Running, Jumping, Standing Still is an album by blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 artists "Spider" John Koerner and Willie Murphy

Willie Murphy (musician)

Willie Murphy is an American pianist, singer, producer, and songwriter. He is best known as a singer and pianist for the blues band Willie and the Bees and his work with Bonnie Raitt and John Koerner.-Biography:...

, released in 1967. The album is often credited in Koerner's solo discography.

History

Koerner and Murphy performed folk and blues as a duet for five years. Although offered the opportunity by Elektra to record a second album, Koerner declined in order to pursue a film career. Murphy declined an offer to become a producer for Elektra. In a 2010 interview, Murphy recalled "After we made the record, we had to have a van and a bunch of stuff, and a bass player and drummer. That’s what disenchanted Koerner. Elektra wanted us to do a second album, but he didn’t want to do it. I was OK with that, because I had it in my mind to come back [to Minneapolis] and put together a big band.”

Koerner and Murphy released a single, "Magazine Lady" b/w "Friends and Lovers" the same year.

"I Ain't Blue" was covered

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 by Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...

 on her debut album

Bonnie Raitt (album)

Bonnie Raitt is the self-titled debut album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1971 . A straight-blues affair, it was recorded at an empty summer camp on Enchanted Island, about 30 miles west of Minneapolis on Lake Minnetonka...

.

Originally released on the Elektra label, Running, Jumping, Standing Still was reissued by Red House

Red House Records

Red House Records is an American independent record label specializing in folk music and is based in St. Paul, Minnesota.The label was originally created in 1981 by Greg Brown as a method to distribute his own music, and is named for a farmhouse in Iowa where he was living...

 in 1994.

Reception

In his Allmusic review, music critic Steve Cooper praised the album and wrote, "An oddly effective, one-off marriage of folk-blues and ragtime piano that kicks. 'Magazine Lady,' a wildly in-the-groove tale of photo lust, is not to be missed."

Crawdaddy!

Crawdaddy!

Crawdaddy! was the first U.S. magazine of rock and roll music criticism. Created in 1966 by college student Paul Williams in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music, Crawdaddy! was self-described as "the first magazine to take rock and roll...

gave the album a very positive review: "Running Jumping Standing Still is one of the most unique and underrated albums of the folk boom, perhaps the only psychedelic ragtime blues album ever made. It brims over with boisterous energy and stellar playing, driven by John Koerner’s distinctive guitar work and Willie Murphy’s dynamic piano."

Track listing

All songs by John Koerner and Willie Murphy.

1. "Red Palace" – 5:31
2. "I Ain't Blue" – 3:45
3. "Bill & Annie" – 4:27
4. "Old Brown Dog" – 8:10
5. "Running, Jumping, Standing Still" – 5:40
6. "Sidestep" – 4:11
7. "Magazine Lady" – 2:40
8. "Friends and Lovers" – 3:05
9. "Sometimes I Can't Help Myself" – 3:35
10. "Good Night" – 4:10
11. "Some Sweet Nancy" – 3:23

Personnel

• "Spider" John Koerner – guitar, vocals
• Willie Murphy – bass, piano, vocals
• Sanford Konikoff – drums
• Todd Anderson – horn