Goin' Down South

R.L. Burnside recorded Goin Down South in 1969 near Coldwater Mississippi during field sessions made by George Mitchell. The recording captured Burnside on vocal and guitar in the hypnotic North Mississippi hill-country style that first brought his music to record collectors. First issued on Arhoolie in 1981, Goin Down South introduced one of Burnsides strongest early performances from the Mitchell recordings. The track helped document a regional blues tradition that was still largely outside the commercial recording industry. Goin Down South became one of R.L. Burnsides signature songs and remained central to his later Fat Possum-era reputation. Later versions by the Black Keys and others helped carry the song into contemporary garage-blues and indie-rock circles.