Mighty Mississippi, written by Kelly Harrell about a devastating flood in 1927 along the Mississippi River in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi that saw the river crest its banks by up to 30 feet, and remained that way in some places for months. Deaths approached 500 people, with more than 600,000 displaced as approximately 27,000 square miles were affected. The song came to Hot Rize through the New Lost City Ramblers, and this version was recorded live at a Hot Rize show in 1989.
Brown Eyed Rabbit is an old time number that Wernick brought to the 2014 sessions for the reunited band’s When I’m Free project with Bryan Sutton. Pete says that they were just jamming on the tune with the tape rolling, and what we have here is them live with no fixes.
Pete Wernick comments, “We made so much music together starting 1978, and a lot of it was recorded to tape, and some to video. Lately, as I'm approaching 80 I've thought. why not put out some things that hardly anyone ever heard us do, put them in circulation. It's just good to hear us playing some good old songs together again in Hot Rize style. I always like hearing us, quite a big and fortunate part of my life."
