Patients, not a doctor nor a nursemaid here at the asylum was born on the seventh hour, on the seventh day. Needless to say, today we caught a contageous case of lucky mojo by getting’ our sterilized gloves on a dose of John the Conquer Root. You know patients, John the Conqueroo-that glorious magical herb that will make yer hoodoo blues go by the wayside. Yer pistol may snap, yer mojo is frail, but you rub yer root, yer luck will never fail.You’ve heard about it on the Willie Dixon standard, “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man”:
I got a black cat bone, I got a mojo too,
I got a John the Conquer root, I'm gonna mess with you,
Boom!
How about on Bo Diddley’s, “I’m A Man”?
I goin' back down,
To Kansas to
Bring back the second cousin,
Little John the conqueroo.
Double boom!
Today the asylum is going to get yer rock 'n roll stethoscopes movin' and groovin' to the doctors’ and nursemaids’ favorite bluesmen. The foot stompin' rusted wire blues fury from Muddy Waters has been givin' us the delta groove down to the bone.
Written by Willie Dixon and recorded at Chess in 1964, “My John The Conquer Root” by Muddy is a classic blues tale of chewing John the Conqueroo and catching a classic case of having the tides turn yer way. You might be on trial for crashing a clown car... you walk into the courtroom with a little John the Conqueroo and you win the case.
We recently discovered, “My John The Conquer Root” and we love the burnin' blues groove and the way Muddy spits those tombstone bullets. Check it out.
MY JOHN THE CONQUER ROOT
(by Willie Dixon)
My pistol may snap, my mojo is frail
But i rub my root, my luck will never fail
When i rub my root, my John the Conquer root
Aww, you know there ain't nothin' she can do, Lord,
I rub my John the Conquer root
I was accused of murder in the first degree
The judge's wife cried, "Let the man go free!"
I was rubbin' my root, my John the Conquer root
Aww, you know there ain't nothin' she can do, Lord,
I rub my John the Conquer root
Oh, i can get in a game, don't have a dime,
All i have to do is rub my root, i win every time
When i rub my root, my John the Conquer root
Aww, you know there ain't nothin' she can do, Lord,
I rub my John the Conquer root
#13473: My John The Conquer Root (Willie Dixon)
Muddy Waters, vocals; J.T. Brown, tenor sax; James Cotton, harmonica; Otis Spann, piano; Pee Wee Madison, guitar; Milton Rector, bass; S.P. Leary, drums.
Recorded: Chicago, Ill., Oct 1964
Take Up Thy Rock 'N Roll Stethoscope and Walk,
Enjoy this single cc of Muddy
MP3: “My John The Conquer Root”
