My fathers best friend was the bassist. His name is Howie and he passed away while delivering a package at his courier job. Rang a woman’s door bell for delivery and when the woman opened the door, he went toppling into her. He was already dead of a massive heart attack leaning into the door. Was a great guy. My father is still a part of the wife’s life. Many years they’ve known each other. My dad and him made a lot of music together. Good guy
Great song! The very first recording of this song was made in 1933, sung by African American folk singer James "Iron Head" Baker. But it probably is much older. Some people perceive the lyrics as offensive, but realize that 'Black Betty' was actually a term used for a bottle of whisky, as comes forth from the Benjamin Franklin's Drinker's Dictionary published in 1736. The term has its origins in the England/Schotland border area and came to America hundreds of years ago. So the song has nothing to do with a black woman named Betty.
@@HansOvervoorde Good history lesson there... I never knew about that, but know I have to re-check the rest of the lyrics, because they all have a new meaning. Like how a bottle of whisky has a child...
I’m leaving this comment to bring your comments to 1,000....THIS is how we partied back in the day...friends, bands, weed & drink...that’s all we needed! 👍
61 year old guy chiming in, the woman were lean, tight and absolutely beautiful. Those same women in their 60's are still hotter then most 30 year Olds today
Oh my goodness for someone who I grew up back in the day when this was cool s*** my God it's so refreshing to see young people enjoy the same bamalam we listen to!!!!! GOOD MUSIC NEVER DIES ❤️❤️❤️
Growing up as a teen in the 70’s you just couldn’t get enough of this kind of old school music. Of course this is still all that I listen to. Mostly on vinyl .
This was post Vietnam music. My dad came home after his second tour there, and jammed these tunes. Along with Jimi, Janis, and Ottis. Back then it was the stereo that looked like a big piece of furniture that played albums and 8-tracks. Love those times.
Back when this song came out, you could buy what they called 5 finger bags for $15. Fill a sandwich baggie up 5 fingers deep. We used to go sit down on Bigby Creek and get wasted!
Producer: "Hey what budget do you need for the music video" RJ: "200 bucks" Producer: "How are you gonna make a music video with $200?" RJ: "We're just gonna play the song in Steven's backyard" Producer: "Well.... then what are the 200 bucks for?" RJ: "Weed."
Take notice of hand-clap-in-the-air- man on the left. He only had one job. And nailed it. Because he was the best of the best out there. Truly inspiring.
I grew up in the 70’s & LITERALLY had friends with bands like this jamming in the front yard all summer! The next little town over was 5 miles away ( major country areas) & relatives or friends would call to see if we were having a cookout & if a band was playing because they could HEAR them!! 😂🥰Such fun memories
"Black Betty" was a cadence sung by black confederate soldiers during the civil war. Black Betty was a rifle made in what today is Birmingham, Alabama. They loved the gun. 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.
@Overachiever03... correct on Lead Belly....the lyrics to Ram Jam’s version starts around the minute 6 mark in the following link: ua-cam.com/video/SJUSGuNxt-4/v-deo.html
You're a cool kid man , ( I'm 50 ) so I mean no disrespect eh . Made me smile you enjoying this music , so much so called white music is blues inspired or jazz . Was brought up on blues jazz the mercurial Miles Davis Billie Holliday , Ella oh Ella Fitzgerald man the way she sang it stole your soul . Elvis , the Beatles the stones Zeppelin all have similar origins . The good thing about music is it touches us all . Try pink Floyd " dark side of the moon " as an album just chill in the dark and listen . Anyway sorry about this essay just wanted to say hello from Scotland Peace and stay safe
@@Libertas4Ever absolutely , I grew up listening to jazz Ella Billy Holliday , little Richard , classical . Rock n roll , there wasn't even a conversation about colour , I sat on my dad's knee watching my hero Muhammad Ali , didn't even notice my skin wasn't the same , I saw him with honest eyes and he blew me away . Loved the man . Music is for all it all comes from Africa as do all us humans . Peace and stay safe out there , also hello from Scotland .
If colour was never even an issue, why bring it up at all? To show how you're down with the blackies? Out of a compulsive need to prove to every single black person you see that you're not a racist? I mean, good on you, but even if that's true, why should anyone else give a damn?
@@DefectivePieceofChalk What a cynical human being , get yerself Tae Scotland you'll see whit I'm on about , the Supremes played the barras in the sixties and a fellow Scot asked if he could take Diana Ross oot for a drink. She was taken aback shocked as segregation was still prevalent in her home country . So Instead of trying to goad me or infer I'm lying don't look for the negative it's a defining trait in one's life . Slainte
Black Betty is an old African American folk work song. Many people credit "Lead Belly" for writing this song. But the earliest recorded versions are not by him. Many artists have done a version of Black Betty.
