The Black Keys have returned with the second single off Delta Kream, a cover of R.L. Burnside‘s “Going Down South”. Delta Kream finds the Akron, OH garage rockers paying tribute to the Mississippi blues with an 11-track cover album due out on May 14th.
Along with the band’s homage to the music that inspired The Black Keys’ early sound, the Ryan Nadzam-directed video for “Going Down South” also highlights numerous musical landmarks. In the video, viewers travel past the oldest juke joint in the United States, Blue Front Cafe, in Bentonia, MS. The music video also highlights the town of Como, MS, home to Mississippi Fred McDowell; Chulahoma Community; The Burnside Palace; Aikei Pro’s Records Shop; Blues Alley in Holly Springs, hometown of Junior Kimbrough; The Hut in Holly Springs, site of the Junior Kimbrough Cotton Patch Blues Music Festival; and Nelson Street in Greenville MS, hometown of James “T Model” Ford.
“That was one of R.L. Burnside’s hits! We strayed a little from the original on our version with the falsetto and percussion, but we liked how it sounded in that moment,” Dan Auerbach said in a statement. “It’s become one of my favorites on the album.”
As guitarist/producer Dan Auerbach points out, he and drummer Patrick Carney deviate from the deep Southern baritone found on Burnside’s recording. While The Black Keys pay tribute to their early idols, they also imbue these old blues standards with their own unique voices.
Watch the music video for The Black Keys’ take on R.L. Burnside’s “Going Down South”. Delta Kream is out on May 14th via Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound and is available for pre-order here.
The Black Keys – “Going Down South” (R.L. Burnside)
[Video: The Black Keys]