In 1936, the Harlem Hamfats released a record with the song "The Weed Smoker's Dream" on it. McCoy later refined the tune, changed the lyrics and titled the new song "Why Don't You Do Right?" for Lil Green, who recorded it in 1941. It was covered a year later by both Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee, becoming Lee's first hit single. "Why Don't You Do Right?" remains a jazz standard and is McCoy's most enduring composition.
At the outbreak of World War II Charlie McCoy entered the military, but a heart condition kept Joe McCoy from service. Out on his own, he created a band known as "Big Joe and his Rhythm" that performed together throughout most of the 1940s. The band again included his brother Charlie on mandolin and Robert Nighthawk on harmonica.[3] In 1950, at the age of 44, McCoy died of heart disease in Chicago, only a few months before his brother Charlie. They are both buried in Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.
Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant took his and Memphis Minnie's recording of "When the Levee Breaks," which was in his personal collection, and presented it to guitarist Jimmy Page, who revamped it and slightly altered it lyrically, and help record it on Led Zeppelin's 1971 album, Led Zeppelin IV.
In addition to those mentioned earlier, McCoy's songs have also been covered by Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, The Ink Spots, Ella Fitzgerald, Jo Ann Kelly, Cleo Laine and A Perfect Circle.
Memphis Minnie McCoy-Lawler (born Lizzie Douglas, June 3, 1897 in Algiers, Louisiana; died August 6, 1973 in Memphis, Tennessee) was an American Blues guitarist, vocalist, and composer.
Born Lizzie Douglas in Algiers, Louisiana, Minnie was one of the most influential and pioneering female blues musicians and guitarists of all time. She recorded for forty years, almost unheard of for any woman in show business at the time and possibly unique among female blues artists. A flamboyant character who wore bracelets made of silver dollars, she was the biggest female blues singer from the early Depression years through World War II. One of the first blues artists to take up the electric guitar, in 1942, she combined her Louisiana-country roots with Memphis blues to produce her own unique country-blues sound; along with Big Bill Broonzy and Tampa Red, she took country blues into electric urban blues, paving the way for giants like Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Little Walter, and Jimmy Rogers to travel from the small towns of the south to the big cities of the north. She was married three times, and each husband was an accomplished blues guitarist: Kansas Joe McCoy (a.k.a. "Kansas Joe") later of the Harlem Hamfats, Casey Bill Weldon of the Memphis Jug Band, and Ernest "Little Son Joe" Lawlers.[1] Paul and Beth Garon's 1992 biography on Memphis Minnie, Woman With Guitar: Memphis Minnie's Blues, makes no mention of a marriage to Weldon, but only says that she recorded two sides with him, in November 1935, for Bluebird Records. It does describe the relationships and marriages to McCoy and Lawlers.[2]
After learning to play guitar and banjo as a child, she ran away from home at the age of thirteen. She travelled to Memphis, Tennessee, playing guitar in nightclubs and on the street as Lizzie "Kid" Douglas. The next year, she joined the Ringling Brothers circus. Her marriage and recording debut came in 1929, to and with Kansas Joe McCoy, when a Columbia Records talent scout heard them playing in a Beale Street barbershop in their distinctive "Memphis style," and their song "Bumble Bee" became a hit.[3] In the 1930s she moved to Chicago, Illinois with Joe. She and McCoy broke up in 1935, and by 1939 she was with Little Son Joe Lawlers, with whom she recorded nearly 200 records. In the 1940s she formed a touring Vaudeville company. From the 1950s on, however, public interest in her music declined, and in 1957 she and Lawlers returned to Memphis. Lawlers died in 1961.
What's the Matter With the Mill?
Kansas Joe & Memphis Minnie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What you want, Kansas Joe?
I'm going to the mill what do you think?
Have my corn ground
For what?
Ahw, that old mill is done broke down
How do you know?
Ahw, and it broke you down
Ahw, no, I went to get my corn ground
It done broke down
Yeah, it done broke down)
What's the matter with the mill?
Done broke down?
Can't get no grinding, tell me what's the matter with the mill
Well, I had a little corn, I put it in a sack
Brought it to the mill and come right back
What's the matter with the mill?
What's the matter with the mill?
I can't get no grinding
Tell me what's the matter with the mill
It done broke down
It done broke down
Ahw, grind it
Now listen here folks, I don't want no stuff
You can't bring me my meal, bring me the husks1
What's the matter with the mill?
What's the matter with the mill?
I can't get no grinding
Tell me what's the matter with the mill
It done broke down
It done broke down
Well, my papa sat and cried, my brother did, too
They both been to the mill, they can't get nothing to do
What's the matter with the mill?
What's the matter with the mill?
I can't get no grinding
Tell me what's the matter with the mill
It done broke down
It done broke down
Now listen here folks, I want you to bear this in mind
If you're going to the mill, you're just losing time
What's the matter with the mill?
What's the matter with the mill?
