Stop Breaking Down

The blues standard that just won't quit

Covering classic blues songs is a rite of passage for rock bands. It's done so often nowadays that people rarely notice when a track by their favorite band is actually a cover of some blues song from the '30s. Whether its Zeppelin, Clapton, John Spencer, Kings of Leon, or My Morning Jacket, everybody who likes to rock has done it. Today let's track the classic Stop Breaking Down through the generations.

Originally recorded by the King of the Delta Blues himself, Mr. Robert Johnson, in 1936:


Picked up by harmonica master Sonny Boy Williamson when blues began taking off as a legitimate genre:


The Rolling Stones, from the classic Exile on Main Street, 1972:


And finally, The White Stripes redefine the entire blues rock genre on their debut album by annihilating this song over the course of two minutes and twenty seconds. This is my favorite White Stripes song, period:


Nobody yells WOO! better than Jack White. If that doesn't get you ready for the weekend then I can't help you. Go rock it.