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Everybody Loves Saturday Night
Composer: Traditional
Possibly performed by Jerry Garcia in his early pre-Dead years. In an interview Marshall Leicester spoke about first meeting Garcia:
In the summer of 1961, I came back from college and I walked into Kepler's and saw this guy playing a 12-string guitar. What I remember hearing is that song 'Everybody Loves Saturday Night.' In general, the picking in those days was sort of somewhere between Pete Seeger and the Kingston Trio. I asked to see his guitar and struck up a conversation… I knew how to do a kind of Elizabeth Cotten pick that was a technical challenge to him. Once I showed him how to do it, he picked it up in nothing flat.
The song is also sometime called Bobo Waro Fero Satodeh and sometimes just Saturday Night.

The origins of the song are unclear but it appears to have been first performed as a protest song in Nigeria in the 1940s. There have been many versions in many languages and often many credited composers. The song was popularised in the US by Pete Seeger who enlarged the English language version of the song by adding verses in other languages.


Recordings

This list is not intended to be comprehensive.

no info Calypso Medley No. 1, Sterling Bettancourt, 1953
no info EP, Sandy Brown's Jazz Band, 1955
no info The Tarriers, The Tarriers, 1956
no info Single (This Land Is Your Land / Everybody Loves Saturday Night), The Wayfarers, 1956
no info Single (Tom Dooley / Everybody Loves Saturday Night), The Tarriers, 1957
no info Calypso Dance Party, Candido, 1957
no info The Easy Riders, The Easy Riders, 1957
no info EP, Terry Gilkyson, 1957
no info Windjammer Soundtrack, 1958
no info EP, Sidney Bechet, 1958
no info Single, Kenny, Frank And Ray, 1958
no info Windjammer City Style, Red Norvo, 1958
no info EP, Silvertones Steel Band, 1959
no info Folk Songs A La King, Morgana King, 1959
no info Here Come The Coachmen, 1959
no info In Concert, Bud And Travis, 1960
no info Cosmo Alley Presents, Bob Grossman, 1960
no info EP, Roy Guest, 1961
no info Folk Songs for Fun, Oscar Brand, 1961
no info Single, The Four Voices, 1962
no info Make Way for the, Ramblers Three, 1962
no info Folk Songs Of Africa, Marni Nixon/Walter Wittel, 1963
no info In Person, The New Christy Minstrels, 1963
no info Chubby's Folk Album, Chubby Checker, 1964
no info The Hoot'nanny Show Vol. 2, Various Artists, 1964
no info Everybody Loves Saturday Night, Morgana King, 1965
no info More Morgana, Morgana King, 1965
no info The Wandering Minstrels, The New Christy Minstrels, 1965
no info Single (Born To Be Free / Everybody Loves Saturday Night), The New Christy Minstrels, 1965
no info Greatest Hits, The New Christy Minstrels, 1966
no info By Arrangement, The Spinner, 1973
no info Caribbean Sunshine Hits And Other Favourites, The Spinner, 1981
no info Camp Songs, Ella Jenkins & Friends, 2017