@@DylanBadour The oldest known recording of the song was sung by James "Iron head" Baker. It was recorded when he sang it while working in the field as an inmate at a Texas state prison. In the early 30's. But like with a lot of old folk songs. People had been singing them for decades before the songs were ever recorded. It's entirely possible that Lead Belly did write it and performed it for many many years way before it was ever recorded. And thats where James Baker probably learned it from.
The song was used in several movies. "Without a Paddle", Miss Congenially, Armed and Fabulous, Guess Who, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Condemned, Death Race, The Hit mans Body Guard, and Birds of Prey. It's a great jam. Thanks for the great video and God Bless and Merry Christmas.
Just some down to earth guys, in their backyard, in their everyday casual clothes, no special effects, no auto tune, just jamming out & loving music....Loving your reactions, all the way from Canada !!! 😃
Bill Bartlett arranged this version & hit the nail on the head! He wasn't even the lead singer of Ram Jam, yet he gave them their one hit, arranged it, sang it, and his playing is awesome! He played in the band the Lemon Pipers @ 18 yrs old when they had their hits. Remember Green Tambourine? He supposedly didn't like being on the road, wanted to be home w his wife where he grew up in Ohio. He's well known for selling trains in Ohio.
This has got to be one of the BEST reaction videos I have ever seen! Dude... when you were singing the bam buh lam part you gave me chills! Love this song! Been listening to it for years! You are awesome!!
I've noticed you have been doing reaction to Elvis. The songs you picked are amazing. As a long time Elvis fan may I suggest what I believe to be the first heavy metal song again by Elvis. HARDHEADED WOMAN
That’s literally a perfect song and Ram Jam never again crafted anything nearly this good. It’s unusual that a cover redefines the original and becomes THE version, and even more rare when it’s a legend like Leadbelly who gets topped, but these lads did it.
LOVED watching your reaction to this old-time banger! So I am now subscribed, and hope to see lots more of your great, natural reactions to some great old music.❤
Bro I'd never heard of you till 10 minutes ago. I LOVED your reaction, it was genuine and you had fun. It was like getting to hear it for the first time myself again, thank you. Gratz on doubling your subscriber's since you posted this, you've earned 1 more from London nice one bruh 👍🤛
Watching a few of the black community listening to this, Queen, tom jones, some thinking Tom was black, brilliant reactions. You can't not stomp to this, RAW guitar 🎸
When I was a teen, a bunch of us would hang around a local diner, that had those mini-jukebox players on each table, and that song was on constant rotation. That and Mississippi Queen. The lead singer/guitar player was in a 60's band called the Lemon Pipers. He's actually English, but you'd swear he's a good old Southern boy.
😂😂I've got so many speeding tickets but once they gave me a break because my reason for going fast was this song and that's what I told them-let me go with a warning🤔😜😂😂😂😂😂
Ram Jam was this kind of band: their hit album "I F*ck Like a Beast" came out in the record stores with a parental warning in the late 70's. They originated the broken, choppy style of heavy metal that became dominant in the 90's.
1 of the 2 greatest one hit wonders. The other has to be "Spirit In The Sky" by Norman Greenbaum. Would love to see your reaction to "Tobacco Road" by Edgar and Johnny Winter.
It's one of those songs that just transcends genres.... a classic. The cover version by Spiderbait is well worth hearing too, not quite as funky as the original but adds a bit more metal to the song.
Fun Fact: Black Betty is not a Ram Jam original. There's antique footage of old jazz groups singing it but I don't know of any official releases. When this version kicks off, I hope you already have your seatbelt fastened. I think it's a even better driving song than either version of Radar Love.
The song was first recorded in the field by US musicologists in December 1933, performed a cappella by the convict James "Iron Head" Baker and a group at Central State Farm, Sugar Land, Texas (a State prison farm). Baker was 63 years old
There are a total of three popular versions of this song, each artist personalized it with their own style. While Ram Jam's 1977 classic rock hit is the most popular on UA-cam, most people relate the song to the slower 1930s tune by early blues legend, LeadBelly. The most recent, though, was a 2004 variation done by electro-rock band, Spiderbait, which has since been used in several movie soundtracks. You should consider listening to the others so you could compare the three styles for yourself.
Thank you brother for sharing your way of feeling music and expressing what it makes you feel in such a special way. Your delight in music is great and invites you to enjoy it in this way. A hug.....
