The first time I saw Etta James and Dr. John do “I’d Rather Go Blind” as a duet was on my friend Amy’s Midnight Special DVDs. We were on my couch late on a Friday night, drinking and talking while we watched, and the performance hit me as so surreal and so oddly beautiful, I felt my eyes fill with tears as Dr. John, wearing a snakeskin vest, and beautiful Etta sang right in each other’s faces.
Sadly, the clip of that performance that’s on YouTube is of the lowest quality, but I found this almost-just-as-good video of the duo singing the same song for Soundstage in 1982. Check it out and tell me if I’ve got a screw loose or if this performance also hits you right in the gut.
I only knew of the 1987 version from BB & Friends. I just found today the 1982 version from Sound Stage and I the crappy Midnight Special version but I also found a good version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoPGLFMXFDA
If you can download from YouTube, do it before it disappears. I would love to know what year the Midnight Special one was.
Fantastic…here is another one with BB King on Guitar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxGNZnnwyCg