Leon Redbone – I Ain’t Got Nobody

In the seventies, I would sometimes sneak a peek at SNL when I was a kid. I wasn’t old enough to get the jokes but I liked the music. This was back when Lorne Michaels would actually take a chance and let someone play that wasn’t on the charts or “hot.” He was so different then. The way he looked, sounded and presented himself. You would expect Mark Twain to pop out at any moment.

This guy I could never forget. In the middle of disco and punk, he was a throwback from the 1920s or so. Leon Redbone’s musical style was shaped by his deep love for early jazz, blues, and country music. He spent countless hours studying the recordings of legendary artists from the 1920s and 1930s, seeking to recreate the sound and feel of that era. This dedication, coupled with his exceptional talent and passion for music, allowed him to develop a truly unique style that set him apart from his contemporaries.

Redbone and Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan himself said that if he owned a record company, he would sign Leon Redbone. Soon thereafter, Leon Redbone did sign with a major label, Warner Brothers.

Redbone was one of the best vocalists of his time. He basically gave  1970’s audiences vintage music at a time when nobody was asking for it. He mixed blues of various dialects and included them in his musical performances along with early country, ragtime, tin pan alley favorites, and songs from America. He played music that was so far out of the mainstream he was labeled an eccentric. The truth of the matter was that it was beautiful music played brilliantly.

This song was off on his 1994 album Whistling in the Wind. If you want something different find some Leon Redbone, sip on a Mint Julep, and enjoy life. I wish I would have caught him live in concert. He passed away on May 30, 2019, at the age of 69.

I Ain’t Got Nobody

I ain’t got nobody and nobody cares for me
I got the blues, the weary blues

There’s a saying going ’round and I begin to think it’s true
It’s awful hard to love someone, when they don’t care ’bout you
Once I had a lovin’ man, as good as many in this town
But now I’m sad and lonely, for he’s gone and turned me down, now

I ain’t got nobody and nobody cares for me
I got the blues, the weary blues

And I’m sad and lonely, won’t somebody come and take a chance with me?
I’ll sing sweet love songs honey, all the time
If you’ll come and be my sweet baby mine
‘Cause I ain’t got nobody, and nobody cares for me

Won’t somebody go and find my man and bring him back to me
It’s awful hard to be alone and without sympathy
Once I was a loving gal, as good as any in this town
But since my daddy left me, I’m a gal with her heart bowed down

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

38 thoughts on “Leon Redbone – I Ain’t Got Nobody”

    2. I’ve just arrived in India for a few weeks so I’m likely to be quiet on the Commenting through January.

      However, I had to respond on this one.

      So pleased to see someone else talk in glowing terms if Leon Redbone. Back in the 70s I bought two if his albums (vinyl) that I still have … Double Trouble and In The Tracks, I think they’re called.

      Both a re fantastic … And so different to anything else back then. And now.
      And even the Twenties for that matter
      😀👍

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  2. Great post! SNL was my introduction to Leon as well! I do like him but find I can’t listen to more than three songs at a time. I think he did a great job on the Elf soundtrack, especially Baby, It’s Cold Outside
    with Zooey Deschanel.

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    1. I do like songs like Ain’t Misbehavin’ and others. But yea…I couldn’t sit down and listen to a marathon but his style is really cool…and different. Glad you remembered him.

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    1. Jim….I don’t know what to call it. It’s 1900-1930’s style music is the best I could say…or does it have a name? Ragtime, folk, blues, or whatever you want to throw out.

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      1. I am going to participate in a February challenge that requires me to find some different genres of music like Hip Hop, Country, Classical music, Jazz and Spiritual music, but I also get to use songs by James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Tina Turner, Mahalia Jackson, Stevie Wonder, The Staple Singers, Barry White, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Muddy Waters, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, John Lee Hooker, Whitney Houston, BB King and some other black performers.

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      2. Whats coming up tomorrow? I’ll see if I have one already written that matches. I know you lost a lot of your stuff…but have you posted whats coming up in the next few months?

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      4. I’ll check mine out Jim…if not tomorrow next week…I have to do some more writing soon…I’ll go through them and see.

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    1. I just now got around to posting it. He is a one off… no doubt. Not one you can put a label on…except good. I want to check more out.

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  9. I dug the guy. For years, I thought Redbone was Frank Zappa in disguise, so did a lot of folks, Zappa even commented on him. Redbone was in the same television show category as Tiny Tim but had a better voice and could play a good guitar.

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    1. Yes he could play really well. I have a hard time labeling him…becasue he was so unique…I never thought of the Frank Zappa thing…but it fits!

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      1. I rarely watched SNL. My parents wouldn’t let me see it and my grandparents wouldn’t either. I grew up not watching it. I saw some of it in the 80s when I got older but, I can count on one hand how many SNLs I have seen. The last one I remember was The Cranberries singing Zombie.

        That’s it.

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      2. I remember seeing him back then…different from anything I’ve seen….this was in the 70s… when the original cast were on…I would sneak peaks while Tammy…my sister watched

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  11. I see some references to DLR and his version of this song in the comments.
    Even though the two versions are pretty different and I appreciate both, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Roth (who loves this type of soulful blues sound) is also a big fan of this man. Redbone published a cover of “Big Bad Bill (is Sweet William Now) back in 1978 which also showed up on Van Halen’s “Diver Down” album in 1982. Something tells me Dave was already a fan by then and had listened to Leon’s version a few times before their 1982 version.
    Might be time for a mint julep now. Good post Max!

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    1. I would bet he is a fan of Redbone’s music…stuff like Ice Cream Man and things like that…even Happy Trails they did was a throwback to this.
      I want to try a mint julep! But is has to be on a front porch in Kentucky while wearing a strawhat…

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