"Junco Partner", also known as "Junco Partner (Worthless Man)", is a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

song first recorded by

James Waynes James Douglas Wayne (March 3, 1920 or April 17, 1924 – March 31, 1978), who recorded in the 1950s and early 1960s as James Waynes, James Wayne, and Wee Willie Wayne, was an American rhythm and blues singer, songwriter and musician. He recorded ...

in 1951. Profile of James "Wee Willie" Wayne at Black Cat Rockabilly
Rockabilly.nl, Retrieved 4 April 2013 It has been recorded and revised by many other artists over several decades, including

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

, Michael Bloomfield, Dr. John, Professor Longhair, James Booker, Hugh Laurie, and The Clash. It has been covered in various genres of music including

, folk, rock, reggae, and dub.

Early recordings

Singer

made the first recording of "Junco Partner" in 1951, for Bob Shad's record label "Sittin' in with...". The song is credited to Shad and "Robert Ellen" (a pseudonym Shad used on some recordings), though it was directly inspired by the Willie Hall song " Junker's Blues". According to musician Mac Rebennack (" Dr. John"), James Waynes' recording made the song popular, although it was already widely known among musicians in New Orleans and elsewhere as "the anthem of the dopers, the whores, the pimps, the cons. It was a song they sang in Angola, the state prison farm, and the rhythm was even known as the 'jailbird beat'." In 1952, several artists covered the song, including Richard Hayes with the

Eddie Sauter Edward Ernest Sauter (December 2, 1914 – April 21, 1981) was a composer and arranger during the swing era. Biography Sauter studied music at Columbia University and the Juilliard School. He began as a drummer and then played trumpet profession ...

Orchestra, and Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five for Decca. Fully credited to himself, Chuck Berry's 1961 "The Man and the Donkey" is based on the "Junco Partner" melody with a story based on a traditional West African tale heard on other songs such as Willie Dixon's ''Signifying Monkey'' (1947) or Oscar Brown, Jr.'s ''Signifying Monkey'' (1960).

Later versions

Roland Stone Roland Stone (born Roland LeBlanc, 12 August 1941 – 22 December 1999) was an American rhythm and blues and pop singer who performed and recorded in New Orleans between the 1950s and 1990s. Singer Aaron Neville described him as "the singing ...

, an R&B singer from New Orleans, recorded two versions with rewritten lyrics, the first in 1959 as "Preacher's Daughter", and the second in 1961 as "Down the Road". The Holy Modal Rounders recorded the song as "Junko Partner" in 1965. The 1970s produced several widely known covers. In 1972, Dr. John covered the song for his ''

Dr. John's Gumbo ''Dr. John's Gumbo'' released in 1972 is the fifth album by New Orleans singer and pianist Dr. John, a tribute to the music of his native city. The album is a collection of covers of New Orleans classics, played by a major figure in the city's ...

'' album. In 1976, Professor Longhair covered it for his ''Rock 'n' Roll Gumbo'' album, and James Booker did the same for his homonymous album, "Junco Partner". Bob Dylan's 1986 album ''

Knocked Out Loaded ''Knocked Out Loaded'' is the 24th studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on July 14, 1986 by Columbia Records. The album was received poorly upon release, and is still considered by some critics to be one of Dylan's leas ...

'' took its title from a "Junco Partner" lyric. The Hindu Love Gods, with Warren Zevon as lead singer and three members of R.E.M., released their recording of this song on their self-titled 1990 album, under the title "Junko Pardner." Carlos del Junco covered the song for his '' Big Boy'' album, released in 1999. In 2002, New Orleans' Dirty Dozen Brass Band covered the song on their album ''Medicated Magic''. John Scofield included the song in his 2022 solo album.

The Clash version

It was Richard Hayes' version that caught the ear of Joe Strummer, who recorded it with the London-based band

The 101'ers The 101ers were a pub rock band from the 1970s playing mostly in a rockabilly style, notable as being the band that Joe Strummer left to join The Clash. Formed in London in May 1974, the 101ers made their performing debut on 7 September at ...

. He later recorded it again, this time in Kingston, Jamaica, with The Clash for their triple hit album '' Sandinista!'', released in 1980, which included two versions: a reggae version, "Junco Partner", and a dub version, "Version Pardner".

References

{{authority control Blues songs American folk songs Reggae songs The Clash songs Dr. John songs 1951 songs

Early recordings

Later versions

The Clash version

See also

References