Down the Road a Piece

"Down the Road a Piece"
Sheet music for "Down the Road a Piece"
Single by Will Bradley Trio
B-side	"Celery Stalks at Midnight"
Released	1940 (1940)
Format	10" 78 rpm record
Recorded	August 12, 1940
Genre	Boogie-woogie
Length	3:10
Label	Columbia (Cat. no. 35707)
Writer(s)	Don Raye

"Down the Road a Piece" is a boogie-woogie song written by Don Raye. In 1940, it was recorded by the Will Bradley Trio and became a top 10 hit in the closing months of the year. Called "a neat little amalgam of bluesy rhythm and vivid, catchy lyrics," the song was subsequently recorded by a variety of jazz, blues, and rock artists.

Original song

"Down the Road a Piece" was recorded in 1940 by members of the Will Bradley/Ray McKinley Orchestra as the "Will Bradley Trio" (a misnomer as Bradley does not perform on the song, while a fourth, the song's writer Don Raye, does). Three musicians are mentioned in the lyrics:

The drummer man's a guy they call 'Eight Beat Mack'
And you remember Doc and ol' 'Beat Me Daddy' Slack

"Eight Beat Mack" refers to drummer Ray McKinley, "Doc" refers to bass player Doc Goldberg, and "Beat Me Daddy Slack" refers to pianist Freddie Slack (a reference to "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", a hit recorded earlier in 1940 by Slack with the Bradley/McKinley Orchestra). Vocals for "Down the Road a Piece" were provided by McKinley and Raye.

Lyrics

Although the original lyrics were used by Harry Gibson in 1945 and the Glenn Miller Orchestra (led by Ray McKinley) in 1946, subsequent recordings of "Down the Road a Piece" often changed the lyrics that referred to the musicians. Amos Milburn, who recorded the song in 1946, included the reference to "Eight Beat Mack", but changed the next line to "You remember me in beat me daddy's shack" removing references to the other two. When Ella Mae Morse sang the song in the early 1950s, she deleted Doc and Slack from the lyrics and replaced them with "Sam and Spider-Finger Jack", but kept the "Eight Beat Mack" reference, in spite of the fact that McKinley was not in the band, but Slack was. In 1956, Merrill Moore sang "Eight Beat Joe ... Beat Me Daddy Moe". Chuck Berry, who recorded the song in 1960, changed the lyrics further, removing "Eight Beat Mack" and replacing him with "Kicking McCoy", and re-wrote much of the song. Berry's version was copied by many later rock musicians, such as the Rolling Stones and Foghat.

Other versions

• Freddie Slack Orchestra (1941, Decca 4043) as "That Place Down The Road A Piece" with vocals by Don Raye (featuring different lyrics and music).
• Harry Gibson (1945, AFRS Transcription, Jubilee 151).
• Stan Kenton (1945, duet with Harry Gibson, AFRS Transcription, Jubilee 156).
• Ray McKinley & His Orchestra (1946, Majestic 7189)
• Glenn Miller Orchestra (1946) under Ray McKinley (who led the Glenn Miller band after Miller died in 1944).
• Amos Milburn (1946, Aladdin 161).
• Ella Mae Morse (1952, Capitol), with Freddie Slack on piano.
• Chuck Miller (1958, Mercury 71308X45).
• Chuck Berry (1960) from Rockin' at the Hops.
• Manfred Mann (1964) from The Five Faces of Manfred Mann.
• The Rolling Stones (1965) from The Rolling Stones No. 2 (UK), The Rolling Stones, Now! (U.S.).
• Big Joe Duskin (1978) from Cincinnati Stomp.
• Brownsville Station (1978) from Air Special.
• Chuck E. Weiss (1981) from The Other Side of Town.
• Foghat (1983) from Zig-Zag Walk.
• Bob Hall & Dave Peabody (1984) from Down the Road Apiece.
• Steve Gibbons Band (1986) from On the Loose.
• Mr. B (1987) from Shining the Pearls.
• Jerry Lee Lewis (1995) from Young Blood.
• Michael Kaeshammer (1996) from Blue Keys.
• Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers (1999) with Bruce Springsteen on vocals from Down the Road Apiece Live.