#BOTB: A Bluesy Battle



Can you believe it’s March already?!? Man the time sure does fly by quickly.


Today’s battle is inspired by the fact that The Cute One and I have been listening to quite a bit of blues lately.  This song was written by Willie Dixon and first performed by Muddy Waters.

My research shows that this particular tune was used in a battle of the bands post by Debbie D Doglady in September 2015. She paired Steppenwolf against Jeff Healey Band. The results were a tie.

For my battle, I’ve decided to pair Eric Clapton against Steppenwolf.  It will be interesting to see how this one plays out.  As with any battle of the bands, it’s anyone’s guess and sometimes difficult to foresee an outcome.

As a reminder for you seasoned readers and to help out those of you who may be new here

Here is how a battle works:

Step One - Listen to each of the contenders. TRY not to be persuaded by the videos

Step Two - Pick  the contender that you prefer the most (not just the one with the name you are familiar with) Pick ONLY from the contenders provided in THIS battle.

Step Three - Comment  with your selection. The comment section has been set up so that anyone can leave a comment. I do ask that you please include your name, should you use the anonymous feature.

Step Four - Visit Stephen’s blog to check out his battle and for a list of other bloggers that have battles going on. We each have different battles, so please be sure to visit everyone. I'll provide a link below the videos to Stephen's blog for your convenience.


Now that we’ve got the formalities out of the way, let’s get to it!


Contender #1 -  Eric Clapton




Contender #2 - Steppenwolf




Now, to repeat myself:

YOU DON’T NEED TO BE FAMILIAR WITH AN ARTIST OR A SONG TO KNOW WHICH ONE YOU PREFER. You only need to listen to the videos and choose which one sounds better to you.  There are no right or wrong votes, unless you vote for someone not listed as a contender or don’t vote at all.


For those of you who may be interested in joining in our fun - The battles take place twice a month. Once on the 1st, and again on the 15th. Some participants have chosen to participate only once a month - and that’s okay - we’re just happy to have you join us! Your battle can consist of covers of the same song, different songs with the same title, or even a themed type battle. We just want you to join in the fun!  Catch the link to Stephen’s blog to join in - all you need to do is drop him a comment on his blog stating you’d like to participate and he’ll add you to the roster of participants.

I’d like to encourage you to visit the other bloggers participating in the battle of the bands blog hop as well.  We’ve all put a lot of time and effort into putting together these battles and they are a lot of fun. Each blogger has a different battle taking place. You can find a current list of participants on Stephen’s blog (don't forget you can also request to join the battle of the bands blog hop by simply commenting on his blog that you'd like to join us). 


Alright now… Cast your votes for Eric Clapton or Steppenwolf!
Voting will end on Friday, March 6 with results being posted on Saturday, March 7. 











Comments

  1. Eric made the song real, but John Kay made it really wild. Love Steppenwolf and they get my vote.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

    ReplyDelete
  2. Replies
    1. Thanks, Robin! A vote for Clapton. Two votes in and we're tied :)

      Delete
  3. MMQE ~

    I hope things are going better for you health-wise now. Any improvement to report in your fight against the "little c"? (I refuse to call it "Big C".)

    This is genuinely a Blues classic, and it is so completely and utterly "owned" by Muddy Waters, in my opinion, that it's hard for me to get behind any other version of it.

    I first started to seriously explore Blues music in about 1983, which is probably about the time I first heard Muddy's original recording. And ever since then, every time I've found myself, by mere happenstance, to be in possession of seven hundred dollars (which has happened more times than one might guess), I've *ALWAYS* thought to myself:
    I'VE GOT SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS, SO DON'T YOU MESS WITH ME!

    Clapton just sounds to me like he's emulating Muddy Waters. But I'll give STEPPENWOLF some credit for at least altering the song a bit by throwing in some elements of Psychedelia to go along with the Blues base of the song.

    BOTB bote to STEPPENWOLF for making the song their own.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey there Stephen

      First things first - on the 'c' front... I graduated from outpatient radiation the other day, but was to have inpatient radiation this past week. That didn't happen due to a little thing called viral pneumonia. Fun times. Radiation has been rescheduled to the 10th of the month. I tried those nasty Apricot seeds. Good lord. YUCK!!!

      Okay, I've got you down for a vote for Steppenwolf.

      ~Mary

      Delete
  4. My God, who's playing the harp on Eric Clapton's version? Sounds like James Cotton from the original. Hell, Eric copied Muddy Waters almost perfectly. Give Slowhand my vote.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 4 votes in, and it's a tie battle! Thanks, John!

      Delete
  5. Truthfully, I like both versions for different reasons, but I gotta give this one to ole' slow hand, ERIC CLAPTON.

    But it was soooo close. 😋

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mary,

    I enjoyed both versions of this song but I believe I'm more partial to Eric Clapton because his cover was a bit smoother sounding. Steppenwolf's version makes me of the music used by those mid-80s singing strippers for hire. Do you remember that? Around here it was popular for co-workers to hire gals or guys to sing and do a soft strip routine in a public place to bring a lot of laughs. Boy, am I ever happy I was never a target of such a prank. I'd die of embarrassment. Heck, I'd get all red check just watching the poor person being the center of attention.

    Saying prayers for the pneumonia to pass from your body, so you can get back to kicking cancer's beeehind again! ;) xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Cathy!

      I don't think I've heard of the strippers for hire prank. During the mid 80's I was living the good life in the mountains of Idaho. All anyone really cared about then was skiing. Thank you for the prayers and good thoughts. This pneumonia seems worse than the cancer.

      ~Mary

      Delete
  7. Mary, I hope you are getting better. I haven't heard of the song but I know both artists. My vote goes to Eric Clapton's version as I love the honk-tonk blues vibe.

    Praying for your safe recovery.

    aisasami
    Ai Love Music

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Mary! Thanks for the mention. ☺ I'm a superfan of John Kay and Steppenwolf, but to be fair, Eric Clapton's version was excellent, too. Still, it's John's voice (that signature growl!) that gives me chills, as well as the arrangement. Sticking with Steppenwolf. This isn't a rock crowd, so they will probably lose. LOL At least, there won't be a shutout.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Debbie!

      Steppenwolf is definitely holding their own in this battle, but will it be enough to win? Only a few more days to find out :) Thanks for stopping by!

      ~Mary

      Delete
  9. Give my vote to STEPPENWOLF!

    This battle is where I out myself as not a huge fan of Clapton. I like him alright, and giving respect where respect is due, he is an amazing musician. Having said that, I also find him a bit overrated. Even if I liked him a lot more, my vote would still go to Steppenwolf because I love what they've done with the song. Blues is a favorite genre of mine, Rock in general is my absolute favorite, and when bluesy rock is done right, it is downright phenomenal.

    Kim

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kim!

      You got it! This battle is really a lot closer than many realize :) I love it when it turns out like that. Hope all is well with you.

      ~Mary

      Delete
  10. I hope you are doing well and on the road to kicking the C out of your body. This is a great song that both did very well but I give an edge to Eric Clapton who made it more sultry for me

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Birgit!

      The doctors are saying I'm at the half-way point as far as treatment. I have been sidelined for the past 2 weeks with pneumonia, but am feeling worlds better so we're looking to start up treatment again next week. Thanks for stopping in with a vote!

      ~Mary

      Delete
  11. ATTENTION PEEPLES!!

    Voting has now concluded. Be sure to watch for the results post that will be going live in just a few hours. If you missed out on the voting, please make note of the dates of the battles and try to get your votes in sooner :)

    ~Mary

    ReplyDelete

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