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About John the Revelator
>> Friday, December 4, 2009
I love this song, "John the Revelator." It was used in the season finale (season 1) of the FX tv show "Sons Of Anarchy" covered by Curtis Stiger & The Forest Rangers. Below is some background info on the song, we also have a video and the lyrics.
"John the Revelator" is a traditional Gospel/blues call and response song. In the chorus, John of Patmos, the traditional author of the Book of Revelation, is writing "the book of the seven seals." At the time of the song's composition (and in modern times), John of Patmos was generally considered the same person as John the Apostle and John the Evangelist.
The song was recorded on April 20, 1930 in Atlanta, Georgia by Blind Willie Johnson and is included in the Anthology of American Folk Music. In this version Johnson's first wife Willie B. Harris performs the response parts of the song. The Golden Gate Quartet performed and recorded the song a cappella in the 1930s. Son House recorded several a cappella versions in the 1960s.
The song has been covered by numerous bands and musicians, including The Blues Brothers, Beck, Billy Childish, John Mellencamp, Nick Cave, Gov't Mule, Curtis Stigers(Sons of Anarchy), The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, R.E.M., Lee Roy Parnell, Frank Black, Hugo Race, Ian Siegal, Phil Keaggy and many others. Similarly titled songs by Depeche Mode and Dave Matthews Band were inspired by the traditional gospel song. The movie Blues Brothers 2000, in which the song is covered by both Taj Mahal and Sam Moore, also includes an additional verse written for the movie and performed by Joe Morton.