Yes, this was in reference to a Civil War musket and it was made in Birmingham, Alabama. It was recorded by a black blues musician named "Lead Belly" probably back in the 1920s or 1930. It was a chant/song sung by Deep South prison chain gangs. Whether "Black Betty" was also a black woman I don't know. But I *do* know that they had a *lot* of protests from the NAACP & the ACLU and the song couldn't even get a lot of air play because of them! Of course they said it was racist.. As far as I'm concerned the worst example of a song being black listed and therefore not any station AT ALL that played it was Redbone, the Native American group, "We All Died at Wounded Knee" This wasn't only about the Wounded Knee Massacre. But the Wounded Knee Siege led by Russell Means, a Lakota Indian, and Dennis Banks. Those two founded AIM, the *American Indian Movement* . Redbone's song came out just after their song about Wounded Knee. There were Indian deaths and wounded. But also a fed agent. It was the old, "Who Fired First"?? I don''t know but practically a *batallion* of fed government artillery doesn't sound wisely to shoot first. There were about eight of the AIM members put on trial. Surprisingly some white lawyers took their cases and they were acquitted. Change of venue. Leonard Peltier took the fall and is still in prison dying now.
@Goblin GangGaming Bottle of whiskey, cool. Black Betty was also the name of my car in 1978, haha. Later on I named my truck Lenny, an 86 Chevy S10, after Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar. My new van is named Covey 3000 after the pandemic. USA!
Interestingly Peltier, still in prison, is the Vice Presidential candidate of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Marxists in ideology. Say whatever you like about them but they work hard at overturning wrongful convictions and for social justice in all areas.
Love to rock to this song, they are savage!!! I get your reaction, you can't NOT bob your head and jam when Ram Jam is shredding on those guitars. Any mood....mad, sad, tired, lonely, bored.... you listen to this and you've got sone renewed energy in your soul. Rock on dude, keep em coming!!!
As a 70’s classic rock lover even tho I teenaged thru the 80’s I can assure you of one thing. The homlier the band members, the faster they’re gonna rock your pants off.
The same here a teen in the 80's but sure loved the rock 🤘 🎸 music 🎶 in the 70's l always wished l was a teenager in the 70's and my friends didn't understand me and didn't like the music l loved but hey l'm sure jamming it up today totally enjoying myself rocking to Black Betty 🤙 and more 🎵🎸 all the great rock l want from the 60's 🤘🏿 & 👅70's here on UA-cam 😝 mind you the 80's and so on are amazingly awesome also ✊🏾 so ✌☮ and rock on 🤘 🎼🎸🥁🎶
I love these reaction videos. Thank you! I remember the first time I put this song on for my son a couple of months ago and he immediately started dancing. He loved it so much it was on repeat for at least 15 or so minutes.
That stank-face says it all, good music will always get the love it deserves, no matter what musical preference one might have. If its good, its good, its as simple as that. Talking about good, i'm digging you opening tune man :D
Hey dude welcome to what I used to listen to when I was a little kid I've been telling people for years that are rock and roll back in the 60s and 70s was better than anything that's come out since yeah there's been some good music since then but dude we lived it I banged my head to Black Betty for what 30-40 years welcome to the party bro
This song used to annoy the shit out of me. Then I saw this video and my head was banging. I really like the beat. I thought it was cool how they performed this in someone's yard.
My brother is the guy dancing around in the background. He sang most of the other songs on the album. In fact I eventually owned that big old bass amp( the Kustom) back in the day.
I hear you man, every time I hear this song I start stompin and I can not STOP! The head bobbin thing you don’t notice until later when you’re singing along! LMAO! TTFN ✌🏼🙏🏼🧿🙋🏻♀️
WHAT ELSE SHOULD I REACT TO?
INTRO MUSIC: open.spotify.com/artist/0lEvPwrWS9883d0jQ4SkA7?si=qMKUlijBTq-e1kpLTgY_xg
FOLLOW: instagram.com/kingblitz
best Australian song ever made, Solid Rock, by Goanna. ua-cam.com/video/tSNxFGW09Mo/v-deo.html
St Paul and the Broken Bones
You need to listen to "evie, parts 1, 2 and 3" by Stevie Wright. Some classic Australian rock!
What about the song, “Black and white” by Three Dog Night?
? And the mysterians 96 tears. It’s one of my favorite songs of all time
My fathers best friend was the bassist. His name is Howie and he passed away while delivering a package at his courier job. Rang a woman’s door bell for delivery and when the woman opened the door, he went toppling into her. He was already dead of a massive heart attack leaning into the door. Was a great guy. My father is still a part of the wife’s life. Many years they’ve known each other. My dad and him made a lot of music together. Good guy
Sorry for the misspelling, his name is Howie
You've bewn listening to Ziggy Stardust too much lmao, Bowie..
What a way to go. Great band
What wonderful memories he must have of the two of them!!!🤘🤘🤘🎶🎼🎵
Apologies for you, and your family's loss. Would you mind if I asked a couple of questions for history's sake?
My fav Ram Jam meme
"The lead singer looks like if Mountain Dew was a person."
.....now that’s funny, right there!
