Bar Room Blues: “Cross Cut Saw”

Bar Room Blues is an exclusive series of video guitar lessons by Steve “Red” Lasner covering classic blues songs from historically great guitarists like B.B. King, T-Bone Walker, Buddy Guy, and many others. A new lesson will be released each week, so be sure to subscribe and check back often! Also, if you want more guitar lessons like these, be sure to check out Red’s Guitar Sherpa class.

“Cross Cut Saw”, or “Cross Cut Saw Blues” as it was first called, is a bawdy blues song “that must have belonged to the general repertoire of the Delta blues.” The song was first released in 1941 by Mississippi bluesman Tommy McClennan and has since been interpreted by many blues artists. “Crosscut Saw” became an early R&B chart hit for Albert King, “who made it one of the necessary pieces of modern blues.”

In 1966, Albert King recorded his version calling it “Crosscut Saw.” The same lyrics as McClennan’s “Cross Cut Saw Blues” were used, except for two verses which were replaced by guitar solos. However, King uses a different arrangement based on an Afro-Cuban rhythm pattern. Backing King is the Stax Records’ house band, Booker T. & the MG’s. The song was a success, reaching #34 in the Billboard R&B chart. It was included on King’s Born Under a Bad Sign album, which “became one of the most influential blues album’s of the late ’60s.” The song remained in his repertoire through out his career and several live versions were issued.

In 1964, R. G. Ford, a Memphis attorney, produced a single of “Cross Cut Saw” by a local group, the Binghamton Blues Boys, on his own East Side Records. The single was only distributed in Memphis. Although the single credits the song to “Group,” it is Ford’s (who died in the late ’60s) name (and sometimes the group members’ names) that appear on Albert King’s (and some other) releases.

Read on for the full guitar lesson on how to play this classic blues song including video, tab, and jam tracks…

Guitar Lesson

Check out the tab and jam track below, and give this bar room blues song a try yourself!

Tab

Crosscut Saw Tab

Jam Track

Crosscut Saw Jam Track

Bar Room Blues is an exclusive series of video guitar lessons by Steve “Red” Lasner covering classic blues songs from historically great guitarists like B.B. King, T-Bone Walker, Buddy Guy, and many others. A new lesson will be released each week, so be sure to subscribe and check back often! Also, if you want more guitar lessons like these, be sure to check out Red’s Guitar Sherpa class.