The folk singer-songwriter Jake Xerxes Fussell put out his last album, Out Of Sight, in 2019, and today he’s back with his first new track since then, “Copper Kettle.” It’s his version of a song composed by Albert Frank Beddoe and covered by many others, among them Joan Baez. Fussell’s version is bluesy and rambling and features his voice intermingling with background vocalist Libby Rodenbough.

Here’s Fussell on the history of “Copper Kettle”:

“Copper Kettle” sounds like a song that came out of the whiskey rebellion of the 1790s but it was composed in the 1940s by a person named Albert Frank Beddoe for inclusion in a stage production titled “Go Lightly, Stranger.” The popular Chicago folksinger Bob Gibson recorded a version of it in the 50s, and not long after that Joan Baez added it to her repertoire. After that it became something of a standard among the urban folkies. I guess it should be noted that the berries of the juniper tree have often been used to flavor spirits, especially gin.

Check it out below.

“Copper Kettle” is out now via Paradise Of Bachelors.