😂😂
🤣🤣🤣
Omg yes
Fun fact: He ain't even the lead singer. The lead singer is the guy dancing up a storm behind him. ;)
Just some men in their backyard, no fancy clothes, jamming it out, with no idea how amazing they are !!! Great reaction 😂
Great song! The very first recording of this song was made in 1933, sung by African American folk singer James "Iron Head" Baker. But it probably is much older. Some people perceive the lyrics as offensive, but realize that 'Black Betty' was actually a term used for a bottle of whisky, as comes forth from the Benjamin Franklin's Drinker's Dictionary published in 1736. The term has its origins in the England/Schotland border area and came to America hundreds of years ago. So the song has nothing to do with a black woman named Betty.
@@HansOvervoorde Good history lesson there... I never knew about that, but know I have to re-check the rest of the lyrics, because they all have a new meaning. Like how a bottle of whisky has a child...
I don't think any rock bands in the 80s wore fancy clothes except for the killers
@@JaxsonLink ram jam was 70's
@@s4lroachclip I know I'm just talking 70s-90s
OMG these black Betty reactions never get old.
😂😂😂
They all start out in shock, start over within 30 seconds and start grooving while putting on that stank face. It's unavoidable.
Never, 2 years later😂😂
By God we jamed in the 70s
F'in eh, buddy buddy
Now they just whne
Best music ever and best time to grow up I'm 61 now and still miss all the good times growing up then.
Yes we did
Thank you for your service!
I’m leaving this comment to bring your comments to 1,000....THIS is how we partied back in the day...friends, bands, weed & drink...that’s all we needed! 👍
Yes we did..great times!!
Damn straight! I miss the good ole days.
It is physically impossible to hold still during this song, we were so thin in those days!☺👏💋✌
Before they started adding cattle growth hormone that has caused many women's hips to explode. We got eyes.
All the steroids in food is making us sick and over weight. I miss the 70’s
Not to mention just about every eating establishment has a drive thru window, and everyone has a microwave oven. No one's cooking anymore.
61 year old guy chiming in, the woman were lean, tight and absolutely beautiful. Those same women in their 60's are still hotter then most 30 year Olds today
Truth
Oh my goodness for someone who I grew up back in the day when this was cool s*** my God it's so refreshing to see young people enjoy the same bamalam we listen to!!!!! GOOD MUSIC NEVER DIES ❤️❤️❤️
never underestimate power chords
facts!
And the pentatonic scale
Love the way he physically rolls the guitar in his hands , the guitar must be one of the most sensual instruments ever .
Harris Khan yup. David Gilmour loved the pentatonic
@Ralph's Place 😂
Growing up as a teen in the 70’s you just couldn’t get enough of this kind of old school music. Of course this is still all that I listen to. Mostly on vinyl .
YES!!!
I was a teen when this was first released in 1964 !
Amen, my friend! Same here. Best memories from 70' and 80's...
Stallion tune
This is how we partied before the internet and corona virus. Just get out in the front yard and party.
🔥🔥🤘🏽🤘🏽
If you look carefully in the background, you can see the Igloo full of Coors they used in lieu of money for the extras. XD
Best way to do it
Hell yeah! Kids these days are missing out! I thank God that I grew up before the internet and cell phones.
Fond memories ❤❤❤
Love it when the younger generation listen to tracks of old....they are here to stay👍🏻🇬🇧
This was post Vietnam music. My dad came home after his second tour there, and jammed these tunes. Along with Jimi, Janis, and Ottis. Back then it was the stereo that looked like a big piece of furniture that played albums and 8-tracks. Love those times.
So dope! Thanks for sharing
My dad was in nam to was in for 18 years
Lol, I still remember those giant wooden box TV's and stereos
Had one up to 1999. We modified the 8 track player and wired it to a little JVC portable cd player. The sound was amazing. Still played records too.
Ha ha, we had one of those huge TV stereo consoles, it took like 20 men to carry in the house when we got it!
It is physically impossible not to stamp your feet listening to this song :) Loved your reaction :)
NO AUTO TUNE! No sampling, pure talent!
no drum machine could do that
Autotune, click tracks and excessive production are killing music.
I wish people would just set up and play the hell out of stuff like these guys.
I love when the younger generations accidentally find & love the music we grew up with. ❤
The singer looks like Ned Flanders before he found religion . okily dokily .
🤘🏽🤘🏽
@@KINGBLITZ The studio version is much longer.
That’s Bill Bartlett, he was very successful in his former bad called the “Lemonpipers” and Green Tambourine.
😂😂
lmao cannot unsee
The tracks 44 years old of today 24th Jan 2021 and still sounds fkn awesome.
