Ten Favorite John D. Loudermilk Compositions: Indian Reservation (#2)

Tweet

For most of the past eight songs people have been looking at the song, the name John D. Loudermilk, and shrugging. I promised if you'd have patience all would be explained. Today I fulfill that promise with what is probably Loudermilk's best-known song in the rock world. It's also #2 on my countdown. #2: Indian Reservation (Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian) And now you know. Here's the backstory: Loudermilk was stuck in a snowstorm in Cherokee, North Carolina. Members of the nation found his car and took him to shelter. The next morning, he offered to pay but was told he'd repay in another way. Hence, this song. Come to find out, Loudermilk's great-grandparents were Cherokee. More amazingly, they were -- in their 80s -- on the Trail of Tears from North Carolina to Oklahoma (and this was in the 19th century, when they walked instead of taking a Greyhound or an RV), and survived. The first noted recording of the song was by Marvin Rainwater (himself one-quarter Cherokee), in 1959, under the name "The Pale-Faced Indian." About a decade later it resurfaced with the title we all know, this time in rock and pop. British singer Don Fardon recorded the song in 1968. That led to the best-known version, the #1 hit by Paul Revere and the Raiders. Loudermilk did himself and his great-grandparents well with this one. Indian Reservation (Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian) Written by John D. Loudermilk Recorded by Marvin Rainwater Released as a single, 1959 Famously covered by Don Fardon Released as a single, 1968 Famously covered by Paul Revere & the Raiders From Indian Reservation, 1971 You've probably heard the Paul Revere & the Raiders version, so here's the Don Fardon rendition: