what do you want me to do?

whats the best rock n roll song ever? heartbreak hotel? johnny be goode? whole lotta shakin? jailhouse rock? baby lets play house? one after 909? sweet little sixteen? lawdy miss clawdy? roll over beethoven?

what about a little known number written by jimmy reed called baby what do you want me to do? not that well known yet every great artist has done it at some stage. jimmy reed was a blues singer born in 1925 and released his first album in 1958. he then scored a string of hits including his most famous - big boss man. from wiki:

"In spite of his numerous hits, Reed's personal problems prevented him from achieving the same level of fame as other popular blues artists of the time, though he had more hit songs than many others"

"The Rolling Stones have cited Reed as a major influence on their sound, and one of the Stones' first recordings was their cover of Reed's "Honest I Do"

here is jimmy reeds original version. slow and bluesy with great harmonica.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/1cns30

all the great musicians in the 60's seemed to have picked up on the song - the byrds, Them, elvis, neil young, dion, etta james, jerry lee lewis and buddy guy are just some of the ones i can find with a quick search.

i have to start off with the kings version first - from the comeback special 68:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x163y1MQLic

its no wonder he chose this as one of the songs for his comeback, right? like he couldnt have gone wrong.

next is bob dylans version.(with tom petty) this is from the Farm Aid rehearsals 19 September 1985:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODl1pGQ0iBk

ill finish with Link Wray. he was never that well known in the public but the people he influenced are, like the who, the kinks, and all the punk and heavy metal bands. lets face it no link wray none of the others mentioned. ill give this video a coolness rating of 110/10.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E4kFolxUuM

he begins with his classic "rumble" which is about a gang fight, and then ends with jimmy reeds song.

jimmy reed has 2 songs in the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock - big boss man and brights lights, big city. what were these people thinking??