This is the radio version. The album version is longer with an extended jam section.
ahh Im mad i missed it
@@KINGBLITZ ua-cam.com/video/-T2tnf23lyc/v-deo.html
@@KINGBLITZ Here you go the full-length version. ua-cam.com/video/-T2tnf23lyc/v-deo.html
Listen to the album version a few times and you don't have any choice but to go lay down and take a nap.
Listen to the bass line during the guitar solo.
Dude, I was 15 when this song came out. It got tons of air play on the local rock radio station. It's still a classic here in 2021.
This is also my first time hearing this song and I must say, I LOVE IT!!!!!
Me too ❤
You will NEVER HEAR MUSIC LIKE CLASSIC ROCK AGAIN! Rock on!
Story goes this video was made at grandma's house after she made fresh pie and it cost a total of 15$...and that was for the weed. Lol
I have heard this before what a cool FYI 😎 👌 👍
lmfao! i believe every bit of that!!
Back when this song came out, you could buy what they called 5 finger bags for $15. Fill a sandwich baggie up 5 fingers deep. We used to go sit down on Bigby Creek and get wasted!
It was actually made at Howie's house, the bass player
"So, where we gonna make this video?" "How about my Grandmama's back yard?" "Yeah, alright."
I'm 72 I listened to this in 1970s. Glad you leaving bout good tunes
Producer: "Hey what budget do you need for the music video"
RJ: "200 bucks"
Producer: "How are you gonna make a music video with $200?"
RJ: "We're just gonna play the song in Steven's backyard"
Producer: "Well.... then what are the 200 bucks for?"
RJ: "Weed."
Stolen comment...
nice!🤣😂🤣
All right, review the band The Sweet song Ballroom Blitz.
copy & paste, copy & paste, copy & paste, copy & paste, copy & paste, copy & paste, copy & paste, copy & paste, copy & paste, copy & paste, copy & paste, copy & paste, copy & paste, copy & paste, copy & paste, copy & paste.
@@-HighTide I like Tia Carre's version better. A great song, either version.
Take notice of hand-clap-in-the-air- man on the left. He only had one job. And nailed it. Because he was the best of the best out there. Truly inspiring.
Reminds me of the guy from the Mighty Mighty Bosstones who just dances
EVERYONE loves the Betty. Glad you heard it and loved it. Timeless classic that will still be getting airtime long after we are all gone.
I grew up in the 70’s & LITERALLY had friends with bands like this jamming in the front yard all summer! The next little town over was 5 miles away ( major country areas) & relatives or friends would call to see if we were having a cookout & if a band was playing because they could HEAR them!! 😂🥰Such fun memories
GOOD TIMES my friend. Good Times.
Just try driving a back road to this and not find yourself speeding. Almost impossible 😆
This song and Radar Love, Golden Earring are probably responsible for a whole lot of speeding tickets! Or is it just me..🤣😂
@@deedine62 not just you 😆
A nice gravel country road, all windows down and blasting this song! Sounds like fun to me. 🥰
@@deedine62 You forgot Hagar's "I can't drive 55"...next generation, but still.
@@samualwhittemore228 Hell 👍
"Black Betty" was a cadence sung by black confederate soldiers during the civil war. Black Betty was a rifle made in what today is Birmingham, Alabama. They loved the gun. 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.
Its about liquor.....
@@ww2fan18 look it up
Lead Belly put it to music and Ram Jam covered it!
@@FloorTankMain thank you for the accuracy
@Overachiever03... correct on Lead Belly....the lyrics to Ram Jam’s version starts around the minute 6 mark in the following link:
ua-cam.com/video/SJUSGuNxt-4/v-deo.html
You're a cool kid man , ( I'm 50 ) so I mean no disrespect eh . Made me smile you enjoying this music , so much so called white music is blues inspired or jazz . Was brought up on blues jazz the mercurial Miles Davis
Billie Holliday , Ella oh Ella Fitzgerald man the way she sang it stole your soul . Elvis , the Beatles the stones Zeppelin all have similar origins .
The good thing about music is it touches us all . Try pink Floyd " dark side of the moon " as an album just chill in the dark and listen .
Anyway sorry about this essay just wanted to say hello from Scotland
Peace and stay safe
Young man you are right....God Bless from the US
@@Libertas4Ever absolutely , I grew up listening to jazz Ella Billy Holliday , little Richard , classical . Rock n roll , there wasn't even a conversation about colour , I sat on my dad's knee watching my hero Muhammad Ali , didn't even notice my skin wasn't the same , I saw him with honest eyes and he blew me away . Loved the man .
Music is for all it all comes from Africa as do all us humans . Peace and stay safe out there , also hello from Scotland .
Pink Floyd is ment to do with acid, peyote or really good weed.
They give you words and want u to expand your mind.
