A one-hit wonder whose driving version of an old blues tune still gets classic rock airplay.
Start with 'Black Betty,' obviously. For something else, try 'A Song of Faith' or 'Wanna Find Love' from their catalog.
If you've heard 'Black Betty' on the radio, you've heard Ram Jam. Their 1978 debut album took Lead Belly's blues tune and turned it into a guitar-heavy rock track that got plenty of airplay and sold well. Songs like 'Fragile Heart' and 'Fo' Sho'' never found the same audience, but that one recording has had a stubborn half-life of its own.
The band formed in 1977 with guitarist Bill Bartlett, bassist Howie Arthurson, drummer Pete Charles, and vocalist Myke Scavone. Their self-titled debut came out the next year, but lineup changes and shifting tastes meant they never repeated that early momentum. The legal questions around the 'Black Betty' credits didn't help, either.
Keep it compact: a lyric you come back to, a live memory, or the part of the catalog you would point someone toward first.
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