Born in Los Angeles, California on 15th March 1947, Cooder first attracted attention in the 1960s, playing with Captain Beefheart & his Magic Band, after having worked with Taj Mahal in The Rising Sons.
He was a session guitarist on various recording sessions with the Rolling Stones in 1968 and 1969; Cooder's contributions most notably appear on the Stones' Beggars Banquet where he shares a prominent credit with pianist, Nicky Hopkins on the back cover. He continued to appear on the succeeding albums, Let It Bleed, and Sticky Fingers, on which he contributed the haunting slide guitar solo to "Sister Morphine". Cooder is reputed to have taught Keith Richards to play in open-G tuning, now a Richards hallmark, as well as to have written the open-G signature riff of "Honky Tonk Women". He was briefly considered to fill the departed Brian Jones' place in the Rolling Stones, but reportedly Cooder and Keith Richards did not get along very well. For some time after the sessions, Cooder accused Keith Richards of "ripping him off" musically, but now refuses to talk about his experiences with the Stones. Cooder played slide guitar for the 1970 film Performance, which contained Mick Jagger's first solo single, "Memo from Turner" on which Cooder played guitar.
Throughout the 1970s Cooder released a series of Warner Brothers albums that showcased his guitar work, to some degree. In this respect, Cooder's guitar work on these records is not unlike the guitar playing of Robbie Robertson on the Band's albums: Both virtuosos emphasized song over solo. Cooder's 1970s albums spotlight, more than anything, a wide-ranging taste in music. Cooder has been seen as almost a musicologist, exploring bygone musical genres with personalized and sensitive, updated reworkings of revered originals. Cooder's 1970s albums (with the exception of Jazz) cannot be neatly pigeonholed by genre, But - to generalise broadly - it might be fair to call Cooder's first album blues; Into the Purple Valley, Boomer's Story, and Paradise and Lunch, folk + blues; Chicken Skin Music and Showtime, a unique melange of Tex-Mex and Hawaiian; Jazz, 1920s jazz; Bop till You Drop 1950s R&B and blues; and Borderline an eclectic mix of Tex-Mex with blues, R&B, and country and Get Rhythm, with more rock-based excursions.
Cooder has worked as a studio musician and has also scored many film soundtracks, of which perhaps the best known is that for the 1984 Wim Wenders film Paris, Texas. Ry Cooder based this soundtrack, and the haunting title song "Paris, Texas" on Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground)", which he described as "The most soulful, transcendent piece in all music from the US." His other film work includes Walter Hill's The Long Riders (1980) and Southern Comfort (1981).
In recent years, Cooder has played a role in the increased appreciation of traditional Cuban music, due to his collaboration as producer in the Buena Vista Social Club (1997) recording, which was a worldwide hit. Wim Wenders directed a documentary film of the musicians involved, Buena Vista Social Club (1999) which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2000. Cooder worked with Tuvan throat singers for the score to the 1993 film Geronimo: An American Legend.
Cooder's solo work has been an eclectic mix, taking in dust bowl folk, blues, Tex-Mex, soul, gospel, rock, and almost everything else. He has collaborated with many important musicians, including the Rolling Stones, Little Feat, the Chieftains, John Lee Hooker, Gabby Pahinui, and Ali Farka Toure. He formed the Little Village supergroup with Nick Lowe, John Hiatt, and Jim Keltner.
Cooder's 1979 album Bop till You Drop was the first popular music album to be recorded digitally. It yielded his biggest hit, a disco/R&B cover of Elvis Presley's 1960s recording "Little Sister".
Denomination Blues
Ry Cooder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(G) - (C) - (D)
(G) I wanna tell you people it's a nat'ral fact
Ev'ry man don't understand the Bible alike
And that's (C) all, I tell you that's (G) all
'Cause you better have (D) Jesus
I tell you that's (G) all
Well, the denominations have the right to fight
They ought go on and treat each other right
And that's all, I tell you that's all
'Cause you better have Jesus
I tell you that's all
It's right to stand together, wrong to stand apart
When none will enter heaven but the pure at heart
And that's all, I'll tell you that's all
'Cause you better have Jesus
I'll tell you that's all
Well, the primitive Baptists they believe
That you can't go to heaven 'less you wash your feet
And that's all, I'll tell you that's all
'Cause you better have Jesus
I tell you that's all
Well, the African Methodists, they believe the same
'Cause they know demonination ain't a thing but a name
And that's all, I'll tell you that's all
'Cause you better have Jesus
I tell you that's all
Well, people that jump from church to church
You can bet their conversion don't amount too much
And that's all, I'll tell you that's all
'Cause you better have Jesus
I tell you that's all
Well, you can to your college, you can go to your school
But if you ain't got Jesus, you'se (you are) an educated fool
And that's all, I'll tell you that's all
'Cause you better have Jesus
I tell you that's all
The song "Denomination Blues" by Ry Cooder is a reinterpretation of the Washington Phillips song of the same name. The song speaks to the issue of religious denominations and how every man understands the Bible differently. The first verse emphasizes this point by saying that even though every man has a different understanding, they all need to have Jesus because he is the most important thing. The second verse addresses the issue of denominations fighting amongst themselves instead of treating each other right; that in the end, being pure of heart is the only way to enter heaven. The third and fourth verses reference two separate denominations (primitive Baptists and African Methodists) and the belief that external religious practices do not bring salvation.
This song was released in 1972 on Ry Cooder's album "Into The Purple Valley." The song was originally written and recorded by gospel musician Washington Phillips in the 1920s.
Line by Line Meaning
I wanna tell you people it's a nat'ral fact
I want to inform everyone that it's a natural occurrence
Ev'ry man don't understand the Bible alike
Every person does not interpret the Bible the same way
And that's all, I tell you that's all
That's my point, I assert that's my point
'Cause you better have Jesus
That's because you must have Jesus
I tell you that's all
I assert that's my point
Well, the denominations have the right to fight
Denominations have the freedom to dispute
They ought go on and treat each other right
They should continue and treat each other kindly
It's right to stand together, wrong to stand apart
It's correct to unite, incorrect to separate
When none will enter heaven but the pure at heart
Only individuals with good intentions can enter heaven
And that's all, I'll tell you that's all
That's my point, I assert that's my point
Well, the primitive Baptists they believe
Primitive Baptists have faith in
That you can't go to heaven 'less you wash your feet
Unless you cleanse your feet, you can't reach heaven
Well, the African Methodists, they believe the same
African Methodists have faith in the same thing
'Cause they know denomination ain't a thing but a name
As they recognize, denominations are only a title
And that's all, I'll tell you that's all
That's my point, I assert that's my point
'Cause you better have Jesus
That's because you must have Jesus
I tell you that's all
I assert that's my point
Well, people that jump from church to church
Individuals who frequently change churches
You can bet their conversion don't amount too much
Their conversion probably isn't meaningful
And that's all, I'll tell you that's all
That's my point, I assert that's my point
'Cause you better have Jesus
That's because you must have Jesus
I tell you that's all
I assert that's my point
Well, you can to your college, you can go to your school
You may attend college, you may attend school
But if you ain't got Jesus, you'se an educated fool
However, if you don't have Jesus, you're an intelligent fool
And that's all, I'll tell you that's all
That's my point, I assert that's my point
'Cause you better have Jesus
That's because you must have Jesus
I tell you that's all
I assert that's my point
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: RY COODER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind