Mule Skinner Blues

Song composer(s)

Rodgers, Jimmy / Vaughn, George

Grateful Dead Recordings

Not recorded by the Dead

Dead Related Recordings

Breakdown : Old & In The Way (1997)

Other Recordings

Jimmie Rodgers (1930)
Single : Bill Monroe (1938)
Single : Bill Monroe (1950)
Sonny Osborne (1953)
Hootenanny Tonight! : Various Artists (Pete Seeger, Sonny Terry, Jerry Silverman) (1959)
The Fendermen (1960)
Cisco Houston Sings Songs of the Open Road : Cisco Houston (1960)
Pastures of Plenty : The Harvesters (1961)
My All Time Country Favorites : Bill Monroe (1962)
Mountain Music Played On The Autoharp : Various Artists (Kilby Snow) (1962)
Osborne Brothers (1963)
The Voice & Guitar Of : Jose Feliciano (1964)
Bluegrass Blackjacks (1965)
Clay County Playboys (1967)
Greatest Hits : Bill Monroe (1968)
Same Train, Different Time : Merle Haggard & The Strangers (1969)
Good Old Mountain Music : Tennessee River Boys (196?)
Stonemans : The Stoneman Family (1970)
Don't Let Your Deal Go Down : John Jackson (1970)
Georgia Sunshine : Jerry Reed (1971)
Bean Blossom : Bill Monroe (1973)
Muleskinner : Muleskinner (1973)
The Country Gentlemen, Vol. 4 - Going Back to the Blue Ridge Mountains : The Country Gentlemen (1973)
Love Is Like A Butterfly : Dolly Parton (1975)
Fiddle Collection : Benny Martin (1976)
Father Of Bluegrass : Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys (1977)
Live N Kickin' : Kingfish (1977)
Oil Field Man : Wayne Nutt (1978)
Best Of : Dolly Parton (1979)
Salutes The Greats : Merle Haggard (1980)
King Of Country Music : Roy Acuff (1982)
Cold On The Shoulder : Tony Rice (1984)
Sings Country Favorites : Merle Haggard (1987)
Fly, Birdie, Fly 1939-1940 : Roy Acuff And His Smokey Mountain Boys (1988)
Collection : Lonnie Donnegan (1989)
Stay Sick! : The Cramps (1990)
America's Blue Yodeller : Jimmy Rodgers (1991)
Bluegrass Breakdown : Various Artists (1992)
Living Proof - The MGM Recordings 1963-1975 : Hank Williams Jnr. (1992)
RCA Years 1967-1986 : Dolly Parton (1993)
Music Of Bill Monroe : Bill Monroe (1994)
Decca Skiffle Sessions : Ken Colyer (1994)
Singing Out Loud : Various Artists (1994)
Potpourri Of Bluegrass Jam : Muleskinner (1994)
Bill Monroe Tribute : Billy & Terry Smith (1996)
Hats Off - Tribute To Bill Monroe : Various Artists (The Stonemans) (1996)
The Songs Of Jimmy Rodgers - A Tribute : Various Artists (Van Morrison) (1997)
The Singing Brakeman (Box Set) : Jimmie Rodgers (199?)
Essential : Bill Monroe / Monroe Brothers (1997)
Early Years - Joe Meek : Various Artists (1997)
MGM Days Of The Osborne Brothers : The Osborne Brothers (199?)
Greatest Hits : Roy Acuff (19??)
The Legendary Jimmie Rodgers - My Rough & Rowdy Ways : Jimmie Rodgers (19??)
The Best Of The Legendary Jimmie Rodgers : Jimmie Rodgers (19??)
Buzz Busby & Leon Morris & the Bluegrass Associations (19??)
Bill & Wilma Millsaps & the Snowbird Mountain Boys (19??)

Performance History

Played by the Wildwood Boys at the Tangent in Palo Alto on February 23rd 1963.

Played by Old & In The Way.

Not performed by the Grateful Dead. Occurs only on pre-Dead tapes featuring future members of the dead.

Notes

Occurs on Jimmie Rodgers LPs and on many other releases as Mule Skinner Blues. Also occurs regularly as Muleskinner Blues.

Original version recorded by Jimmy Rodgers on 11th July 1930.

Mule Skinner Blues played a prominent role in the career of Bill Monroe. It was his first post-Monroe Brothers recording on October 7th 1938 and the first song he performed at the Grand Old Opry in 1939. In 1950 he recorded a new version titled New Muleskinner Blues (featuring Vassar Clements who would later play with Garcia in Old & In The Way). He recorded two more versions after this but reverted to the original name. Monroe said of his version of the song;

"We don't do it the way Jimmie Rodgers sung it. It's speeded up, and we moved it up to fit the fiddle and we have that straight time with it, driving time."