It’s kind of hard to believe, but rock was nearly two decades old by the time the 70s rolled around, which meant that things had come a long way from “Rocket 88.” The elements that made it great, however, remained much the same: Electric guitars and a love of the blues underpinned so much of what Eric Clapton, Janis Joplin, The Rolling Stones, and many others had to say. ‘A Girl Called Dusty’: Dusty Springfield Makes Her Album Debut.‘Does Your Mother Know’: The Story Behind The ABBA Song.‘California Dreamin’’: Mamas And The Papas’ Homesick Shade Of Winter.

I suppose that with so many songs about being on the road he felt especially qualified to do this number. Story is that when he first heard this song he thought nobody was doing it justice so he did his own rendition and added it to his repertoire. Interesting that one of the best covers of this song was by Gordon Lightfoot who seldom covered anybody since he wrote so many songs he could fill a 3 hour concert doing only his own stuff. I won’t think of you when I’m gone” – from “For Lovin’ Me” by Gordon Lightfoot. “Since movin’ is my stock and trade, I’m movin’ on. “Someday you’ll look and I’ll be gone, for tomorrow may rain and I’ll follow the Sun” – from “I’ll Follow the Sun” by The Beatles “When the Rooster crows at the break of dawn, look out your window and I’ll be gone” – from “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” by Bob Dylan There where many songs in the 60’s about traveling like a hobo a la Woody Guthrie and I always lumped this one in with them. I always thought that this was taken from his experiences of travelling on the road. Wrote, and personally I like Lightfoot’s version by far the best. Then somewhere near Salinas Lord I let her slip awayĪnd I’d give all my tomorrows for a single yesterday Standing right beside me Lord through every thing I done Here is a an excerpt from the lyrics as Lightfoot sang it, in the only section where its revealed:įrom the coal mines of Kentucky to the California sun In Lightfoot’s cover, he does make it quite clear Bobby is a woman albeit mid-song. As to the question of ambiguity of Bobby’s gender, I thought I could help here. I really like the knee-slapping effect for the wipers in the rain on the truck.

How does that grab you?’ (Laughs) I said, ‘Uh, I’ll try to write it, but I’ve never written a song on assignment.’ So it took me a while to think about.ĭiana Gregory, great to hear from a fellow Lightfoot fan I think his version resonates most powerfully with me. Then Fred says, ‘The hook is that Bobby McKee is a she. It’s “Me and Bobby McKee.”’ I thought he said ‘McGee.’ Bobby McKee was the secretary of Boudleaux Bryant, who was in the same building with Fred. He called one night and said, ‘I’ve got a song title for you. Every time I sing it, I still think of Janis.” “‘Bobby McGee’ was the song that made the difference for me. Donnie Fritts came over and listened with me, and we wrote a song together that night about Janis, called ‘Epitaph’.

So when I came back to Nashville, I went into the Combine building late at night, and I played it over and over again, so I could get used to it without breaking up. I couldn’t listen to the song without really breaking up. Afterwards, I walked all over L.A., just in tears. Paul Rothchild, her producer, asked me to stop by his office and listen to this thing she had cut. “The first time I heard Janis Joplin’s version was right after she died. That’s where the line ‘Freedom’s just another name for nothing left to lose’ came from. He was free when he left the girl, but it destroyed him. To me, that was the feeling at the end of ‘Bobby McGee.’ The two-edged sword that freedom is. He’s drunk and ends up howling at the stars on the beach. That night, Quinn goes to a bar and gets in a fight. He asks, ‘Where did you hear that song?’ And she tells him it was this little girl who had showed up in town and nobody knew where she was from, and later she died. Later in the film, he sees this woman hanging out the wash and singing the melody that the girl used to play on the trombone. He got to the point where he couldn’t put up with her anymore and left her by the side of the road while she was sleeping. “For some reason, I thought of La Strada, this Fellini film, and a scene where Anthony Quinn is going around on this motorcycle and Giulietta Masina is the feeble-minded girl with him, playing the trombone. “There was a Mickey Newbury song that was going through my mind-‘Why You Been Gone So Long?’ It had a rhythm that I really liked. How does that grab you?’ ( Laughs) I said, ‘Uh, I’ll try to write it, but I’ve never written a song on assignment.’ So it took me a while to think about.

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