"Baby Please Don't Go"

Big Joe Williams originally recorded this popular blues song in 1935 but in 1941 he recorded an alternate version. Blues researcher Jim O'Neal notes that Williams "sometimes said that the song was written by his wife, singer Bessie Mae Smith (aka Blue Belle and St. Louis Bessie - not to be confused with the popular Bessie Smith of the 1920's and 1930's)".

here are his two versions:

1935 version

1941 version

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This song is plausable as an adaption of the old blues tune "Long John". It's an old folk theme which dates to early 20th century during the time of slavery in the United States.

In the years between 1925 and 1935 a few vaudville songs (variants) sprang up to include titles such as ...

"Elder Greene Blues", "Alabama Bound", and "Don't You Leave Me Here"

ABOUT THE LYRICS:

The lyrics express a prisoner's anxiety about his lover leaving before he returns home.

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"Baby, Please Don't Go" is likely an adaptation of "Long John", an old folk theme which dates back to the time of slavery in the United States.

Continue reading after a few more samples of "Baby Please Don't Go" ...

Mance Lipscomb (Live)

Muddy Waters

Lightnin' Hopkins

John Lee Hooker 1959

Big Bill Broonzy

A Little History of the song widens the circle of tunes to be discovered ...

Blues researcher Paul Garon notes that the melody is based on "Alabamy Bound", composed by Tin Pan Alley writer Ray Henderson, with lyrics by Buddy DeSylva and Bud Green in 1925. The song, a vaudeville show tune, inspired several other songs between 1925 and 1935, such as "Elder Greene Blues", "Alabama Bound", "Don't You Leave Me Here" and "Turn Your Lamp Down Low" along with "Baby, Please Don't Go". These songs have been linked to the late nineteenth century work songs in the United States.

These variants were recorded by Charlie Patton, Lead Belly, Monette Moore, Henry Thomas, and Tampa Red, to name a few of the old-timers. Listen to some others here ...

Song ... Alabamy Bound:

Fletcher Henderson & his Orchestra - (1925)

Long John · Lightning Washington and group

Song ... Elder Greene Blues

Charley Patton, 1929 Delta Blues Guitar Legend

The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band

Rory Block

Song ... Don't You Leave Me Here

Jelly Roll Morton

Dave Van Ronk - "Don't You Leave Me Here (I'm Alabama Bound*)"

*Note the reference to "Alabama Bound" bringing these two songs together!

Hot Tuna

Laura Smith - a female vocal

Taj Mahal · Keb' Mo'

Papa Harvey Hull And Long "Cleve" Reed (The Down Home Boys)

MORE of Baby Please Don't Go ... Yes there is more!!!

By the early 1950s, the song had became a blues standard. A classic that might be one of the most played, arranged and rearranged songs in the history of the blues. The following few songs represent the R & B and Doo Wop music styles:

Rose Mitchell

Jo Ann Henderson

Orioles

The title has become a blues and rock standard and has been recorded by a variety of artists. AllMusic's Janovitz describes recordings in a variety of styles and lists nearly a hundred artists who have recorded it.

Buddy Guy

Alvin Lee

Muddy Waters - live

Bob Dylan

John P Hammond

Paul Butterfield - live

Them & Van Morrison- Baby Please Don't Go

Doors

Aerosmith

As recognition and legacy, Big Joe Williams' "Baby, Please Don't Go" is included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame list of "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". In 1992, it was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in the "Classics of Blues Recordings" category.