Maybe it's because I graduated from High School in 1972, but I think we had the best music growing up. Starting with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones right up to the mid to late 70's. Love your reaction to this. Thanks for helping prove that music is the one thing that unites us all.
We did have to best music. I'm slightly younger than you are. Do you remember listening to the underground radio station? Beeker Street with Clyde Clifford, that played songs about a year before they came out to the public.
@Big Investment no, it was garbage. We used to have to roll 4 joints, then get in somebody's car and smoke 'em all at once with the windows up to feel amything. Today's weed? I can put one little piece in the bowl and I'm set.
I was in High School went Black Betty came out, perfect timing for us. Great memories for that period of being a mature kid in high school. Skipping school, going from Pennsylvania to across the NY state border, to Cuddebackville, New York, to hang out at a local swimming hole with those Cuddebackville, New York kids! Great times! Oh Black Betty!!!
There is an extended version with an amazing instrumental in the middle. ALSO / thank you for being one of my favorite reactors, because I had to go through three horrible ones to this song before I got to you. THANK YOU!!!
@@LuciFernato - my comment was referring to a common sentiment about hearing the version of this song played for radio- wanting the song to keep going for a couple of more verses because it's a fun time. Many times albums feature (slightly to completely) different versions of a song than what's available for radio play. The original Back Betty by Lead Belly that CLEARLY inspired the Ram Jam version is less than two minutes.
With the world in a fritz, I’m glad there’s still wholesome people not forgetting the joys in life. I’m a Asian/African-American watching a African American watching Caucasian Americans playing a song in their backyard. This is what matters.
@@CatharticusX immediately checked it out and holy crap nostalgia trip. going to watch without a paddle now. great cover though. thank you for recommending.
"You can take your talent everywhere." That a great quote Jamel, inspired by some guy in his back yard playing some amazing guitar! - I used to tell my students: "The Man can steal your money; Mr. Slick can steal your honey; Gravity steals your health & pretty face; but no one can erase your talent & education."
Supposedly it's a old very old southern song dating to revolutionary War times but has been resong in different versions like it could me whiskey or gun powder or slaves in each continuation or version it was a song forbading the furtue but yes it has been around for over 300 years in some forum or another I believes Ledbetter did a version early 20th century too
My Dad's Coast Guard buddy played Black Betty while we were all out on his boat. He told me if this song didn't move you there was no music in your soul.
I was going to say that, but I noticed your comment. Yes, that was a Lead Belly song.These guys did an awesome cover. I like Lead Belly's version as well. ❤
Yes, there's an a cappella recording of Leadbelly, here on YT. So cool that LB sang his version, picked up by these "random" white guys, their version, then reviewed by our knowledgeable friend. Some good respect and sharing of music.
I'm a little late to the party here. :) There are a ton of covers of this great blues standard. Here is one I like, by a band called Caravan Palace who give it a bit of an Electro Swing flavor: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-B4hn1RnpVT0.html
Your reaction was 2:25 of greatness! Feeling that flow. Made me smile. 😁 It's cool to see someone jamming out for the first time, to a song I know so well. Glad you enjoyed it!
I remember vividly, where I heard that song first time. Back end of the 70th in our small disco, which also functioned as a movie theatre. All the handbangers were totally freaking out, when Black Betty was on. Thank you so much for bringing back those times and for your always honest and heartfelt reactions. You got most of my back in the days favorites covered. It is great to be part of your travel in time. Thank you so much 🤘🤘💞💘
As others have commented, Leadbelly was the original artist. His version was about the chain gangs smashing rocks to make asphalt, which comes out black. The Ram Jam singer always said he was thinking about Bettie Page when he sang it. She was a gorgeous pin-up girl in the 60s. Some people say Bettie Page was the original "Goth Girl". She was FINE!
If that were the case your dad would most likelt be telling you this story while driving you in his mint 78 corvette because he was a successful artist
There you go, brother...it's called, "old school," this song was written and performed a good while back and it's still loved by those of us who grew up at that time. I'm glad that you liked it.
Jamal love your reaction videos. great to see you get into the grove of all the music you listen too, no matter what the genre is. You listen to any genre without prejudice. You obviously have a huge spectrum of which you react from. keep up the great work, pleasure to watch your channel. All the way from Nottingham in England
@@NefariousDreary I think there was a bigger leap from 60s to 70s than 70s to 80s although I love 80s music. The 70s really introduced power chords and iconic guitar riffs like no other decade.
