Lockdown Licks no. 244. “Motherless Children” by Blind Willie Johnson. Played in the style of the Eric Clapton bottleneck solo from the album 461 Ocean Boulevard recorded in 1974. Played in ‘open A’ tuning on a Stratocaster using a tapered glass slide, into a NUX M8 amp set to ‘superlead’ with a touch of reverb.
“Mother’s Children Have a Hard Time”, also known as “Motherless Children”, is a gospel blues song recorded by Blind Willie Johnson in 1927. He played it as a solo performance, with singing and playing on an acoustic slide guitar. Johnson recorded the song during his first session for Columbia in Dallas, Texas, on December 3, 1927.