What's The Matter With The Mill?
Memphis Minnie -
Born Lizzie Douglas in Algiers, Louisiana, she was one… Read Full Bio ↴Memphis Minnie -
Born Lizzie Douglas in Algiers, Louisiana, she was one of the most influential and pioneering female blues musicians and guitarists of all time. Minnie recorded for forty years, virtually 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 unique country-blues sound; along with Big Bill Broonzy and Tampa Red, she took country blues into electric urban blues, paving the highway for giants like Muddy Waters, 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: Joe McCoy (a.k.a. "Kansas Joe") later of the Harlem Hamfats, Casey Bill Weldon of the Memphis Jug Band, and Ernest Lawlers.
After learning to play guitar and banjo as a child, at the age of thirteen she ran away from home 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 second marriage and recording debut came in 1929, both 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. 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, 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 Little Son Joe returned to Memphis. In 1961, Joe died and Minnie suffered a stroke which forced her to spend the rest of her life in nursing homes until she died in 1973.
Kansas Joe McCoy (May 11, 1905–January 28, 1950)-
Joe 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 blues accompanist Papa Charlie McCoy. As a young man, he 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 brilliant guitarist known as Memphis Minnie, and their 1929 recording of a song called "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 retitled the new song "Why Don't You Do Right?" for Lil Green, who recorded it in 1941. It was covered a year later by Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee, becoming Ms. Lee's first hit single. "Why Don't You Do Right?" remains a jazz standard and is McCoy's most lasting 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. In 1950, at the age of 44, Joe McCoy died of heart disease only a few months before his brother Charlie. They are 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 produced it on their 1971 album Led Zeppelin IV. It is a favorite of many Zeppelin fans, and a highlight of the album.
Born Lizzie Douglas in Algiers, Louisiana, she was one… Read Full Bio ↴Memphis Minnie -
Born Lizzie Douglas in Algiers, Louisiana, she was one of the most influential and pioneering female blues musicians and guitarists of all time. Minnie recorded for forty years, virtually 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 unique country-blues sound; along with Big Bill Broonzy and Tampa Red, she took country blues into electric urban blues, paving the highway for giants like Muddy Waters, 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: Joe McCoy (a.k.a. "Kansas Joe") later of the Harlem Hamfats, Casey Bill Weldon of the Memphis Jug Band, and Ernest Lawlers.
After learning to play guitar and banjo as a child, at the age of thirteen she ran away from home 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 second marriage and recording debut came in 1929, both 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. 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, 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 Little Son Joe returned to Memphis. In 1961, Joe died and Minnie suffered a stroke which forced her to spend the rest of her life in nursing homes until she died in 1973.
Kansas Joe McCoy (May 11, 1905–January 28, 1950)-
Joe 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 blues accompanist Papa Charlie McCoy. As a young man, he 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 brilliant guitarist known as Memphis Minnie, and their 1929 recording of a song called "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 retitled the new song "Why Don't You Do Right?" for Lil Green, who recorded it in 1941. It was covered a year later by Benny Goodman and Peggy Lee, becoming Ms. Lee's first hit single. "Why Don't You Do Right?" remains a jazz standard and is McCoy's most lasting 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. In 1950, at the age of 44, Joe McCoy died of heart disease only a few months before his brother Charlie. They are 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 produced it on their 1971 album Led Zeppelin IV. It is a favorite of many Zeppelin fans, and a highlight of the album.
What's The Matter With The Mill?
Memphis Minnie & Kansas Joe Lyrics
Say Minnie! Where you going?
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
I'm just from down there
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)
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
I'm just from down there
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)
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: LAWLERS, MINNIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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@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.