If colour was never even an issue, why bring it up at all? To show how you're down with the blackies? Out of a compulsive need to prove to every single black person you see that you're not a racist? I mean, good on you, but even if that's true, why should anyone else give a damn?
@@DefectivePieceofChalk What a cynical human being , get yerself Tae Scotland you'll see whit I'm on about , the Supremes played the barras in the sixties and a fellow Scot asked if he could take Diana Ross oot for a drink.
She was taken aback shocked as segregation was still prevalent in her home country . So Instead of trying to goad me or infer I'm lying don't look for the negative it's a defining trait in one's life . Slainte
This is how we partied in the 70's...........backyards with the stereos blasting or live bands.
Black Betty is an old African American folk work song. Many people credit "Lead Belly" for writing this song. But the earliest recorded versions are not by him.
Many artists have done a version of Black Betty.
Aye!!!!
Nice! Good to know! I love learning about the history of music. There's definitely a Blues groove to this one. Blues and Jazz made American Music.
What's the earliest recording of this song? I haven't heard anything pre Lead Belly, so please point me in the right direction!
@@DylanBadour The oldest known recording of the song was sung by James "Iron head" Baker.
It was recorded when he sang it while working in the field as an inmate at a Texas state prison.
In the early 30's.
But like with a lot of old folk songs. People had been singing them for decades before the songs were ever recorded.
It's entirely possible that Lead Belly did write it and performed it for many many years way before it was ever recorded.
And thats where James Baker probably learned it from.
@@DylanBadour You should check out all of the James baker recordings you can find.
Really amazing stuff.
I'm 63 and this bring back a memory or two for me
Song was on the radio back in my day, man. Good stuff.
thanks!
I always loved the song they call "Radar Love" by Golden Earring.
You can judge how good a guitarist is by the faces he makes while he's playing.
If that were true, I would be amazing. I get so into it i caught myself actually drooling with my face stuck in that position.
“I just can’t stop stomping”.... 🤣🤣 same!! I remember the first time hearing this song! So good
When the reactor makin a face like “DAMN; what smell so bad up in here?”, you KNOW there is good music goin down.
Haha facts Pirate!!
Thats hilarious!
The song was used in several movies. "Without a Paddle", Miss Congenially, Armed and Fabulous, Guess Who, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Condemned, Death Race, The Hit mans Body Guard, and Birds of Prey. It's a great jam. Thanks for the great video and God Bless and Merry Christmas.
Just some down to earth guys, in their backyard, in their everyday casual clothes, no special effects, no auto tune, just jamming out & loving music....Loving your reactions, all the way from Canada !!! 😃
Don't know if he ever did anything else but he played hell out of that guitar
Agree. He didn't even realize he was on of the greatest axe players ever.
Bill Bartlett arranged this version & hit the nail on the head! He wasn't even the lead singer of Ram Jam, yet he gave them their one hit, arranged it, sang it, and his playing is awesome! He played in the band the Lemon Pipers @ 18 yrs old when they had their hits. Remember Green Tambourine? He supposedly didn't like being on the road, wanted to be home w his wife where he grew up in Ohio. He's well known for selling trains in Ohio.
This has got to be one of the BEST reaction videos I have ever seen! Dude... when you were singing the bam buh lam part you gave me chills! Love this song! Been listening to it for years! You are awesome!!
I've noticed you have been doing reaction to Elvis. The songs you picked are amazing. As a long time Elvis fan may I suggest what I believe to be the first heavy metal song again by Elvis. HARDHEADED WOMAN
The thing that gets me about this song is that the beat and the hook are so memorable, I always forget how good the guitar solos are.
That’s when real music was made...
That’s literally a perfect song and Ram Jam never again crafted anything nearly this good. It’s unusual that a cover redefines the original and becomes THE version, and even more rare when it’s a legend like Leadbelly who gets topped, but these lads did it.
When "Black Betty" becomes "airport" music....
I can see Johnny Depp walkin thru the airport now!! From the movie Blow🖤
Got it!
sherrel wilson - That’s all I think of when I hear it these days.
Oh my God yes!! Favorite part of that show!!
LOVED watching your reaction to this old-time banger! So I am now subscribed, and hope to see lots more of your great, natural reactions to some great old music.❤
Bro I'd never heard of you till 10 minutes ago. I LOVED your reaction, it was genuine and you had fun. It was like getting to hear it for the first time myself again, thank you. Gratz on doubling your subscriber's since you posted this, you've earned 1 more from London nice one bruh 👍🤛
The smile on his face as he sings reminds me of the smile of Santana singing at Woodstock, and maybe smiling for the same reason.
This is an old Blues tune usually attributed to Leadbelly even though earlier versions supposedly exist.
🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽
According to the lead singer the first verse is the original British cadence song, black betty is a British musket.
