For many years, I thought this song was a Los Lobos original. Their version was so in line with their sound and it fit so well on their How Will The Wolf Survive album, I just assumed it was theirs. So it was surprising to me, when I found out that the song had been around for over twenty years by the time they got around to recording it.
The song was recorded by Little Bob and the Lollipops, and was never even originally released as the A-side to the single it appeared on. When released in 1965 on the La Louisianne record label (best known for Bob and Dale’s hit “I’m Leaving It All Up To You”), it was the flip of the single “Nobody But You.” Over the years, the song has become Little Bob’s signature song and has inspired covers by the likes of Robert Cray, Tab Benoit and The Refreshments.
Little Bob (born Camille Bob) grew up working on a farm in rural Prairie Laurent, Louisiana. Early on he took a liking to the music of B.B. King, Count Basie and Guitar Slim, and dreamed of a day when he could give up working in the fields to play music for a living. To that end, he traded a horse for his first set of drums as a teen, never looked back, and set out on a career in music.
By 1955, he was backing Good Rockin’ Bob (aka Ed Thomas) and making more money than he ever would have if he’d stayed on the farm. Growing restless as a backing musician, Bob decided to break out on his own, and formed Little Bob and the Lollipops in the late 1950s. The band soon became a fixture on the Louisiana party and club circuit, playing a rocking hybrid of rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm and blues.
Little Bob has been performing for over 50 years and was elected into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 1992. Both Little Bob and the La Louisianne record label are both still active today.
Word to the wise: Take two aspirin and drink a big glass of water after listening to this one!
