Coverocktober Song #12: "Baby, Please Don't Go" by AC/DC

Today's Coverocktober song is not only a good one, but also one that has been covered by many great artists.  Originally recorded in 1935 by Delta bluesman Big Joe Williams, "Baby, Please Don't Go" is a traditional blues song, likely evolving from earlier African-American folk songs.  Perhaps the most popular version was recorded in 1964 by Them, fronted by a then-19-year-old Van Morrison (with a then-20-year-old Jimmy Page providing session guitar work on the track.  Before that, blues legends Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker recorded their own respective versions of the song, and after Them's version, the song was covered by the likes of AC/DC, John Mellencamp, The Amboy Dukes (featuring Ted Nugent), Aerosmith, and Paul Revere & The Raiders, and Ten Years After.  The song has been inducted into both the Blue and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame.

Of the many great covers of the song, I'm going with AC/DC's version, which was included on their 1975 debut full-length album High Voltage, which was only released in its original form in Australia and New Zealand.  The song wouldn't be released internationally until the 1984 compilation '74 Jailbreak.

The band had played the song as part of their live set before they decided to record it, and thank the rock gods they did.  They take what Them did with the song and ramp up the tempo, creating a frenzied, blistering blues rock masterpiece.