Song of the Day 10/31: Al Kooper and Stephen Stills, “Season of the Witch”

Donovan wrote and recorded this song in 1966, after guitarist John Renbourn of Pentangle showed him how to play a D9 chord at a house party. People who were there say the IrishScottish folkie then spent seven hours playing around with it, and “Season of the Witch” was written soon after.

It was considered one of the first “psychedelic” songs, and quickly became a popular tune to cover because its simple two-chord structure allowed for plenty of free-form jamming. It had already been recorded by a half-dozen artists when Al Kooper turned to it out of desperation.

The Super Session LP was recorded in Los Angeles over two days in 1968. Al Kooper, who had just been booted from the rock-with-horns group he founded, Blood, Sweat & Tears, wanted to create a jazz-style in-studio jam record with guitarist Mike Bloomfield, who had just left the Electric Flag. They taped what turned into Side 1 of the album on the first day, but Bloomfield, mercurial to a fault, failed to show up for the second day’s session. Kooper, who had already paid for the studio time, put out calls to several LA-based guitarists; the only one who was available was Stephen Stills, who was free because Buffalo Springfield had broken up and he wasn’t yet committed to Crosby, Stills and Nash. Stills was a versatile player, but blues-rock wasn’t his forte and there was no time to rehearse anything, so they stuck to familiar tunes. “Season of the Witch,” with vocals by Kooper, turned out to be the standout track. The LP became important in rock music history by kicking off a trend of “super group” recordings.

The song was frequently covered for a few years — Led Zeppelin never recorded it though they played it before every concert during sound checks — but it fell out of favor by the mid-’70s. A resurgence occurred in the ’90s, and it has turned up regularly since then.

Richard Thompson cut a searing version in 2003 for the soundtrack of the TV show “Crossing Jordan.”

Just last year Lana Del Rey recorded a louche version for the soundtrack to the movie “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.”