His first musical success was as a 14-year-old guitarist in the Royal Teens, best known for their novelty blues riff, "Short Shorts". In 1960, he joined the song-writing team of Bob Brass and Irwin Levine, who wrote the hit, "This Diamond Ring", for Gary Lewis and the Playboys. When he was 21, he moved to Greenwich Village.
He performed with Bob Dylan in concert in 1965 and in the studio in 1965 and 1966, including playing Hammond organ with Dylan at the (in)famous Newport Folk Festival of 1965. He worked extensively with Mike Bloomfield for a number of years after the two met as studio musicians on Dylan's legendary Highway 61 Revisited album.
In 1965, he co-formed The Blues Project and played their most famous gig at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. He formed Blood, Sweat & Tears in the same year, leaving after the group's first album, Child is Father to the Man, in 1968.
Kooper played on hundreds of records, including The Rolling Stones, B.B. King, The Who and Cream. On occasion, he has even overdubbed on his own efforts, as on The Live Adventures Of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper album, as Roosevelt Gook. He discovered the band Lynyrd Skynyrd, and produced their first three albums, including the single Sweet Home Alabama. Kooper also wrote the score for the TV series, Crime Story, and has also written music for several made-for-television movies. Kooper also produced a now rare album by a group called Appaloosa.
Al Kooper has published a memoir, Backstage Passes: Rock 'n' Roll Life In The Sixties (1977), now available in revised form as Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor 2007
Kooper currently teaches songwriting and production at Berklee College of Music in Boston and plays weekend concerts with his band Jimmy Vivino and The ReKooperators.
John the Baptist
Al Kooper Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bathing sinners and he wants your daughter
Telling people that they'd better repent
Telling your daughter it was him who was sent
I saw him down there in a long white gown
Taking sinners and holding them down
John, John, won't you wash 'em away
Take us down and hold us under
Make the Heavens roar with thunder now
The waters are dirty and the reason is
Holy John had to wash away our sins, yes he did
He came to town two weeks ago
Didn't take long before everyone did know
Down to the riverside they all did flock
To watch him stand upon the rock, yeah
I saw him down there in a long white gown
Taking sinners and holding them down
John, John, won't you wash 'em away
Make us ready for the Judgment Day
Take us down and hold us under
Make the Heavens roar with thunder now
The waters are dirty and the reason is
Holy John had to wash away our sins, oh yes he did
'Can't you see that the waters are dirty
And everybody knows that the reason is
Holy John has to wash away, wash away
Wash away everybody's sins
The lyrics of Al Kooper's song "John the Baptist" tell the story of a man named John who lives by the water and baptizes sinners, claiming to be sent by a higher power. The persona in the lyrics witnessed John holding sinners under the water wearing a long white gown, suggesting that John is very passionate about his mission of washing away people's sins. The chorus of the song repeats, calling for John to wash away our sins, make us ready for the Judgment Day, and make the heavens roar with thunder.
The song paints a picture of a man who is larger than life, with people flocking to him to watch him stand on a rock by the river. The lyrics also suggest that John is a controversial figure, with some people not liking his methods and others completely devoted to him. There is a sense of urgency in the song, with John working to wash away people's sins before it's too late.
One interpretation of the song is that it is referencing John the Baptist, who is known in Christianity as the prophet who baptized Jesus. John preached a message of repentance and baptized people in the Jordan River, telling them that someone greater than him was coming. The song could be seen as a modern retelling of this story, with John urging people to repent and preparing them for the coming of Jesus.
Line by Line Meaning
Holy John lives down by the water
John the Baptist lives near the river
Bathing sinners and he wants your daughter
John the Baptist washes away people's sins and asks for your daughter's repentance
Telling people that they'd better repent
John tells people to ask for forgiveness of their sins
Telling your daughter it was him who was sent
He tells your daughter that he was sent by God to wash away people's sins
I saw him down there in a long white gown
The singer saw John wearing a white gown near the river
Taking sinners and holding them down
John takes sinners and immerses them in the river
John, John, won't you wash 'em away
People are asking John to wash away their sins
Make us ready for the Judgment Day
They want to be prepared for the day of judgment
Take us down and hold us under
They request John to take them to the river and immerse them in it
Make the Heavens roar with thunder now
They want John to perform a powerful act that will echo through the heavens
The waters are dirty and the reason is
The river is muddy
Holy John had to wash away our sins, yes he did
John's washing of their sins is the reason for the murky waters
He came to town two weeks ago
John arrived in town a fortnight ago
Didn't take long before everyone did know
It didn't take long for everyone to hear about him
Down to the riverside they all did flock
Everyone went to the river to see him
To watch him stand upon the rock, yeah
They went to watch John standing on a rock while immersing people in the river
Can't you see that the waters are dirty
The singer says that the river is muddy
And everybody knows that the reason is
Everybody knows the reason for the muddy water
Holy John has to wash away, wash away
John has to wash away people's sins
Wash away everybody's sins
He has to wash away everyone's sins
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: AL KOOPER, PHYLLIS MAJOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind