I selected this week’s tune to honor Bastille Day, which fell last Tuesday. The image I used turns out to be a Belgian, not Gallic Rooster by Pierre Paulus de Châtelet. I did not know the difference until I found the image. Vive la difference:

The rooster is also the symbol of Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium. The French rooster is known as the ‘singing rooster’ (chanteclair) whilst the Walloon cockerel is depicted raising its claws (coq hardi).

You say Wallonia; I say Belgium. Let’s call the whole thing off.

Let’s move from Europe to the Mississippi delta by way of Chicago.

Willie Dixon wrote Little Red Rooster in 1961 for his Chess label mate, Chester Burnett DBA Howlin’ Wolf:

The Rolling Stones scored one of their earliest hit singles with this week’s tune.

We move from Chicago to Memphis with Carla Thomas’ version of the Dixon classic.

The songwriter himself. It’s hard to argue with that album title: I Am The Blues.

Here’s Bobby Weir crowing his way through this week’s tune.

Etta James. Say no more.

In a summit meeting between great songwriters, Lucinda Williams tweaked Willie Dixon’s lyrics to transform LRR into a holiday song. I am not making this up.

That’s it for this week. I propose a belated toast to the French Republic on the 237th anniversary of Bastille Day. It’s what former French presidents Francois Mitterand and Jacques Chirac would want. Never argue with Frenchmen accompanied by soldiers.