YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 179 (Dixon Tracks)
(Originally finalized on January 4, 2026)
Preface: I've read that there was a trend among rock bands in the '60s and '70s to cover a Willie Dixon song on their debut album. I don't know to what extent this was a conscious decision, as opposed to it simply being the case that a lot of these bands were inspired by the blues, and Willie Dixon was a prominent songwriter who wrote for, and recorded with, many of the seminal blues acts of the era - including the likes of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, among others.
Consider that, when Willie Dixon released an album in 1970 titled "I Am The Blues" - featuring new recordings of songs he'd written that were popularized by other artists - he wasn't boasting. It was simply a matter of fact. So I thought we could listen to a bunch of Willie Dixon songs that have been covered by prominent rock bands (although not necessarily on their debut albums). I've actually shared a lot of them on this music log already, but there should be enough to go around.
Monday: Humble Pie - I'm Ready [Humble Pie, 1970]
Comments: Compared to some of their peers, Humble Pie was a band that generally stuck to original compositions - with a few notable exceptions (another one being Muddy Waters' Rollin' Stone). This one, which was written for Muddy Waters, takes us back to the band's self-titled album - which we've heard from just recently!
Tuesday: Steppenwolf - Hootchie Kootchie Man [Steppenwolf, 1968]
Comments: On Steppenwolf's own self-titled album (which was, in this case, their debut), the band covered a different song that Willie Dixon wrote for Muddy Waters. Named after a sexually provocative dance, the lyrics reference a number of voodoo fetishes (in the occult sense of that term) to bolster the singer's self-aggrandizing claims.
Wednesday: The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - I Just Want To Make Love To You [Framed, 1972]
Comments: 1954 must have been a good year for the Dixon/Waters partnership, because this is the third such song we've heard from that year. More popularly covered by Foghat, it also appeared on The Rolling Stones' debut album (although I prefer their cover of Howlin' Wolf's Little Red Rooster, also penned by Dixon). Instead, here's a version by a fascinating band I haven't had the chance to feature on this music log yet. With imaginative lyrics and a theatrical stage presence, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band was an early embodiment of the glam rock movement.
Thursday: George Thorogood & The Destroyers - That Same Thing [Move It On Over, 1978]
Comments: One more Muddy Waters song before we do a couple from Howlin' Wolf. This time from 1964, you can begin to see a thematic trend emerging. What I like about this song is how it emphasizes the natural origins of our sexual instincts. Of course, we are civilized creatures and responsible for our behaviors. But I feel like sometimes we have a tendency to forget just how important and fundamental to our very existence the human sex drive is.
Friday: The Blues Project - Back Door Man [Live at the Cafe Au Go Go, 1966]
Comments: You, of course, probably recognize this song as performed by a rather more prominent band - it was covered to great effect on The Doors' debut album in 1967. No doubt, this theme would have been a little more high profile if I'd done it about 150 weeks ago, but if nothing else, these obscure bands demonstrate just how prevalent Dixon's influence was.
Saturday: Ten Years After - Spoonful [Ten Years After, 1967]
Comments: The Blues Project also covered another Dixon-penned/Howlin' Wolf-recorded song - one that was this time more notably covered by Cream on their debut album. And you know who else did the same thing? Ten Years After! That album features a second Dixon track - Help Me, which is one of my favorites by this band - but for that song he shares the writing credit with Ralph Bass and Sonny Boy Williamson II. Which brings us to our next song...
Sunday: Led Zeppelin - Bring It On Home [Led Zeppelin II, 1969]
Comments: Notwithstanding their reluctance to give credit to many of the artists whose work they were (to be fair) re-interpreting, Led Zeppelin put their own spin on a number of Willie Dixon tunes on their first couple of albums - including one of their biggest hits, the album opener Whole Lotta Love (which was based on Muddy Waters' You Need Love). At the other end of Led Zeppelin's second album is another Dixon track. A stark demonstration of the evolution in musical styles, Bring It On Home pays homage (in part) to original recording artist Sonny Boy Williamson II.
Honorable Mention: Jeff Beck - Let Me Love You [Truth, 1968]
Comments: Having both played in The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page must have adopted the same approach to citing their influences, as this song is credited to Beck and (singer) Rod Stewart on Truth (an album that includes two other Dixon tracks, correctly referenced - You Shook Me, and I Ain't Superstitious), even though it bears a strong resemblance to the song Dixon wrote and Buddy Guy recorded in 1960 (and was also covered, among others, by Stevie Ray Vaughan in 1989). At best, I'll give Beck credit for the arrangement, but the fact that he's played this song live on stage with Buddy Guy in the years since its initial release erodes any plausible deniability you might want to give him.