“Played by every club band going”: Joe Perry names the blues song every 1960s band relied on
Culture is often cyclical in nature, with virtually every trend and throwaway fad coming back into style eventually. The 1960s was a particularly vibrant time for music, art, and culture, so it is no surprise that the sights and sounds of the era have come back into fashion countless times since the end of the decade. In terms of music, the 1960s was ground zero for modern rock and pop music, but just as all roads lead to Rome, all music leads back to the blues eventually. Even the stadium rock giants Aerosmith could never escape the grasp of those moody storytelling compositions.
Given that the blues artists of the 1920s and 1930s paved the way for all future R&B and rock music, it should come as no surprise that rock artists have long since been obsessed with the style. During the 1960s, blues rock witnessed a notable resurgence, thanks largely to the efforts of groups like The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, and the early incarnation of Fleetwood Mac. These artists exposed modern audiences to the age-old sounds of the blues and captivated budding young artists like Joe Perry and Steven Tyler in the process.
Tyler has often discussed the incredible influence provided to his early years by The Yardbirds, whose groundbreaking blend of blues, rock, and psychedelia made them one of the most inventive groups of the 1960s. Both future Aerosmith musicians were devotees of this blues-rock sound, and it was essential in formulating the style of hard rock that their band would come to define in subsequent years.
Although Aerosmith quickly splintered away from their blues and hard rock leanings, favouring a commercial-centric stadium rock approach to music, they never lost sight of their origins as a band.
In 2004, the band recorded Honkin’ on Bobo, an entire album of blues covers that harked back to the early inspiration and formation of the legendary rock outfit. A notable highlight of the album comes with their version of ‘Baby, Please Don’t Go’, a timeless blues standard that Perry and the gang encountered regularly during the 1960s.
Originally popularised by Big Joe Williams in 1935, the Delta blues classic found favour with a countless array of young rock groups during the 1960s. Perhaps as a result of Muddy Waters recording the song during the 1950s, ‘Baby, Please Don’t Go’ was covered by the likes of The Rolling Stones, Them, and Paul Revere, among countless others. Speaking to Classic Guitar in 2004, Joe Perry remembered, “’Baby, Please Don’t Go’ was played by every club band going in the sixties.”
So, not only did Aerosmith’s version of the song pay homage to their roots in blues rock and 1960s counterculture, it also introduced the legendary blues song to new audiences. “There’s a whole generation of rock fans who’ve never heard it,” he continued. “A lot of younger Aerosmith fans will probably think this is the first time it’s been recorded.”
Reaching number seven in the mainstream rock charts upon its release, Aerosmith’s version of the song helped the group to establish itself as a force for popular rock and roll. Its blues leanings evoke the sounds of the band’s early recordings, which have long since been adored by dedicated fans of the group. Going back to their roots clearly paid off for Aerosmith, and ‘Baby, Please Don’t Go’ has been a beloved staple of their live performances ever since.
