C.C. or See See Rider, the lowdown on this classic!

My late dad used to swear up and down that Chuck Willis did the original version of "C.C. Rider". Well, at least it was his favorite version, and the version that he grew up with.

The truth is though that "See, See Rider Blues" was originally recorded by lady of the blues Ma Rainey circa 1924-1925.

Yes, the song is seriously that old.

Chuck Willis recorded his version in 1954 I believe, and then in the mid-1960s the song went from a slow tune to a raucous rocker.

Now, the Animals were the British rockers on the tune in 1966, but one year earlier it was Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels who did the first fast version I know of, their amalgam rendition called "Jenny Take A Ride".

For the unlearned, amalgam means combination, or mash-up.

Now so y'all understand me out there I'd better explain the Mitch Ryder method.

Most of you should know Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels for their massive hit "Devil With A Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly".

Now that song, or amalgam, is a double cover medley. Normally a medley is a mash-up of three or more songs. "Devil With A Blue Dress On" was originally recorded by Motown Blues artist Shorty Long, and is a very slow song (just like most versions of "C.C. Rider" or "See See Rider Blues" up to that point and time). Then the other song covered was the Little Richard classic "Good Golly Miss Molly".

So what the Detroit Wheels did was take one slow blues tune, a raucous rockin' Little Richard tune, and combine them into one hot rockin' get outta yer seat and start dancin' guitar laden, soul shoutin' rock n' roll song.

Best of both worlds 'tis was!

So, now we get to "Jenny Take A Ride". The Detroit Wheels took the usually slow "C.C. Rider" and combined it with a cover of Little Richard's hit "Jenny, Jenny" and lo and behold you get a very fast rockin' rendition of those two songs combined.

While we're on the Detroit Wheels they also did, in my opinion, the best cover of the Righteous Brother's tune "Little Latin Lupe Lu".

Now, my favorite fast rockin' version of "C.C. Rider" is the live version that Elvis Presley did live in the 1970s. Elvis did his best covers in the 1970s in my opinion.

So, what's the point of this post?

Mainly that rock songs do indeed evolve, and that many have a primordial state that started much earlier than most people out there would assume.

"C.C. Rider" had its peak lifespan in pop culture from the 1920s to the 1970s. That's a 50 year span of life.

To my knowledge it hasn't been covered recently unfortunately.

In the 21st century many song evolutions are ending, or becoming stagnant. Good cover bands still exist but they are far harder to find.

Many "Oldies" stations are focusing more on the 1960s through the 1980s now totally leaving the 1950s behind. Even the early 1960s are becoming a rare gem era on modern radio.

That's it I guess for this posting.

Sincerely,
Bob