlier songs by blues artists Charlie Patton and Memphis Minnie.

<i>Liver Than Youll Ever Be</i> 1969 live album (bootleg) by the Rolling Stones

Live'r Than You'll Ever Be is a bootleg recording of the Rolling Stones' concert in Oakland, California, from 9 November 1969. It was one of the first live rock music bootlegs and was made notorious as a document of their 1969 tour of the United States. The popularity of the bootleg forced the Stones' labels Decca Records in the UK, and London Records in the US, to release the live album Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert in 1970. Live'r is also one of the earliest commercial bootleg recordings in rock history, released in December 1969, just two months after the Beatles' Kum Back and five months after Bob Dylan's Great White Wonder. Like the two earlier records, Live'r's outer sleeve is plain white, with its name stamped on in ink.

References

  1. ↑ "Advance Record releases". Billboard . Vol. 60, no. 2. January 10, 1948. p. 29. ISSN   0006-2510.
  2. ↑ Wade, Stephen (2012). The Beautiful Music All Around Us: Field Recordings and the American Experience. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. p. 184. ISBN   978-0252094002.
  3. ↑ "Advance Record Releases". Billboard . Vol. 61, no. 20. May 14, 1949. p. 127. ISSN   0006-2510.
  4. ↑ "Sister Rosetta Tharpe". Coda . Vol. 7, no. 5–12. 1966. p. 9. ISSN   0010-017X.
  5. ↑ Nations, Opal. "Oh Lord, Stand by Me". AllMusic . Retrieved March 6, 2015.
  6. ↑ "The Hightower Brothers". Blues Unlimited . Vol. 142–146. 1982. p. 37.
  7. ↑ "Singles Reviews". Billboard . Vol. 74, no. 42. October 20, 1962. p. 44. ISSN   0006-2510.
  8. ↑ Phillips, Bill (1974). "Piedmont Country Blues". America's Best Music. The Institute for Southern Studies. p. 59.
  9. ↑ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 19, 1963. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  10. 1 2 Sing Out (1969). "You Got to Move". Sing Out! . p. 12. ISSN   0037-5624.
  11. 1 2 Koda, Cub. "Mississippi Fred McDowell – Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  12. ↑ Cheseborough, Steve (2004). Blues Traveling: The Holy Sites of Delta Blues. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. p. 216. ISBN   978-1578066506.
  13. ↑ "The true story behind TikTok's 'Jamal did it' meme and how it turned controversial". The Tab. 2022-10-25. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  14. ↑ Obrecht, Jas (October 16, 2011) [June 22, 1979]. "Mick Taylor on the Rolling Stones, John Mayall, and Playing Guitar: interview". Jas Obrecht Music Archive. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  15. ↑ The RCA Albums Collection (liner notes). Sam Cooke. US: RCA Records/Legacy Recordings. 2011. 88697898702.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ↑ Sticky Fingers CD
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.