‘Dust My Broom’: The Origins Of The Blues Classic
It’s the quintessential blues riff, but what is its strange history? Performed by everyone from Robert Johnson to Elmore James, we trace the song’s origins.
Trying to recall where you first heard the quintessential electric blues riff that opens “Dust My Broom” is difficult. It may have been the early 50s version by Elmore James or Fleetwood Mac’s late 60s offering. Some may recall an unknown blues band at a club they visited in their youth, a few know that its true origins are in the 1930’s with Robert Johnson… or is it?
In early December 1933 Roosevelt Sykes accompanied Carl Rafferty, a man about who we know absolutely nothing, on “Mr. Carl’s Blues.” What we do know is this session was significant in the history of the blues. “Mr. Carl’s Blues” contains the immortal lines, “I do believe, I do believe I’ll dust my broom. And after I dust my broom, anyone may have my room.”
Many years later, as historians dissected Robert Johnson’s songs to understand his influences, it was generally assumed that he based “I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom” on Kokomo Arnold’s “Sagefield Woman Blues.” Kokomo’s song has words similar to “Mr. Carl’s Blues” but was recorded some ten months after Rafferty’s effort. In truth, we may never know who “did it first,” but recorded evidence points to Mr. Carl Rafferty accompanied by Mr. Roosevelt Sykes.
Back then performers swapped songs, heard others sing, and lifted what ranged from bits of a song to the complete thing with no thought to copyright – a concept few recognized as important. The blues have an oral tradition, which meant this was simply a natural process.
Recordings of blues songs are our historical markers to signify when something was done first, but that certainly doesn’t mean the performer who recorded it was the originator of a song. All it proves is that someone recorded it first. More often than not, that was a matter of luck, with record companies going to towns and cities across the Southern United States looking for performers to record on their mobile studios.
Several schools of thought exist as to the meaning of “Dust My Broom.” It could be about cleaning a rented room before you leave. It could also be a sexual reference. Singer Son Thomas once said, “It was an old field holler to tell everyone, except the people the hollerer didn’t want to tell, that he was running away.”
In 1951 Elmore James recorded what for many is the definitive version of the song. His was released on a Trumpet 146 with Elmore, billed as Elmo James, on one side and Bo Bo Thomas singing “Catfish Blues” on the other. The record made No.9 in the R&B charts in April 1952. In 1955 James re-recorded “Dust My Broom” as “Dust My Blues” with minor lyric changes and a re-arrangement of the verses. That version was credited to Robert Johnson, with the arrangement by James & Joe Bihari. (Bihari is one of the two brothers that owned the Modern label. James recorded for Modern’s subsidiaries, Flair and Meteor).
In 1968, the original Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green recorded their version for their album Mr. Wonderful. It contains further lyric variations. Like many of the later versions that were both recorded and sung live, they often mixed up “Dust My Broom” with “Dust My Blues.” We’ve collected together a number of versions of “Dust My Broom” from a whole collection of different blues artists, from Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters to Albert King and a fabulous lady who sings the “broom.”
Follow the Dust My Broom playlist to hear every iteration of this blues classic.
Carrla Toews
June 26, 2014 at 9:51 pm
I love the info.
Dan Stark
June 28, 2014 at 2:55 am
Awesome ! Today, I learned something meaningful to me. I had always assumed Robert Johnson wrote it. I have the Kokomo Arnold tune (Sagefield Woman Blues) which contains the lyric reference to “dust my broom”, but hadn’t connected the two because they’re substantively different songs. But the Sykes collaboration with Carl Rafferty (of whom I’d never heard until this moment) was a new horizon for me. Thanks !
waynebreiland
June 28, 2014 at 4:33 am
somebody teasing me want in on it k?
Rob from Portland
June 29, 2014 at 12:16 am
Interesting. There are an amazing number of colorful stories that emerge as one bores down into blues history. Thanks for the post.
mike abbott
June 29, 2014 at 2:45 pm
Thank u 4 your informative arrival on dust my broom.being a lover of the blues myself I enjoyed reading it.keep up the good work
Gary
July 7, 2014 at 10:17 am
Thanks for an excellent and informative article. Really enjoyed reading
Hope Hibbert
March 3, 2015 at 12:11 am
Thanks for the info. Although Robert is my favourite I love the history of the Blues.
Henk Maaskant
July 27, 2015 at 2:31 pm
Great article on this great and campus blues song. Also a very good playlist. We Jacob Dyrstin form Denmark and Henk Maaskant from the Netherlands. Are collecting versions of this blues song. An overview of the more than 1600 versions we have You can find on this website http://www.dustmybroom.nl
Ronald Weinstock
January 30, 2016 at 7:09 pm
It says Dust My Blues wascredited to Robert Johnson and arranged by James and Bihari. I would be curious what the original label showed and doubt it showed that and the credit would be James and Taub (the pseudonym used by the Biharis).
NOWMON
January 27, 2017 at 4:14 pm
From some black gospel singers, they said “I believe I`ll dust my broom” was a field holler that turned into a get sanctified song…
Hans
January 27, 2017 at 6:16 pm
Hmm
Erja Lytinen another good version check it out
Larry White
January 27, 2018 at 5:39 pm
Keep up the great work
John
January 27, 2018 at 8:40 pm
You missed Ike and Tina Turners version
Henk Maaskant
January 28, 2018 at 8:41 pm
Very good article. And indeed there are many versions. Have a look at our website http://www.dustmybroom.nl where is information of more than 1600 versions we collected already.
FABRICE ZIOLKOWSKI
January 28, 2020 at 7:00 am
ZZ Top, live verson
Steve Dobbins
January 28, 2021 at 1:43 am
I can’t believe they left off the ZZTOP version!
David B. Absalom
January 29, 2022 at 2:48 pm
Canned Heat recorded it for its first album in ’67; that’s where I heard it.
kenn
April 1, 2024 at 3:10 pm
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“… no thought to copyright – a concept few recognized as important…”
Back inna day, and yet in this our age of greed, manipulation, and control by The $tate, some folks freely offer(ed) in a traditional “Copy-Lefted” way of life, their works for the priceless freedom and joy of expression and a sense of accomplishment.
Today, forty folks mite come up with a “Do-Re-Me-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do” melodic refrain at the exact same instant of time, and the %elf-$erving skucking bum fag who gets to the Gummint$ copyright office first “owns” the lyric, riff, words and ideas, &c.
And that’s just one reason “music” today, and todays entertainers, leave a lot to be desired, from most any perspective one uses —
time, greed, and ego has worked to replace real ARTISTS with “performers”….
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