The Dark Truth Behind the Rock n Roll Classic - Black Betty

Comments · 1.1K

• BI

  @bigtime474 · 1 year ago

  I was on a Warship when this came out. Talk about a morale booster!

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• NA

  @Nan-59 · 1 year ago

  I turned 18, and graduated from high school the summer of 1977.  And yes!  Black Betty was hot on the radio!   Good times! 🎉🎉🎉

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• DA

  @darkgardener9577 · 1 year ago

  That opening guitar lick.....still one of the greatest of all time.

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• TH

  @theprocessandme · 1 year ago

  Thank-you for your tireless research into Black Betty! I would have never known 🖤

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• PH

  @photom3 · 1 month ago

  That’s the most thorough explanation of where this song came from I’ve heard. I’ve heard so many people get only a part of it. Thanks 🙏

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• PL

  @Planetmusic-f9b · 1 year ago (edited)

  In 1977 Black Betty was constantly played on the radio as I recall growing up in Honolulu. Very refreshing due to disco dominating the air waves. Great song. Great guitar riffs , great drumming and tone . A true classic. Never gave the lyrics any thought much. Just a great song. 🎶 Thanks.😊

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• TR

  @tracypaper · 1 year ago

  Black Betty was a rifle, Bamb a lam was the sound it made when fired, was prone to back firing and blinding the soldier, hence the Ram jam lyrics about going wild and going blind.

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• RI

  @richarddodds9326 · 1 year ago

  I was love that song since back then. The girls use to sing on the long bus ride to school and I wish it was still like the 70's was.

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• AN

  @AndrewFloydWebber · 1 year ago

  20 years ago I was working in a small southern Illinois town for a small HVAC company.  My supervisor drove an old worn pickup truck with a radio that would work intermittently on its own and you could never control whether it played or not.  We were in the truck at a corner store one day when it hadn't worked for days and just as a large black woman walked up the door of the store about 15 or 20 feet away the radio blared out "Oh Black Betty bam-alam!" and shut off.  We thought that was hilarious but were concerned she'd be upset; luckily she wasn't and I couldn't tell if she even noticed it.  That radio had a mind of its own.

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• CZ

  @czarcastic1458 · 1 year ago

  It was an old British marching cadence from Britain and adopted in America during the revolutionary war.

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• AL

  @ali_0412 · 1 year ago

  What a fascinating podcast. The level of your research was impressive. So often we see channels delivering surface level content, so thanks for keeping it old school and doing the leg work for us muso history buffs. Have a great day 🎶🕵️‍♀️

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• KE

  @KenAlbin · 11 months ago

  The Ramjam version has always been one of my favorite songs! Now I finally know what Black Betty was really all about. Thank you so much!

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