I could spend an An hour or two every night listening and watching everyone's reaction for just this song ! Love the song and love watchin everyone's reaction to this song ! #KEEP EM COMIN
Love your commentary. This is a great song, which I remember from back in the day. The backyard setup is both humorous and self-deprecating, in a good way! "Hey, we can make great music in the backyard!" Whoo Hoo, let's do it! Any, great vocals, killer guitar line....
This video was brought to you by Marijuana, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Evan Williams. P.S. Aunt Janet is still pissed about her yard 45 years later, her neighbor Bob is still complaining about the noise, and three of the people in this video are still high today.
RELEASED IN 1977 Jamels biggest amounts of views 1 MILLION 387 , ,000,, GOES TO SHOW you how good 70s music WAS ,, Most of the biggest amounts Jamels views are songs from the 70s, , CHECK EM OUT for your self , The FANTASTIC 70s
I remember that this song was played in all French bars and nightclub in 1991. Thanks Jamel for this flashback, it was pleasant to listen it again ! I appreciate your work. Greetings from France. Djamel
"Black Betty" was a cadence sung by black confederate soldiers during the civil war. Black Betty was a rifle made in Birmingham, Alabama. The company that made the gun made an "improved model", hence "Black Betty had a child". They hated the new rifle because it didn't shoot straight. Hence, "damned thing gone wild". Ram Jam put music to the 160 year old cadence. BY: tommonteck
@@39thala I just googled his name. Some stuff there on him, including a story about his life now...or at least the story seems fairly new. www.orgs.miamioh.edu/projectoxford/wards1.htm
I've always loved this song and think I always will, they was definitely a head of there time with there stile of music, it is a master peace that I don't think will ever get old. I've posted this song lots of times over a few year's, also there lyrics can be taken and used in a few ways, but nomatter what they are brilliant. If they brought this song out today or even within the last few years it would be an even bigger hit than way back when they produced this master piece. Its a tune that will always cheer you up and get you want to start dancing. Hopefully the more it get posted on the web etc then the younger generation will get to here it and eventually this master piece will start getting played in clubs etc,
Your videos show that music crosses over and reaches all kinds of people and race doesn't matter!! Music is the Great Language that brings people together!!
Just blows my mind you can truly appreciate so many types of music! I'm 68 and because of your channel I'm appreciating the music i grew up with more than i ever did! We just kinda took it for granted as it was what it was. Thanx so much for your channel.
I'm 70, and feel the same way as you do!! I enjoyed all of these songs, back in the day. This channel is excellent!! I'm re-hearing these songs like a first timer. Great job!! BB
We love our baby boomers, as a millenial in my early thirties can honestly say my dad introduced me to a lot of cool music and without your guys' generation of music and the counter culture of the sixties: who knows what music would be in this day and age its already suffering enough.
After listening to the Commodores' Brick house, I stumbled on the "backyard" video, and then you - what a great & lovely sequence of events. Life is good, folks (even if hard & bad sometimes or frequently).
Man you guys have no idea what you missed in the seventies! That we didn't have cellphones but we had damn good music! P.S. thanks for all the up votes! We didn't know how good we had it did we? When I compare the way music and the world is now to the way the world was then I just shake my head. To be honest I let it make me feel sad.
AMEN Sister!,... If given the chance I would relive my teenage years during the 70's. Saw Ram Jam perform this song live as an opening act for Robin Trower in 1977 at COBO Hall in Detroit, Michigan. Still have the ticket in a scrapbook with hundreds of other bands.
This song is a freely rocking adaptation of Leadbelly’s Black Betty. From around 1930. It’s an old slave holla type thing. No instruments. Just clapping. Look it up. It’s amazing!
thad thanks for given me info on this song always loved it and i also wanted to know more about it i knew a few other people play it but never knew leadbelly wrote it thank you
Yes, this was a jam...and I'm "a white people", but I don't like to see white people dancing, anymore than I like to see them boxing...which is always at 3am for some reason, lol. So I'm glad there wasn't a whole lawn full of embarrassing white people dancing. And like I said, I'm a "white people" myself. But as much as I hate to say it...there's just some things we don't do well. Not after you have watched Soul Train a few times.
