The Black Keys Team Up with Spotify to Curate ‘Hill Country Blues’ Playlist
Spotify has announced the launch of a new official playlist, titled ‘Hill Country Blues.’ The streaming service tapped The Black Keys to curate a portion of the playlist.
‘Hill Country Blues’ will “dive into the history and heritage of the genre, a special regional style of the Blues specific to Northern Mississippi,” according to a press release. It is this genre of music that inspired The Black Keys’ forthcoming covers album, Delta Kream, set for release this Friday, May 14.
The playlist features several artists that The Black Keys Cover on Delta Kream, including R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough and Mississippi Fred McDowell. The Keys’ curation begins with Jessie Mae Hemphill’s “My Daddy’s Blues,” and it finishes with two singles from Delta Kream, “Crawling Kingsnake” (originally by John Lee Hooker) and “Going Down South” by R.L. Burnside.
“There would be no Black Keys without this music,” The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney said in a statement. “Hill Country Blues represents the concentric circle where we crossed over musically as teenagers. Artists like Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside, Mississippi Fred McDowell and T-Model Ford are heroes to us.
“We made Delta Kream with Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton to remember where we come from and celebrate the music we love,” they continued. “The raw sound of Hill Country Blues and songs represented on this list are some that kept us going in those early days of touring, driving all night in the van. We hope fans can do a deep dive on these artists and realize how important they are to the canon of American Music.”
Listen to the new playlist here, or below.
The Black Keys x Hill Country Blues Tracklist:
Jessie Mae Hemphill – My Daddy’s Blues (from album Feelin’ Good)
Junior Kimbrough – Sad Days, Lonely Nights (from album Sad Days, Lonely Nights)
Mississippi Fred McDowell – Write Me a Few Lines (from album You Gotta Move)
RL Burnside – Miss Maybelle (from album Mississippi Hill Country Blues)
Ranie Burnette – Coal Black Mattie (from album Ranie Burnette)
RL Burnside – Peaches (from album Too Bad Jim)
Robert Pete Williams – Graveyard Blues (from album The Sonet Blues Story)
T-Model Ford – Cut You Loose (from album Pee-Wee Get My Gun)
Mississippi Joe Callicott – Laughing to Keep from Crying (from album Ain’t Gonna Lie to You)
Little Jr. Parker – Feelin Good (from album Sun Record’s Epic Blues pt 2)
Jessie Lee Vortis – Miss Maybelle (from album The George Mitchell Collection vol. 7)
Uncle Ben and His Nephews – Mama, Look at Sis (from album Deep South Blues)
Mississippi Fred McDowell – I Got a Woman (from album Mama Says I’m Crazy)
Rosa Lee Hill – Roll & Tumble (from album The George Mitchell Collection)
Junior Kimbrough – Slow Lightning (from album All Night Long)
Asie Payton – I Love You – Solo (from album Worried)
Paul Jones – Rob & Steal (from abum Mule)
T-Model Ford – Nobody Gets Me Down (from album Pee-Wee Get My Gun)
RL Burnside – Shake ‘Em on Down (from album Too Bad Jim)
Junior Kimbrough – Meet Me in the City (from album First recordings)
Jessie Mae Hemphill – Standing in My Doorway Crying (from album She-Wolf)
The Black Keys – Crawling Kingsnake (from Delta Kream)
The Black Keys – Going Down South (from Delta Kream)