Ole Slew Foot is a great bluegrass song with an interesting history. It's got a great sing-along chorus & gets a great response at Billy Strings shows. According to bmfsdb.com, Billy Strings has played Ole Slew Foot 110 times, as of this writing. That's about 10.5% of the shows, with almost half of the plays coming in 2022 & 2023. Here's a nice vid from '23. Check out Billy Failing getting into it as they get going!
The Song
Ole Slew Foot has J.D. Crowe and Jimmy Martin listed as authors & started life as Bear Tracks, the instrumental B-side to the "You Don't Know My Mind" single in 1960.
Here's a J.D. Crowe story. A couple of years ago I went up to Tennessee to attend Cave Fest. I was walking around in my "J.D. Crowe For President" shirt. A guy called me over & we started talking about the badassery of Mr. Crowe. He asked me if I had heard the Jimmy Martin album Good 'N Country, an all-instrumental album which he recommended as a J.D. showcase. I had not, but checked it out back at the campground the next morning. Good 'N Country contains a little ditty called Bear Tracks.
J.D. Crowe has a version on his killer Blackjack record.In 1961, Johnny Horton put words to it & Ole Slew Foot was born. It was more of a straight country or even rockabilly song. To me, the genius of this song lies in the fun subject matter and that last line of the chorus "some folks say he looks a lot like me". For me, that really puts it over the top. I can't put my finger on exactly why, but it does.
About a year later, Rose Maddox released a bluegrass(ish) version. After that you start to see it pop up from a decent number of bluegrass and country acts.
Jim & Jesse
The Stonemans (this one smokes)
Buck Owens
All told, secondhandsongs.com lists 41 versions of Bear Tracks/Ole Slew Foot. Billy Strings is not listed ;->
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