I heard Mike Russo play this song once. He introduced it by saying it was the song everyone wanted to hear when they found out a person played a 12-string, but nobody could play it. "On record's the only place you can get it." I enjoyed this.
I meant to write you this long ago, but forgot that I hadn't yet. Somehow Mike Russo, that astounding, brilliant titan, completely escaped my notice all my life---until you brought up the name. Wow. I am in awe of the guy. THAT'S how Lead Belly should be played. I will study his moves for the rest of my playing life. Thanks!
A very fair rendition of a true classic! Mike Russo and Ben Andrews could belt out Leadbelly so well it was amazing. I really enjoyed your version. It had the staccato drive going on that so many people can’t get. BRAVO!
Great rendition, Alonzo. At one time I collected several recorded versions of this song, which is actually Child ballad #95, and is also known as "The Maid Freed From the Gallows", "The Briary Bush" and "The Prickle Holly Bush." The last two refer to a chorus which was used in many of the English versions but which seems to have been dropped when the song made its way to America. My favourites, apart from the Lead Belly and Led Zeppelin versions, are by Odetta and John Jacob Niles. I think I have uploaded more versions of this song to RU-vid than any other of the Child ballads.
Standard guitar tuning intervals, but the standard tuning has been dropped down a fourth, so that the top and bottom courses are B. From treble to bass: B-F#-D-A-E-B.
@@memesspaghetti5668 By the way, while Lead Belly occasionally played 6-string in open G (Children's Blues, Easy Rider), he never played 12-string in any alternate tuning, not even Drop-D.
@@memesspaghetti5668 Oops! When I wrote I was mistakenly thinking I'd recorded it on my "big" Weigert 12, but on reviewing the video I see I used my Larivee, which I keep tuned a half-step higher. So, correction: I'm tuned down two whole steps, thus down to "C" rather than "B".
sure.... they ruined it.... so it wasn’t made popular by Zeppelin.... it wasn’t brought to peoples attention because of Zeppelins version... it was already extremely popular ??? I say i know why Zeppelin was influenced by his stuff and now we have 2 versions of it that we love ..well, most of us ;))))
