Okay, pay attention now, because this might get a little confusing.
Muddy Waters originally released the blues standard “Got My Mojo Working” in 1957. It became so popular that it’s difficult to identify all of the artists that have covered it over the years since.
Except that Waters didn’t really originate the song. It was actually first released earlier in the year by Ann Cole (who not coincidentally, Waters had been touring with).
Except that Waters actually did originate the song in a way, since he couldn’t remember much of the lyrics from Cole’s version, so he made up his own, resulting in two very different songs.
Except that neither Waters nor Cole actually originated the song, because formal copyright was issued to original songwriter Preston Foster in a subsequent lawsuit with Waters’ management.
Except that both Foster’s and Waters’ management were both subsequently sued by songwriter Ruth Stratchborneo, who copyrighted a very similar song called “Mojo Workout.” (All three songs start with the same verse.)
And somehow Bill Cosby got drawn into it too, because he recorded his own “mojo” song in 1966 (before Waters and possibly Cole) after licensing the copyright from Stratchborneo. That song had different lyrics, too, leading to a fourth lyrical version that contains the now disturbing lines, “I got my mojo working, and I’m gonna try it on you… Well I tried it out in Philly, you should have seen the women go. When you see me, baby, you gonna fall right out the chair! You’re a victim of the mojo!” (I’m not going to link to the song. You can go find it if you want.)
So The Bruce Springsteen Band had at least four different versions to choose from when they covered it at the University of Richmond on October 23, 1971. Which version did they choose? Well, it wasn’t Cosby’s, thank goodness.
It seems Bruce rolled his own. If anything, he hews closer to Foster’s original (Bruce references “black cat bones,” which doesn’t appear in the other three versions), but he seems to be drawing from several sources and probably winging it a bit, too.
In any event, it’s another great performance by The Bruce Springsteen Band, and well worth a listen or two.
Got My Mojo Working
First performed: October 23, 1971 (Richmond VA)
Last performed: April 28, 2017 (Asbury Park, NJ)
