the original version was a she...I'm not disputing the point that it was originally written as a girl.
I said it was written as a girl....that has been supported by the links as to how the song came about.
JJ changed the lyrics from a she to a he.
So when I sing the song , BMcGee is a she to me and I guess when bambino sings it he is taking a walk on the wild side! Originally Posted by WTF
however, since you referenced Janis Joplin who is a hetro female, it would be more accurate to note that the song had a female point of view of her lost male love.
at least be consistent with the McGee song by referencing the miller song which is a song from a male point of view of losing his female love.
btw... a whole bunch of people sang this song, some versions of this song.
I was surprised to see some of the notable names mentioned in this list.
Selected list of recorded versions
- 1969 Roger Miller - album Roger Miller
- 1969 Kenny Rogers & The First Edition - album Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town
- 1970 Ramblin' Jack Elliott - album Bull Durham Sacks & Railroad Tracks
- 1970 The Statler Brothers - album Bed of Rose's
- 1970 Gordon Lightfoot - album Sit Down Young Stranger
- 1970 Kris Kristofferson - album Kristofferson (Kristofferson's version also appears in the film Two-Lane Blacktop)
- 1970 Bill Haley & His Comets - album Rock Around the Country. (According to the biography Bill Haley by John Swenson, Kristofferson gave Haley's version his seal of approval.)
- 1970 Sam The Sham - single "Me And Bobby McGee/Key To The Highway" (Atlantic #2757)
- 1971 John Mogensen as "Carsten Levin" Danish - single/ featured on album John (1973)
- 1971 Janis Joplin U.S. number-one single: parent album Pearl
- 1971 & 1972 Jerry Lee Lewis - album The Killer Rocks On/ B-side of "Would You Take Another Chance on Me"
- 1971 Dottie West - album Have You Heard...
- 1971 Grateful Dead - album Skull & Roses, and numerous other live recordings
- 1971 Loretta Lynn - album I Wanna Be Free
- 1971 Lalla Hansson as "Anna & mej" Swedish - album Upp till Ragvaldsträsk[11][12] scoring a Tio i topp hit.
- 1972 Johnny Cash - album På Österåker
- 1972 Charlie McCoy - album Charlie McCoy
- 1972 Jeannie C. Riley - album Give Myself a Party
- 1973 Waylon Jennings - album Lonesome, On'ry and Mean
- 1973 Chet Atkins - album Alone
- 1973 Thelma Houston - album Thelma Houston
- 1973 Olivia Newton-John - album Let Me Be There
- 1974 Lonnie Donegan - album Lonnie Donegan Meets Leinemann
- 1974 Cornelis Vreeswijk as "Jag och Bosse Lidén" Swedish - album Getinghonung
- 1979 Gianna Nannini as "Io e Bobby McGee" Italian - album California
- 1984 Joan Baez - album Live Europe '83 album: Baez also performed the song with the Boston Pops in 1985.
- 1994 Blind Melon records the song in the studio during a session in The Netherlands, appears on their B-sides collection.
- 1994 Melissa Etheridge - album Acoustic
- 1997 Loquillo - album Compañeros de viaje
- 1999 LeAnn Rimes - album LeAnn Rimes
- 1999 Barb Jungr - album Bare
- 2002 Anne Murray - album Country Croonin'
- 2002 Jennifer Love Hewitt - album Bare Naked
- 2002 Waterloo & Robinson as "Ich und BobbyMcGee" German - album Marianne
- 2003 Jerry Jeff Walker - album Too Old To Change
- 2004 Pink - album Live in Europe
- 2005 Dolly Parton - album Those Were The Days
- 2005 Arlo Guthrie - album Live In Sydney
- 2005 Tori Amos live in Hartford 10 April 2005
- 2006 Dale Ann Bradley - album Catch Tomorrow
- 2007 Angela Kalule on the soundtrack of The Last King of Scotland
- 2007 Caroline af Ugglas - album Joplin på Svenska
- 2008 Amanda Strydom - album kerse teen die donker
- 2010 Crystal Bowersox on American Idol iTunes release of studio version from Top 11 week, and Final 2 week, of season 9
- 2013 Grace Askew recorded a studio version on the fourth season of The Voice USA after defeating Trevor Davis in the Battle Round performing the same song.
- 2016 Matt Doyle - album Uncontrolled