Bessie Smith – Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out
Justin Townes Earle has recently been performing “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” as an encore on his Australian tour. This blues standard has been popularized at various times by Eric Clapton (twice), the Allman Brothers Band and many others. The first hit version was by Bessie Smith, in the late 1920s by which time the composer, the otherwise forgotten Jimmy Cox, had passed away. In the early 70s, everyone I knew was into “underground” music, and most reached back to the early blues. Bessie Smith was revered, with good reason.