In 1950, Muddy Waters' recorded two early versions of "Rollin' and Tumblin'". On a session for the Parkway label, he was the guitarist with Little Walter (vocal and harmonica) and Baby Face Leroy Foster (drums). Biographer Robert Gordon described the performance as a "standout track could have easily have disintegrated into an overenthused party record". For Aristocrat Records, Waters sang as well as played guitar with bass accompaniment by Ernest "Big" Crawford. Gordon called their version "exciting", but felt that it did not have the power or passion of the one with Walter and Foster. In 1960, Elmore James recorded a different arrangement of the song and a year later, Howlin' Wolf recorded "Down in the Bottom", which employed a new set of lyrics and is credited to Willie Dixon.