“Black Betty” by Ram Jam

As a reader can see for him or herself, the lyrics of “Black Betty” are nothing complicated. But for such a relatively-simple song, there has been put forth at least four reasonable explanations to what is actually being sung about. This confusion, if you will, is based on the fact that, as mentioned in the facts’ section, the lyrical origins of this song date back to at least the early 20^th century and likely even earlier than that. We all know that this tune is about “Black Betty”, but who/what Black Betty is constitutes the center of this debate.

Meaning of “Black Betty”

For instance, in researching the history of the term, it has been noted that none other than American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin himself used the expression back in 1736, some 250 years before Ram Jam dropped this song. And in that case he was apparently referring to, succinctly put, liquor.  And accordingly, it seems that “black Betty” was synonymous with a bottle of whiskey in particular dating as far back as 17^th century London.

Now going back to the British, it is also said that ‘Black Betty’ was a nickname for a certain type of musket, i.e. an old-timey gun with black paint. And in that regard, the phrase “bam-ba-lam”, as recited in the lyrics, is said to be intended to imitate the sound of gunfire.

A Song sung by African American Slaves

But with that being said “Black Betty”, as in the song Ram Jam is covering, is recognized as an African-American labor chant. In other words, oppressed African-Americans (who were oft employed in physically-taxing, monotonous work) used to sing certain songs, such as “Black Betty”, to add rhythm to the work and thus complete said labors more efficiently. And it was very unlikely that they were singing in reference to a musket, though it is more feasible that they can be celebrating inebriation.

Iron Head

Now the first known recording of this song, circa 1933, is attributed to an artist by the name of James “Iron Head” Baker. And a researcher who interviewed Iron Head stated that “Black Betty” is rather a whip which prison officials used to punish prisoners. These prisoners, many of whom would have been Black Americans, were indeed forced into slave-like manual labor. Moreover it should be noted that Iron Head was actually such an inmate himself when he recorded “Black Betty”. So whereas Black Betty may have been a popular term for liquor or a gun predating the 20^th century, by the time the 1930s came around, it had acquired a different meaning.

Is Ram Jam racist to sing “Black Betty”?

Now given this background, it’s only logical that Ram Jam (an all-White rock band) would be accused of racism in dropping this song. However, it is also feasible that they themselves did not know the particulars of what “Black Betty” meant in the past. Indeed it has been suggested that in their version, they are actually singing about a romantic relationship with a Black woman.  So the lyrics have remained the same. For instance, when it is said “Black Betty had a child”, maybe going way back this would have been a reference to a musket ball. But by the time Ram Jam got their hands on it, it could literally be referring to a child which was conceived via an intimate relationship with a Black lady. 

Also all lyrics considered, “bam-ba-lam” in their case could be referencing something like bedroom fun or the fact that Black Betty “makes” the narrator “sing”, meaning that he is smitten by her to the point where he can’t hold it in. Indeed he states that she is “shaking that thing”, which is a term that even we in the contemporary world recognize as being a reference to a woman’s body. But that being said, the aforementioned phrase can also be applied to an object like a whip. 

In Conclusion

So conclusively, it has been agreed that in Ram Jam’s case at least “Black Betty” is indeed a woman. But for all we know maybe the reason they decided to record the tune was simply because they could cover it well, considering that at the end of the day it proved to be their only hit.

So this is a unique case where a White rock band has taken what is considered to be a vintage African-American tune and was actually able to transform it into a modern hit. And taking into account that the titular term dates all the way back to at least 1736, its meaning has changed throughout the generations. Indeed before closing it should be noted that even in the 1930s, some people also considered this song to be about a woman. And that is the way Ram Jam apparently interpreted it when they decided to drop their own rendition of “Black Betty”.

Facts about “Black Betty”

The credited writers of this song are Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter, 1888-1949) and “Traditional”. That’s another way of saying that while Lead Belly is one of the first-known artists to record this tune, it actually predates him to the degree that its exact point of origin cannot be ascertained.

The producer of Ram Jam’s version of “Black Betty” is Kasenetz Katz.

Ram Jam released their hit version in 1977 via Epic Records. It appeared on their self-titled debut album.

And as aforementioned it was a hit. It peaked at the 18th position on America’s Hot 100. It made it to 7th position in Britain (UK Singles Chart). Furthermore, it charted impressively in several other countries, including Canada.

The “Ram Jam” album

Ram Jam was a rock band that was formed in1977and active for only a year. They produced songs from the genres Rock and Boogie Rock. They released their debut album “Ram Jam” in the year in the US in 1977 for the label Epic Records. The album did well by reaching number 34 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart in the United States.

“Black Betty” was the band’s best-known song and part of the two singles that were released prior to the album.

American producers Jeffry Katz and Jerry Kasenetz saw to the production needs of the song.

“Ram Jam” (the album) has a total duration of thirty-four minutes, nineteen seconds.

The album was reissued on CD in 1996 and included the bonus track “I should Have Known”.

There were ten tracks listed on the album and 11 tracks on the 1996 reissuance.

FYI:

The band changed their name to American Ram Jam to solve the issue of confusion with a UK band with the same name.