The girl from Nutbush. Today’s song is ‘Nutbush City Limits’ by Tina Turner. It’s a perfect song for Ted Tocks Covers and it has been on my list of features to profile for quite a while. Today is the day. It all starts with the Ike and Tina Turner presentation from the 1973 album of the same name. Since that time, it has been a continuing gift to music, and it has, fortunately for us inspired many great covers. It is actually so good, Tina Turner herself has released numerous versions. This post will take you on a ride through Nutbush.
Nutbush is an unincorporated rural community in west Tennessee. In Nutbush they tend to do things their own way and Tina Turner describes this unique locale in the lyrics. As one enters, they are greeted by signs that say ‘Nutbush Unincorporated’. Technically, there are no boundaries. It’s population at the turn of the century was a grand total of 259 people. Nutbush has roots going back to the early 19th century. As colonists from the thirteen colonies began to migrate westward, they settled many communities similar to this one, but few have been so widely characterized. The original settlement can be traced to settlers from Virginia and North Carolina. The immigrants, originally from England found the area along the Mississippi River delta an attractive spot to settle and began to develop the area for cotton. This resulted in a reliance on slave labour…
The settlers and their indentured slaves built the town from nothing. By 1822, the cornerstone of Nutbush was founded. The Trinity United Methodist Church was attended by the towns founders and the slaves attended under their supervision…
Religion was an important component of life in early Nutbush. A second church known as Woodlawn Church was also built. This ‘house of God’ was built for ‘whites only’…My God! You can keep shaking your head because under antebellum state law black congregations had to be ministered to by white pastors during this time. By 1846, an enslaved black man named Hardin Smith was permitted to preach before an all-black congregation at the Woodlawn Church, in a Sunday evening service. Smith was considered to be one of the areas first black pastors. A glimpse of religion from a bygone era.
The story has a positive ending because after the Civil War in 1866, the Woodlawn Missionary Baptist Church was established by Hardin Smith and other freed slaves from the area. They were assisted by several white members of the original Woodlawn church. Eventually, all of the black congregation withdrew completely from the churches with white roots and established their own national association.
So, in a nutshell, Nutbush was founded by English immigrants looking for a better life. The primary source of sustenance was cotton. The maintenance of these crops was left up to slaves under the watchful eye of their white owners. Every Sunday they prayed to their ‘God’ for very different things. Blessed be…
On November 26, 1939 Anna Mae Bullock was born in nearby Brownsville, Tennessee. Her family lived in Nutbush where her father was an overseer of sharecroppers at a farm on the outskirts of town. Young Anna Mae (she became ‘Tina Turner’ in 1960 after a three year period of working with Ike Turner turned from platonic to a ‘romantic’ relationship; troubled as it was) spent time with her paternal grandparents while her father sought more lucrative work at defense manufacturing facility in nearby Knoxville. Her grandparents were deacon and deaconess of Woodlawn Missionary Baptist Church (see above). Her young life was very transient, and marred by domestic violence and personal tragedy. The one constant was singing in church choirs and music.
I share all of this because it describes the scene that Ike and Tina wrote about when ‘Nutbush City Limits’ was created in 1973.
A church house gin house
A school house, outhouse
On highway number nineteen
The people keep the city clean
They call it
Nutbush, oh, nutbush
They call it nutbush city limitsTwenty-five was the speed limit
Motorcycle not allowed in it
You go to the store on Friday
You go to church on Sunday
They call it
Nutbush, been a long time, oh, nutbush
They call it Nutbush city limitsYou go to the fields on weekdays
And have a picnic on labor day
You go to town on Saturday
But go to the church ev’ry Sunday
They call it
Nutbush, oh, nutbush
They call it Nutbush city limitsNo whiskey for sale
You can’t cop no bail
Salt pork and molasses
Is all you get in jail
They call it
Nutbush, oh, nutbush
They call it nutbush city limits, nutbush city limitsLittle old town in Tennessee
Tina Turner
That’s called a quiet little old community
A one-horse town
You have to watch
What you’re puttin’ down in old
Nutbush
As I learned about Nutbush I also found out that the legendary blues songwriter/guitarist Sleepy John Estes was also from Nutbush, Tennessee. Fans of the blues have him to thank for ‘Trouble No More’; a song made famous by the Allman Brothers Band. Music was the true soul of this community.
For the duo, Ike and Tina, ‘Nutbush City Limits’ represented one of their last hits. Their troubled relationship ended just three years later.
Before I move into today’s cover versions, I will share a few other recordings by Tina Turner.
It all begins with Midnight Special Live in 1973 with the Ikettes
Here is her recording from ‘Tina Live in Europe’. Still an extraordinary ball of energy at the age of 49. Just a fantastic performance.
Three years later Tina released this recording on her career retrospective ‘Simply the Best’. The accompanying video takes you on a trip through the village she describes.
My introduction to ‘Nutbush City Limits’ was actually this cover by the incredible Detroit rocker Bob Seger. This live recording from the iconic Cobo Hall is a hard driving rocker that pays homage to the classic song. It appeared on his important ‘Live Bullet’ release in 1975. This record resides as one of the finest Bob Seger releases. The thing is, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band were so good, it probably ranks as their second best live album, next to ‘Nine Tonight’.
As music legend has it, when Brian Johnson auditioned for AC/DC after the tragic death of Bon Scott, he asked the band to play ‘Nutbush City Limits’. As we all know he got the gig and AC/DC fans were thankful that he was able to carry that torch for over 35 years.
Now we have a couple of real treats. What do you get when you pair up one of modern music’s most dynamic vocalists with a couple of the finest guitar players to ever wield an axe? Pure gold. First, I give you Beth Hart with the phenomenal Joe Bonamassa.
Then, back in the early hours of 2016, here is a performance from the outer-worldly talent, Jeff Beck along with Beth Hart, on a special New Years’ show that includes Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Band. This is an unbelievable combination of talent that offers a unique presentation of the classic song.
Just three more that struck me as important because it represents how far and wide Tina Turner’s influence extends.
Enjoy the great Alvin Lee on his 1981 collaboration with Steve Gould known as ‘RX5’.
There are some pretty fine riffs that came from the guitar of Martin Barre of Jethro Tull fame. Try this on for size. Barre released this on a 1992 solo album called ‘A Summer Band’. The strong vocals are by Joy Russell and Maggie Reeday.
Finally, please listen to this. The band is called Pearl. The lead singer is a dynamic woman by the name of Pearl Aday. Her father is an innovative artist named Marvin Lee Aday. You may know him better as…Meat Loaf.
How freakin’ cool is that? I call this a classic mic drop ending. It checks all the Ted Tocks boxes. A great original version, an interesting back story with strong social implications, a ton of amazing cover versions and a wide range of influence.
‘Nutbush City Limits’ is more than a rock song. It is a celebration of a town’s roots. Tina Turner managed to bring us to her little community and as we listen, we realize, part of her never left. It is truly a historic piece of music on every level.
I hope you enjoyed this walk through her hometown. Based on the fact the boundaries are not defined the journey has no true beginning and it doesn’t really need to end.
What an artist!
Ted Tocks Covers 
Reblogged this on Ted Tocks Covers and commented:
Originally posted on December 5, 2020
LikeLike