Blind Led By Beth

It's nobody's fault but mine if you don't enjoy Beth Rowley's cover of It's Nobody's Fault But Mine.

Blind Willie Johnson originally recorded the song in December 1927 and released it in April 1928. Such is it's resonance that, in the last century, there have been over 100 cover versions by artists including NIna Simone, Willie Nelson, The Staple Singers, Lucinda Williams, Tom Jones, Nina Hagen and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

These guys were so impressed that they had to haul their band and gear halfway up a mountain to do it justice.

And here's where it all started.

Beth Rowley is Bristol-based and has an incredible voice, but not one that I've experienced either in depth via her albums or in a live setting. Sixth album, Pale Jewel Vol. II, came out in 2024 and Beth's about to hit the road again for an 11-date UK tour, kicking off in Nottingham on Friday.

If The Sun Refused To Shine, I Would Still Be Loving You

I'd express this in a much different way and definitely not in song, but this was an apt pop up in my playlist shuffle and I'm 100% with Robert Plant on the sentiment.

 

Thank You originally appeared on Led Zeppelin II in 1969. I couldn't find any decent live recordings of Zep themselves on YouTube, so here are the songwriters Jimmy Page and Robert Plant performing at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in California on 3rd October 1995.

 

Whilst not a fan of Led Zeppelin or Messrs. Page and Plant in the slightest, nevertheless this one's for Mrs. K.

If the sun refused to shine
I would still be loving you
When mountains crumble to the sea
There will still be you and me

 

Kind a woman, I give you my all
Kind a woman, nothing more
Little drops of rain, whisper of the pain
Tears of love's lost in the days gone by

 

My love is strong, with you there is no wrong
Together we shall go until we die, my, my, my
Inspiration's what you are to me
Inspiration, look 'n' see

 

And so, today my world it smiles
Your hand in mine, we walk the miles
Thanks to you, it will be done
For you to me are the only one
Alright, yeah

 

Happiness, no more be sad
Happiness, I'm glad

 

If the sun refused to shine
I would still be loving you
Mountains crumble to the sea 

There will still be you and me