Originally a prison field holler recorded in 1933 by Dallas, Texas repeat offender James "Iron Head" Baker and popularized in 1977 by New York City boogie rock band Ram Jam, "Black Betty" gets remade here by San Francisco, California speed metal group Metal Church.
According to the BS Historian, Black Betty may refer to the whip that drivers used in Southern prisons, and the bam-ba-lam line may be a reference to the floggings that took place within up until the early 20th century.
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