Black Betty is a 20th Century African-American song that has often been credited to Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter, but the earliest recordings are not by him. The original known recording was in 1933 by the convict James Baker, known as “Iron Head”, and a group at the Central State Farm in Sugar Land, Texas.
Many people have done this song, but probably the most famous contemporary version was done in 1977 by a rock band called Ram Jam:
Black Betty
Whoa, black betty (bam-A-lam)
Yeah, black betty (bam-A-lam)
Black betty had a child (bam-A-lam)
The damn thing gone wild (bam-A-lam)
She’s always ready (bam-A-lam)
She’s so rock steady (bam-A-lam)
Whoa, black betty (bam-BA-lam)
Whoa, black betty (bam-BA-lam)
Yeah, black betty (bam-BA-lam)
She really gets me high (bam-BA-lam)
You know that’s no lie (bam-BA-lam)
She’s always ready (bam-BA-lam)
She’s so rock steady (bam-BA-lam)
Whoa, black betty (bam-BA-lam)
Yeah, black betty (bam-BA-lam)
Yeah
Oh yeah
All right
Oh yeah
All right
Oh yeah
All right
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Whoa, black betty (bam-BA-lam)
Yeah, black betty (bam-BA-lam)
She’s from birmingham (bam-BA-lam)
Way down in alabam’ (bam-BA-la)
Black betty had a child (bam-BA-lam)
The damn thing gone blind (bam-BA-lam)
Whoa, black betty (bam-BA-lam)
Yeah, black betty BAM-BA-LAM
When you thought it couldn’t get much crazier, here is Tom Jones doing the song:
Tom Jones does Black Betty
Here is the original Lead Belly version
Lead Belly does Black Betty
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