On UA-cam enter Original Black Betty for the 1933 Version, and then Lead Belly 1939
Me: "Stop watching this reaction cos I have things to do!" This reaction and song is fire
From movie songs in the 70s style, black Betty and kung fu fighting are my favorites.
🤘🏽🤘🏽
Kung Pow: Enter the Fist is where I first heard this.
Dude ... love you! You keep checking out this great music of the 60s and 70s ! We had the best music ever !!!
Watching a few of the black community listening to this, Queen, tom jones, some thinking Tom was black, brilliant reactions.
You can't not stomp to this, RAW guitar 🎸
In the 70s and 80s we rocked everything everywhere everyday 🎶🔊🎸
The song originates all the way back to the Civil War Black Betty was the Flint Muscat and this was a marching song
Thank you
As Louis Armstrong quipped: "you know it's good music if you can't stop tapping your foot to it"
(Paraphrased, obviously)
When I was a teen, a bunch of us would hang around a local diner, that had those mini-jukebox players on each table, and that song was on constant rotation. That and Mississippi Queen. The lead singer/guitar player was in a 60's band called the Lemon Pipers. He's actually English, but you'd swear he's a good old Southern boy.
Thanks for sharing 🤞🏼
i only heard of this song during the pandemic! back in the 70s, ppl were very free and easy going (compared to now LOL)
😂😂I've got so many speeding tickets but once they gave me a break because my reason for going fast was this song and that's what I told them-let me go with a warning🤔😜😂😂😂😂😂
haha! I love this song. GREAT reaction. I love listening with first listeners. So fun. :)
Ram Jam was this kind of band: their hit album "I F*ck Like a Beast" came out in the record stores with a parental warning in the late 70's. They originated the broken, choppy style of heavy metal that became dominant in the 90's.
Groovy
Lolol!
It just amazes me that this performance will soon be half a century old! When I was 20, anything older than me sounded archaic.
1 of the 2 greatest one hit wonders. The other has to be "Spirit In The Sky" by Norman Greenbaum. Would love to see your reaction to "Tobacco Road" by Edgar and Johnny Winter.
Facts!!!
One-hit wonders? "My Sharona".
Great tunes! And I would add "Never Been Any Reason" by Head East to the list of one-hit wonders to check out. ;-)
"Stay" Jackson Browne
Oh yeah, Ballroom Blitz I forget the name of the band. Google it for me.
Yeah! Ram Jam back in the day...and never gets old. Thanks for taking me back. I've renewed my vows.
So you are a hip hop artist , well I’d like to see you react to the OG hip hop artist Cab Calloway “Minnie the Moocher”
Cab Caloway was the man!
It's one of those songs that just transcends genres.... a classic. The cover version by Spiderbait is well worth hearing too, not quite as funky as the original but adds a bit more metal to the song.
Fun Fact: Black Betty is not a Ram Jam original. There's antique footage of old jazz groups singing it but I don't know of any official releases.
When this version kicks off, I hope you already have your seatbelt fastened. I think it's a even better driving song than either version of Radar Love.
The song was first recorded in the field by US musicologists in December 1933, performed a cappella by the convict James "Iron Head" Baker and a group at Central State Farm, Sugar Land, Texas (a State prison farm). Baker was 63 years old
I thought you were full of Sugar until I did some research so kudos mate!.
Right on, boss....your reaction is sweet! Liked this one forever.
There are a total of three popular versions of this song, each artist personalized it with their own style. While Ram Jam's 1977 classic rock hit is the most popular on UA-cam, most people relate the song to the slower 1930s tune by early blues legend, LeadBelly. The most recent, though, was a 2004 variation done by electro-rock band, Spiderbait, which has since been used in several movie soundtracks. You should consider listening to the others so you could compare the three styles for yourself.
Thank you brother for sharing your way of feeling music and expressing what it makes you feel in such a special way. Your delight in music is great and invites you to enjoy it in this way. A hug.....
🤣 so nice watching you hearing this, I’m from Denmark and bottled up with this ... believe me there are so may hidden vinyl treasures out there ❤️
Thanks DK
I'm 57 and I remember this at the school disco and it still sends chills up my spine.. TUUUUUUUUNE..
Yes, this was in reference to a Civil War musket and it was made in Birmingham, Alabama. It was recorded by a black blues musician named "Lead Belly" probably back in the 1920s or 1930. It was a chant/song sung by Deep South prison chain gangs. Whether "Black Betty" was also a black woman I don't know. But I *do* know that they had a *lot* of protests from the NAACP & the ACLU and the song couldn't even get a lot of air play because of them! Of course they said it was racist..
