Joe McCoy (May 11, 1905 – January 28, 1950) was a Delta blues musician and … Read Full Bio ↴Joe McCoy (May 11, 1905 – January 28, 1950) was a Delta blues musician and songwriter.

McCoy played music under a variety of stage names but is best known as "Kansas Joe McCoy". Born in Raymond, Mississippi, he was the older brother of the blues accompanist Papa Charlie McCoy. As a young man, McCoy was drawn to the music scene in Memphis, Tennessee where he played guitar and sang vocals during the 1920s. He teamed up with future wife Lizzie Douglas, a guitarist better known as Memphis Minnie, and their 1929 recording of the song "Bumble Bee" on the Columbia Records label was a hit. In 1930, the couple moved to Chicago where they were an important part of the burgeoning blues scene. Following their divorce, McCoy teamed up with his brother to form a band known as the Harlem Hamfats that performed and recorded during the second half of the 1930s.
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. 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.

McCoy also performed and recorded under the names Bill Wither, Georgia Pine Boy, Hallelujah Joe, Big Joe McCoy and His Washboard Band, and The Mississippi Mudder. Other names he used from time to time included Hillbilly Plowboy, Mud Dauber Joe and Hamfoot Ham.

Like many blues musicians of his era, Joe McCoy's grave site is currently unmarked. A tribute concert took place in October 2010 to celebrate the music of Joe and his brother Charlie and to buy gravestones for each of them.

Joliet Bound
Kansas Joe McCoy Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Now the police coming
With his ball and chain
Mmmm mmmm
Police coming
With his ball and chain
And they accusing me of murder
Never harmed a man

Now some got six months
Some got a solid year
Mmmm mmmm
Some got six months
Some got one solid year
Now I mean my buddy
Got a lifetime here

Now the judge he pleaded
Clerk, he wrote it down
Mmmm mmmm
Judge he pleaded
Clerk, he wrote it down
That if I miss jail sentence now
Must be Joliet Bound

Now cook my supper
Let me go to bed
Mmmm mmmm
Cook my supper now
Let me go to bed
I've been drinking white lightning
And it's gone to my head

Now quit me baby
Do anything you want to do
Mmmm mmmm
Quit me baby
Do anything you want to do
Some day you gonna want me
Cinch and I won't want you

Now the police shoved (shivved) his old
Pistol in my side
Mmmm mmmm
Police shoved his old
Pistol in my side
Says, if you run big boy, now
Must be born to die

When they had my trial
You could not be found
Mmmm mmmm
Had my trial
You could not be found

Now and I got all messed up
And I'm Joliet Bound

Overall Meaning

Kansas Joe McCoy's song "Joliet Bound" explores themes of arrest, imprisonment, and loss. The song follows a narrator who has been accused of murder and is about to be sentenced to jail time. While he claims to be innocent, he acknowledges that he does not have the power to change his fate. He watches as his fellow prisoners are given sentences ranging from six months to a lifetime, and eventually hears the judge declare that if he does not show up for his sentence, he will be "Joliet Bound." He resigns himself to his fate, asking for his supper and then announcing that he has been drinking "white lightning," a potent alcoholic beverage. The final verse reveals the singer's lover spurning him, and the song ends with him being "messed up" and headed to prison.

Line by Line Meaning

Now the police coming With his ball and chain Mmmm mmmm Police coming With his ball and chain And they accusing me of murder Never harmed a man
The police are on their way to arrest me, ready to shackle and imprison me. They're saying it's because I committed murder, which is untrue, as I've never caused harm to anyone.

Now some got six months Some got a solid year Mmmm mmmm Some got six months Some got one solid year Now I mean my buddy Got a lifetime here
Some of the others caught up in this mess got prison sentences ranging from months to years. However, my friend was dealt a lifetime sentence without parole.

Now the judge he pleaded Clerk, he wrote it down Mmmm mmmm Judge he pleaded Clerk, he wrote it down That if I miss jail sentence now Must be Joliet Bound
The judge overseeing my case spoke out, and his words were transcribed by the clerk. He warned that if I try to avoid serving my jail sentence, I'll end up in Joliet prison.

Now cook my supper Let me go to bed Mmmm mmmm Cook my supper now Let me go to bed I've been drinking white lightning And it's gone to my head
I'm asking for my supper to be cooked so that I can go to bed. I've been drinking moonshine, which has made me feel dizzy and unwell.

Now quit me baby Do anything you want to do Mmmm mmmm Quit me baby Do anything you want to do Some day you gonna want me Cinch and I won't want you
I'm telling my romantic partner to leave me if they want to, and to do what they please. However, they'll regret it later on when they realize they still love me and I don't feel the same way.

Now the police shoved (shivved) his old Pistol in my side Mmmm mmmm Police shoved his old Pistol in my side Says, if you run big boy, now Must be born to die
One of the police officers threatened me with his pistol and pressed it against my side. He warned me that if I tried to escape, I'd be taking my life into my own hands.

When they had my trial You could not be found Mmmm mmmm Had my trial You could not be found Now and I got all messed up And I'm Joliet Bound
When it came to my trial, you (perhaps a supporter or witness) couldn't be located. As a result, things didn't go in my favor, and I'm now facing a long-term prison sentence in Joliet.

Contributed by Adeline S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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