The Black Keys Cover Blues Legend R.L. Burnside’s ‘Going Down South’

The Black Keys have released a cover of blues musician R.L. Burnside’s song “Going Down South,” the second single from the band’s upcoming album Delta Kream.

“That was one of R.L. Burnside’s hits! We strayed a little from the original on our version with the falsetto and percussion, but we liked how it sounded in that moment,” Dan Auerbach said in a statement. “It’s become one of my favorites on the album.”

“Going Down South” was released on Monday with an accompanying music video directed by Ryan Nadzam. The video was filmed at several Mississippi blues landmarks, including Jimmy Duck Holmes’ Blue Front Cafe (the oldest active juke joint in the U.S.), Holy Springs’ Blues Alley, the towns of Como and Chulahoma, the Burnside Palace, and Aikei Pro’s record shop.

Along with “Going Down South,” Delta Kream will feature 10 other tracks that pay tribute to the hill country blues music of R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and other Mississippi blues legends. The Black Keys previously released the album’s lead single “Crawling Kingsnake,” based on one of Kimbrough’s recordings. Delta Kream will be released on May 14th via Nonesuch Records, with the Black Keys performing “Crawling Kingsnake” and “Going Down South” on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert that same day.