Cool Water (song)
| "Cool Water" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Written | 1936 |
| Writer(s) | Bob Nolan |
"Cool Water" is a song written in 1936 by Bob Nolan. It is about a man and his mule, Dan, and a mirage in the desert. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.[1]
Original version
The best-selling recorded version was done by Vaughn Monroe and The Sons of the Pioneers in 1948. The recording was released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-2923. The record was on the Billboard magazine chart for 13 weeks beginning on August 6, 1948, peaking at #9. The Sons of the Pioneers also recorded the song without Monroe, again for RCA Victor. [2]
Other artists
Hank Williams recorded the song in 1948 or 1949 for the Johnny Fair Syrup Company radio show on KWKH in Shreveport, Louisiana. The recording is available on The Complete Hank Williams boxed set, released on Mercury Records in 1998. It also appears in the film Rango, set in an Old West town populated by animals that is suffering from drought. Every Wednesday, the townspeople perform a ritual they believe will return water to their town, during which the song plays over a PA system.
Frankie Laine and The Mellomen took it to #2 on the British charts in 1955.
Marty Robbins recorded the song on his 1959 album Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs.
Burl Ives recorded this song on his 1961 album Songs of the West.
Odetta recorded the song in 1963 on her One Grain of Sand album.
The Rooftop Singers recorded the song in 1963 on their Grammy nominated Walk Right In album.
Other covers of the song were done by Riders in the Sky, Jack Scott, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Slim Whitman, Johnnie Ray and Mason Williams, among others.
The Muppets (Lubbock Lou and His Jughuggers) also covered the song on the set for "Singin' in the Rain" in Episode 501 after Gene Kelly refuses to go on.
Joni Mitchell recorded "Cool Water" (with revised lyrics), released on Chalk Mark in a Rainstorm, March 23, 1988.
Leo Kottke performed a version on the album Burnt Lips.
Johnny Cash covered this on his second posthumous record American VI: Ain't No Grave [3]
Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch of The Shadows performed a version live on BBC in 1967 for the TV show After Ten Follows Ten.
Fleetwood Mac recorded Cool Water in 1982 on the Warner Bros label, during the sessions for their album Mirage. It was on the flip side of their 45 RPM record of Stevie Nicks' recording of Gypsy but never appeared on any Fleetwood Mac album until 2016, when it was included on the Deluxe reissue of Mirage.
The Replacements recorded a version of Cool Water, originally releasing it in 1987 on the b-side of Can't Hardly Wait. It was included in the expanded edition of Pleased to Meet Me (2008).
Bob Dylan and The Band recorded a version of Cool Water in 1967 and released it in 2014 on The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete.
Actor Ben Mendelsohn's character in Lost River (film) sings Cool Water with production from Johnny Jewel.
Kate Smith recorded Cool Water in 1958 for her "Sings Folk Songs" album on the Tops label.
Charts
- Frankie Laine version
| Chart (1955) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom (NME) | 2[4] |
| United Kingdom (Record Mirror) | 1[5] |
Sources
- ↑ Western Writers of America (2010). "The Top 100 Western Songs". American Cowboy. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Record Research.
- ↑ Cool Water Songfacts
- ↑ "Artist Chart History Details: Frankie Laine". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ↑ McAleer, Dave. "Every No.1 in the 1960s is listed from all the nine different magazine charts!". Dave McAleer's website. Archived from the original on 10 May 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
- Bob Nolan 1994 WMA Hall of Fame Member last accessed February 22, 2007.
- Vaughn Monroe -1973 last accessed February 22, 2007.
- The Legendary Frankie Lane last accessed February 22, 2007.
- Gypsy/Cool Water (1982) - Fleetwood Mac last accessed February 22, 2007.