As far as I'm concerned the worst example of a song being black listed and therefore not any station AT ALL that played it was Redbone, the Native American group, "We All Died at Wounded Knee"
This wasn't only about the Wounded Knee Massacre. But the Wounded Knee Siege led by Russell Means, a Lakota Indian, and Dennis Banks. Those two founded AIM, the *American Indian Movement* .
Redbone's song came out just after their song about Wounded Knee. There were Indian deaths and wounded. But also a fed agent. It was the old, "Who Fired First"?? I don''t know but practically a *batallion* of fed government artillery doesn't sound wisely to shoot first.
There were about eight of the AIM members put on trial. Surprisingly some white lawyers took their cases and they were acquitted. Change of venue. Leonard Peltier took the fall and is still in prison dying now.
@Goblin GangGaming
Bottle of whiskey, cool. Black Betty was also the name of my car in 1978, haha. Later on I named my truck Lenny, an 86 Chevy S10, after Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar. My new van is named Covey 3000 after the pandemic. USA!
'We were all wounded at wounded Knee'
not 'we all died'
if you want to purchase the Redbone song.
Also 'Redbone' is a racial slur for halfbreeds. Mixed between European and Native blood. Hence the band's name.
Interestingly Peltier, still in prison, is the Vice Presidential candidate of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Marxists in ideology. Say whatever you like about them but they work hard at overturning wrongful convictions and for social justice in all areas.
Love to rock to this song, they are savage!!! I get your reaction, you can't NOT bob your head and jam when Ram Jam is shredding on those guitars. Any mood....mad, sad, tired, lonely, bored.... you listen to this and you've got sone renewed energy in your soul. Rock on dude, keep em coming!!!
As a 70’s classic rock lover even tho I teenaged thru the 80’s I can assure you of one thing. The homlier the band members, the faster they’re gonna rock your pants off.
The same here a teen in the 80's but sure loved the rock 🤘 🎸 music 🎶 in the 70's l always wished l was a teenager in the 70's and my friends didn't understand me and didn't like the music l loved but hey l'm sure jamming it up today totally enjoying myself rocking to Black Betty 🤙 and more 🎵🎸 all the great rock l want from the 60's 🤘🏿 & 👅70's here on UA-cam 😝 mind you the 80's and so on are amazingly awesome also ✊🏾 so ✌☮ and rock on 🤘 🎼🎸🥁🎶
Have to.... appreciate that we're being rocked by one-hit-wonders... from 1-9-7-6, y'all!!! That's 45 years ago!!! Classic...Rock and Roll.
Glad you enjoyed and thank you for keeping the language respectful. Music brings people together, for sure!
No problem Jesse Thanks for watching
This is one of those songs that you just can't help but move and groove to.
That was a JAM!!
haha!
One of the best reaction videos I’ve seen. That was a lot of fun watching that.
Album version has extended Solo's if you're wondering why the song is so short for the video :P
THanks!
I love these reaction videos. Thank you!
I remember the first time I put this song on for my son a couple of months ago and he immediately started dancing. He loved it so much it was on repeat for at least 15 or so minutes.
Haha dope mom and dope kid! This joint right here is super addictive 🙏🏽
You have to listen the full version, that video is of the short version (without the long solo guitar) ;)
Link me
god I love seeing young people discovering new music. Southern rock. testament that music is the bond that binds humanity. No gatekeeping all love❤
Ur reaction was so fun! 🙃 Ty for sharing! 🙌🤘🖤
Thanks for watching!
Ur reaction to this tune is priceless it's great to see a younger guy appreciate classic music the guitar riffs are amazing
That stank-face says it all, good music will always get the love it deserves, no matter what musical preference one might have.
If its good, its good, its as simple as that.
Talking about good, i'm digging you opening tune man :D
haha! THANKS!
Hey dude welcome to what I used to listen to when I was a little kid I've been telling people for years that are rock and roll back in the 60s and 70s was better than anything that's come out since yeah there's been some good music since then but dude we lived it I banged my head to Black Betty for what 30-40 years welcome to the party bro
This song used to annoy the shit out of me. Then I saw this video and my head was banging. I really like the beat. I thought it was cool how they performed this in someone's yard.
My brother is the guy dancing around in the background. He sang most of the other songs on the album. In fact I eventually owned that big old bass amp( the Kustom) back in the day.
A band called spiderbait did a version in a more metal feel vs this southern rock 70s vibe. Worth a view
I hear you man, every time I hear this song I start stompin and I can not STOP! The head bobbin thing you don’t notice until later when you’re singing along! LMAO! TTFN ✌🏼🙏🏼🧿🙋🏻♀️
It was midnight when i first heard this song and I was racing a random dude on the highway, IT WAS EPIC
Did the random dude know he was involved in a race? Lol
Wow!
I 1st heard this song, & danced to it, at a disco in 1977. I was 28 then.
So much fun!
Awesome song! Loved your reaction!!