Origins of "Good Shepherd"

[LatherPCL]

Where did Jorma Kaukonen get "Good Shepherd"? It says "traditional" next to his name. I figure that "Good Shepherd" is a song about Jesus.

[PsychedelicRabbit]

"'Good Shepherd' was a traditional gospel ballad, arranged by the decidedly apolitical Jorma Kaukonen. "'Good Shepherd' was a song that I learned from a guy named Roger Perkins, who was a folk singer, and my friend Tom Hobson, and it was a great spiritual that I really liked," said Jorma. "It's a psychedelic folk-rock song."

From the Volunteers (Original Masters) CD booklet.

[LatherPCL]

"'Good Shepherd' was a traditional gospel ballad, arranged by the decidedly apolitical Jorma Kaukonen. "'Good Shepherd' was a song that I learned from a guy named Roger Perkins, who was a folk singer, and my friend Tom Hobson, and it was a great spiritual that I really liked," said Jorma. "It's a psychedelic folk-rock song."

From the Volunteers (Original Masters) CD booklet.

Thanks for the info. I could have looked at my own copy of "Volunteers", but once I buy a CD, I don't like to put my fingers on the CD booklet. I have handled CD booklets before that left fingerprints after I touched them, so I figure I look at the booklet once to check on the condition and then put it back without reading it.

[FirstBassman]

"Good Shepherd" was performed by a prison inmate in Virginia and recorded by John Lomax.
The recording (called "Blood Stained Banders") is in the Library of Congress.

I did a bit of research on the man who did the recording.

I 'published' that research on the FPR Repeat Offenders Yahoo Group.

If you do not have access to that Group I can try and find it and paste it here.

- Mark