Though the British blues-rockers The Animals recorded a gritty version of a song called “Gin House Blues” in 1966, the tune was originally released by Bessie Smith in 1928 under the name “Me and My Gin.” Smith, the storied blues singer of the Prohibition and Great Depression, did record another song a few years earlier that may have confused other artists over the years who attempted to cover Smith’s version. The sheer power of Smith’s voice in “Me and My Gin” easily takes the lead over the classic early blues-style horn and piano accompaniment. She sings:
Don’t try me nobody ’cause you will never win
I’ll fight the army and navy, yes, me and my gin