I can't get no grinding
Tell me what's the matter with the mill
It done broke down
It done broke down
(Spoken: Aww, grind it again)
In "What's the Matter with the Mill?" by Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie, the lyrics depict a conversation between Minnie and Kansas Joe about their failed attempts to grind corn at the mill. The song begins with Minnie expressing her intention to go to the mill to have her corn ground. However, Kansas Joe seems skeptical and questions Minnie's purpose for going to the mill.
Minnie explains that the mill is broken down, which seems to have caused some miscommunication between them. Kansas Joe initially misunderstands Minnie's statement and believes that the mill has broken Minnie down emotionally. However, Minnie clarifies that she went to get her corn ground, but unfortunately, the mill was out of operation.
As the song progresses, the duo continues to question what is wrong with the mill, emphasizing their inability to get their corn ground. They express frustration over the malfunctioning mill and wonder why it has stopped working. The repetition of the phrase "It done broke down" reinforces the idea of their disappointment and the mill's dysfunction.
Minnie proposes a scenario where she brings her corn to the mill in a sack, hoping to have it ground, but she ends up disappointed, unable to get any grinding done. She suggests that instead of grinding her corn, they offer her the husks, indicating that they cannot provide her with the necessary service.
The lyrics further reveal the extent of the mill's breakdown, as Minnie mentions how her father and brother also attempted to utilize the mill but were unable to do so. This highlights the widespread issue with the mill's functionality and the frustration it has caused among the community.
In the final verse, Minnie warns others not to waste their time going to the mill due to its constant breakdowns. She advises listeners to reconsider their options, as going to the mill will only result in a futile effort. This remark serves as a culmination of their disappointment and frustration with the unreliable mill.
Overall, "What's the Matter with the Mill?" conveys the artists' frustrations and dissatisfaction with the mill's constant breakdowns, illustrating the impact it has on them and their community's daily lives. The lyrics capture a sense of exasperation and offer a cautionary tale about the repeated failure of the mill's operations.
Line by Line Meaning
Say Minnie! Where you going?
Hey Minnie! Where are you headed?
What you want, Kansas Joe?
What do you need, Kansas Joe?
I'm going to the mill, what do you think?
I'm going to the mill, can you believe it?
Have my corn ground
I want to get my corn milled
For what?
Why would you do that?
Ahw, that old mill is done broke down
Oh no, the mill is broken
I'm just from down there
I just came from there
How do you know?
How do you know it's broken?
Ahw, and it broke you down
Oh, did it make you upset?
Ahw, no, I went to get my corn ground
Oh no, I just went to get my corn milled
It done broke down
It is indeed broken
Yeah, it done broke down
Yeah, it's really broken
What's the matter with the mill?
What is the problem with the mill?
Done broke down?
Is it really broken?
Can't get no grinding, tell me what's the matter with the mill
I can't get my corn milled, please explain what's wrong with the mill
Well, I had a little corn, I put it in a sack
Well, I had some corn, I put it in a bag
Brought it to the mill and come right back
Took it to the mill and returned immediately
Now listen here folks, I don't want no stuff
Now listen here people, I don't want any excuses
You can't bring me my meal, bring me the husks
If you can't bring me my milled corn, at least bring me the husks
Well, my papa sat and cried, my brother did, too
Well, my father sat and cried, my brother did as well
They both been to the mill, they can't get nothing to do
They both went to the mill but couldn't get anything done
Now listen here folks, I want you to bear this in mind
Now listen here people, I want you to remember this
If you're going to the mill, you're just losing time
If you're going to the mill, you're wasting your time
Aww, grind it again
Oh, please grind it again
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: LAWLERS, MINNIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sherrybirchall8677
Thank you so much for posting this. It's one of my favorites, and in spite of all the people posting Memphis Minnie, you are the only one who posts this song. ❤
@giovanniiorio2170
Some good soul out there that could write the lyrics of this masterpiece!!!
Ty for posting . God bless you all
@sailgoal
One of my all time favorite songs. These two were so cute. That rolling solo so sweet. Kids today just don't know nothing.
@creaketh
Idk about that. I'm 21 and I listen to a lot of this stuff, and I'm sure there are others too. It's just not mainsteam since it's "outdated", despite being very good.
@eternallife9786
They're probably like most people they prefer the music they grew up with like I'm only in my thirties and I'm not prefer all the ragtime hillbilly string bands and Western swing groups jug bands and yodeling cowboys you just got to be open to outdated and you also kind of have to have tough skin what happens if people think older music was more appropriate for everyone and that's mostly true as far as basic knowledge but people also got a realize there were reefer blues and jazz songs about drugs and sex play me a songs with derogatory slurs granted it's not like today where people can make songs about those things and it becomes complete mainstream
@tmdaze9281
I’m 19 now but I’ve been listening to these types of songs since I was 13
@mathewfines8727
LOVE Memphis Minnie!
@calogerobiagiomontalbano7759
Mamma Mia che Musica !!!!!
@kyungkukang
Favorite , Brilliant !!
@RanchRadio
kyungku kang Glad you enjoyed it.