The Black Keys announce blues covers album with own version of "Crawling Kingsnake"

"Crawling Kingsnake", which was originally by Big Joe Williams and made popular by John Lee Hooker and Bernard Besman, is the first blues standard to be shared from the duo's forthcoming Delta Kream album.

Dan Auerbach says of the song, "I first heard [John Lee] Hooker’s version in high school. My uncle Tim would have given me that record. But our version is definitely Junior Kimbrough’s take on it. It’s almost a disco riff!"

Patrick Carney adds, "We fell into this drum intro; it's kind of accidental. The ultimate goal was to highlight the interplay between the guitars. My role with Eric was to create a deeper groove."

Delta Kream will follow the duo's 2019 album Let's Rock.

Auerbach and Carney recorded Delta Kream at Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound studio in Nashville, and were were joined by Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton. Auerbach says of the record, "We made this record to honor the Mississippi hill country blues tradition that influenced us starting out. These songs are still as important to us today as they were the first day Pat and I started playing together and picked up our instruments. It was a very inspiring session with Pat and me along with Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton in a circle, playing these songs. It felt so natural."

Carney adds, "The session was planned only days in advance and nothing was rehearsed. We recorded the entire album in about ten hours, over two afternoons, at the end of the Let’s Rock tour."

Tracklist:

1. Crawling Kingsnake
2. Louise
3. Poor Boy a Long Way From Home
4. Stay All Night
5. Going Down South
6. Coal Black Mattie
7. Do the Romp
8. Sad Days, Lonely Nights
9. Walk with Me
10. Mellow Peaches
11. Come on and Go with Me