Tag: John Henry

Tom Jones: “Elvis Presley Blues”

Elvis Presley Blues

The 75-year-old Tom Jones continues to create interesting music, and he is releasing a new album that includes a cover of Gillian Welch‘s “Elvis Presley Blues.” While it may seem unusual for Jones to cover a folk/Americana singer-songwriter like Welch, Jones has always been willing to sing great songs, no matter what the genre.

Jones’s cover of “Elvis Presley Blues” is also interesting because Jones was friends with Elvis Presley. Welch’s song is a tribute to Presley and a lament, as the singer thinks “about the day he died,” comparing Presley’s world-changing shaking to the steel-driving man John Henry. Jones, who also was famous for “shaking it,” seems the perfect person to sing the song. His version and the video featuring Jones watching video of his friend makes the song more personal, adding a new poignancy to the lyrics.

“Elvis Presley Blues” appears on Jones’s upcoming album Long Lost Suitcase. Check out the video for the song.

Long Lost Suitcase, a CD being released as a companion of sorts to Jones’s recent autobiography Over the Top and Back, hits stores December 5. Jones’s website describes the new album as “a catalogue of tracks that have impacted on Tom throughout his legendary career.”

What do you think of the new Tom Jones video? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Jeopardy: Humans vs. Machine Continues

    Johnny Cash – The Legend Of John Henry’s Hammer The Legend of John Henry’s Hammer – Johnny Cash (At Folsom Prison) (press play button)

    After last night, the computer is tied for the lead with one of the humans. For the next two nights Jeopardy will feature the ongoing battle between an IBM computer named Watson and two of its all-time champions: Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. After the first stage of the three-part competition, Watson is tied with Rutter for the lead. Because last night’s show featured stories about Watson and IBM, they did not finish the first match, and tonight is Double Jeopardy. Tune in to see how it comes out.

    toy Wall-E

    IBM has been working on Watson for three years. The competition was taped in January, but we will not know the results until the shows are broadcast. Someone has already written a book about the battle: Stephen Baker’s book Final Jeopardy: Man vs. Machine and the Quest to Know Everything.

    It is interesting how complex the machine must be to take on humans in Jeopardy. It is not like a program on your computer that already has the answers to play a pre-written game such as Jeopardy or other trivia game. Watson is really “thinking” about phrases it has never heard, processing the meaning of the words, and answering them in the form of a question without access to the Internet. The machine takes up a large room.

    But will humans still claim dominance over the machine? Above is Johnny Cash’s version of the song about John Henry, performed live at Folsom Prison. For the warm-up Jeopardy match broadcast last month, Chimesfreedom wrote more about the epic human versus machine battle covered in songs about John Henry. In case you missed it, check out the post here.

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    I’ll Die With a Buzzer in My Hand!

    Tonight on Jeopardy, one of the three contestants will be an IBM computer taking on two former champions, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. It is a battle of human against machine.

    The classic human-versus-machine song is “John Henry.” Historians debate about who was the person who inspired the folk tale. But most seem to agree that somewhere at some point, there was a real person or persons who inspired the legend.

    There are various versions of the song about the folk hero. In most versions of the story, John Henry is a railroad worker who, to save the jobs of his co-workers, claims he can beat the railroad company’s new steam-powered hammer. The tale and the song represent modern human beings’ attempts to maintain dignity in the face of rising corporate and technological powers. Although the various song versions differ, the lyrics from the song made famous by Pete Seeger include:

    John Henry told his captain,
    “A man ain’t nothin’ but a man,
    But before I let your steam drill beat me down,
    I’d die with a hammer in my hand. Lord, Lord.
    I’d dies with a hammer in my hand.”

    There are many great versions of the song by people such as Pete Seeger and Johnny Cash. There’s a blues version with some great guitar playing by Mississippi Fred McDowell.

    Here’s another version by Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Session Band that is a little less raw and a little more like a celebration of John Henry’s sacrifice.

    John Henry beat the machine, but in the end he died. Tonight, we doubt there will be any deaths, but can Jennings and Rutter beat the machine? Please answer in the form of a question.

    Post-Match Update: The computer won. But this match was just a warm up for a one-million dollar rematch that will be broadcast February 16, so there may still be hope for the humans.

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