Walkin' the Dog

I'm gonna try to chronicle the evolution of some of my favorite songs for better or for worse. For some reason I have always been a sucker for a cover song and have tried to collect them as much as possible. Thanks to the internet that is so much easier now! I'm gonna try to keep these in chronological order but that can be difficult. I'm also staying away from most concert recordings because 90% of them suck! The only time I'll break this rule is if the quality is exceptional or the content is rare and/or unusual. And if you have any that I missed send 'em along!

I also recommend looking into some of these more obscure musicians. There's some great music out there just waiting to be rediscovered. I would link to the bands listed but I'm kinda lazy and why should I anyway? I gave you the band and the song. Do some work for yourself for once! I ain't gonna hand you everything on a blood splattered platter , y'know!

Startin' off with the classic Walkin' the Dog written by Rufus Thomas and released in 1963. I find it rather odd that after almost 40 years of being re-interpreted by mostly white singers the song has evolved into a more bluesy composition than the original.

My recommended versions:
The original by Rufus Thomas of course, The Sonics because it just rocks your f*ckin' face off, The Everly Brothers because it was more hip and garage sounding than what I expected, Aerosmith because early Aerosmith = good Aerosmith, The Roosters because those Japanese guys know how to do it, Green Day just so you can hear what they could have sounded like, Joe Deninzon because electric fiddles are awesome, Dizzy Cats to see how the Russians do it and Sweet Jam because...well...just because ;-)

Rufus Thomas


Jackie Shane


Rolling Stones


Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames


PJ Proby


Johnny Rivers


The Dennisons


The Sonics


The Everly Brothers


Davy Graham


Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels


Stevie Ray Vaughan


Randy California & Spirit


The Jam


Roger Daltrey


Aerosmith


The Roosters


Ratt (this EP was my first exposure to the song)


Steve Marriott & the DTs


Chris Wilson


Green Day


Dumpy's Rusty Nuts


Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius


Aerosmith Unplugged


Jörgen Falk and Inge Josephson


Hans Theesink


The Dizzy Cats


Sweet Jam


And if you think this is a lot just wait'll I get to Louie Louie!