Watch Alabama Shakes Cover The 1940s Blues Song “Killer Diller”
When PBS gets done broadcasting American Epic, a documentary series about the beginnings of America’s popular music recording business, it’ll run a special called The American Epic Sessions. On the show, contemporary musicians will play their versions of American blues classics, and they’ll do it in the last ’20s-style recording studio that we’ve got left. We’ve already posted a video of Nas and Jack White doing the Memphis Jug Band’s “On The Road Again.” And the show will also feature Alabama Shakes trying out their version of “Killer Diller,” a song that Memphis Minnie made famous in 1946. The video also features Jack White welcoming the band to the studio, and it’s a nice opportunity to see that Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard has the kind of voice that could’ve stood out at any moment in the past century. Check it out below, via NPR.
The American Epic Sessions airs 6/6 on PBS, and its soundtrack is out 6/9 on Columbia.