This song has a long and storied history my friend. Its actually a very old marching chant sung by soldiers. Black Betty refers to a favored model of musket. The line "black betty had a child. The damn thing gone wild" refers to the successor to this rifle which was hated by soldiers. "The damn thing gone blind" refers to the rifle being inaccurate and throwing shots everywhere. Bam balam is the sound of the soldiers' volley of fire. The line "she's so rock steady and she's always ready" again refers to the reliability of the gun. Hope you found this interesting. You should look up the OLDEST known recording of this song from the turn of the century. EDIT: Also this song has many different versions of the lyrics. They were modified and added to over the years with some arguing this has ascribed many different meanings to the song. However the original meaning holds true. It's about a rifle.
Hmmm. But Birmingham wasn’t founded until 1871 and muskets were falling out of favor. I’ve lived in Birmingham AL all my life and don’t recall ever hearing about an Arsenal or rifle works ever being here. Now, Birmingham England made rifles where you get the famous BSA (Birmingham Small Arms factory). Nice story anyway as there may be some truth in it.
I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that dude is the actual lead singer who didn't have anything to do for the song, so he combined weird al with mick jagger...
So, I am old enough to remember when it first came out. The other day it got stuck in my head and I had ALEXA play it :) So here is the full history of the song. The chorus (oh Black Betty, Bamalam) has been around since the Revolutionary war (not Civil), however the lyrics changed many times over the years. It was originally a marching song. And they were singing about a musket that was painted black. It was manufactured in Birmingham, England. (it was then followed by Brown Bess) It may have been sung in the Civil war too. Next it reappears in 1933 sung by a 63 year old, James "Iron head" Baker who was in Prison on a chain gang. He was recorded in the field by US "musicologists" John and Alan Lomax. He performed a cappella with other convicts singing back up. The Lomaxes were recording for the Library of Congress. They recorded several versions. It was thought at that time that "Black Betty" was a whip used on the convicts. In 1939, LeadBelly re-recorded his own version and then finally in the early 1970's Bill Bartlett, a fan of LeadBelly, reworked the song and added two additional verses. He was the first guitarist of Ram Jam. He later left the band and took the song with him. His version of Black Betty is about whiskey/ moonshine. It was either Leadbelly or Bartlett that added the "down in Alabam". ( I think it was Bartlett, but not sure.) So there you have it!
Jamal - been a subscriber for well over a year bro and love your gig. Living in Thailand and spreading the word about your channel and encouraging friends to subscribe. You cover all music and spread the love. Great role model for everyone with a positive vibe. Peace brother. Keep workin' it!
Jamal, I've watched several of your reviews. Really love your kind and intelligent energy and commentary, have subscribed, of course. Bless you, my friend!
Me, too! Freedom was AWESOME in the 70's. Kids could be kids back then. I got in trouble for singing this song in school, though. Uneducated educators thought it was racist and wouldn't listen to me, or to the only 2 black kids in school, who ALSO walked around singing this song. Lol
"Only thing I've got to say about that is I wish it was longer." Okay, here's the longer version. This was recorded about two years earlier by singer Bill Bartlett's prior band Starstruck, and the Ram Jam version is in fact just an edited version of this recording. Bill Bartlett is the only person you see in the back yard video who actually played on the recording you hear. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ihTqpNZQNwE.html
"Black Betty" was the name of a famous moonshine still. The reference to a child was another still made from parts of Black Betty. Apparently some of the parts had something wrong with them or some of the ingredients for the moonshine were bad and were reported to cause blindness in those that drank it.
This was the first record I ever bought at the age of 9. It was 1 of 4 songs on a 45 to be played at 33 1/3 rpm. Couldn't tell you the other songs because this was all I needed to hear!
one of my guitars I named Black Betty, one of my alarm clocks plays this song to wake me up on important days. Love this song. my uncle used come down from Seattle with his band and it was like that...in the video. 🙂
@@mackjeez A Black Betty was a black lacquered Brown Bess; a Standard Long Land Pattern .75 caliber smoothbore musket. Since it was a flintlock, it made the characteristic "bam-ba-lam" as it was set off. Both were, of course, named after Queen Elizabeth.
@Jamel_AKA_Jamal I have watched this video so many times. 1. Because it's such a great tune and video. 2. Most of all, I love your reaction and realizing it's such a great tune and video! Thank you for being a good human and spreading good vibes and positivity!