Say the words “Cotton-Eyed Joe” and a number of things may spring to mind…including that Swedish band Rednex and their 1994 dance hit – less said on that the better. On Friday, Gothenburg’s Bror Gunnar Jansson will reclaim the song with his version, a haunting and heartbreaking reimagining of the oft-skewed and misunderstood song.
When I read those words I wasn’t convinced the song could be saved, but Jansson’s haunting rendition of the American folk classic “Cotton-Eyed Joe” is unlike anything you’ve heard before.
“My version is an apology for Rednex’ ignorant theft but also a declaration of love to the song and its origin,” Jansson says. “Western popular music stems from the Afro American culture from the late 19th, and early 20th century and that fact cannot be stressed enough.”
Bror Gunnar Jansson comes from a long line of Swedish jazz and blues great (his father was a bassist who played with folks like Chet Baker and Monica Zetterlund and he practically grew up running around the storied Gothenburg jazz club, Nefertiti). His latest album, They Found My Body In A Bag dropped last year.
Be sure to check out more of his music on Spotify here.