Skip James: I'm So Glad (1931)

 |   |  <1 min read

Skip James: I'm So Glad (1931)

Previously we posted Otis Rush's original of All Your Love which became one of Eric Clapton's defining versions in '65 (the kind of piece that got the "Clapton is God" graffiti writers going). So here now is Skip James with I'm So Glad which became simply an improv vehicle for Clapton in Cream just a few years later.

James -- from Mississippi -- was one of the many bluesmen who all but disappeared after their first flourish in the Thirties or Forties, only to be hailed and rediscovered in the Sixties when the British blues explosion rolled around.

He started playing folk and blues festivals in Europe and suddenly the old boy (who was in his mid 60s but seemed even older) was a hero to a new generation. And a white generation too.

Unfortunately he didn't live long enough to fully enjoy the royalties that came his way after Cream covered (and regularly played live) I'm So Glad. He died in late '69 and it was only after his passing that many of his early recordings, like this one, were released. 

For more one-off or unusual songs with an interesting backstory see From the Vaults.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   From the Vaults articles index

George Harrison: Dream Scene (1968)

George Harrison: Dream Scene (1968)

This appropriately entitled piece is serious headphone listening for the wee small hours and is perhaps among the most strange things George Harrison's name was ever attached to. It appeared on... > Read more

Mel Brooks: To Be Or Not To Be; The Hitler Rap (1984)

Mel Brooks: To Be Or Not To Be; The Hitler Rap (1984)

Very few people -- and arguably only Jewish comedians? -- can get away with making fun of Hitler and the Nazis. Mel Brooks has been relentless in his ridicule which some find tasteless and others... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

Louis Armstrong: Louis in London; Live at the BBC (Verve/digital outlets)

Louis Armstrong: Louis in London; Live at the BBC (Verve/digital outlets)

For a man considered a genius of jazz, who radiated humour and goodwill, and recorded one of the most enduring songs of the Sixties (Wonderful World which topped charts after the Beatles' Lady... > Read more

GENERATION KILL, from the book by EVAN WRIGHT (DVD)

GENERATION KILL, from the book by EVAN WRIGHT (DVD)

Anyone looking for an insight into the modern American military in combat need not go past Evan Wright's exceptional Generation Kill. Gung-ho marines raised on video games, hyped up on caffeine,... > Read more