Down on Me

Down on Me may refer to:

Down on Me (traditional song)

"Down on Me" is a traditional freedom song from the 1920s or earlier that became popular following its remake by Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company.

Original version

Several early recordings and field recordings exist:

The lyrics of the freedom song are darker than the later Joplin lyrics. For example the second stanza of jazz versions and Dock Reed's version run:

Janis Joplin version

Janis Joplin rearranged the song and created new lyrics. The song was originally released in the summer of 1967 and was featured on the band's debut album Big Brother & the Holding Company. The song would reach #42 on the charts, barely missing the Top 40 mark. A live, more aggressive version is featured on the posthumously released live album In Concert and the 1973 collection Janis Joplin's Greatest Hits. This version was also released as a single, reaching #91 on the charts in 1972.

Down on Me (Jeremih song)

"Down on Me" is a song by American singer Jeremih, produced by Mick Schultz, and mixed by mix engineer Ken Lewis. The song has rapper 50 Cent, and is the second single off his second album All About You. The song was released to US radio stations on October 12, 2010 by Def Jam. As of April 2011, The song has sold 200,000 copies in the UK and 2,042,000 digital downloads in the US.

Chart performance

The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number eighty-seven. After dropping out of the top 100 the following week, it re-entered the chart and has climbed up in chart for 16 weeks to reach a current peak of 30, marking his second top 40 hit in the UK. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number sixty-seven and peaked at number four in its twenty-third week. On the week of 28 February 2011, the song reached number one on the Billboard Rhythmic chart and stayed there for 6 weeks. Down on Me became a number one success in Romania, as it entered the top ten of the Romanian Top 100 at number five on July 17, 2011 and climbed up to the top of the chart on the following week.