Big Boss Man (song)

Last updated

"Big Boss Man"
Single by Jimmy Reed
from the album Found Love
B-side "I'm a Love You"
ReleasedApril 1961 (1961-04)
RecordedChicago, March 29, 1960
Genre Blues
Length2:46
Label Vee-Jay
Songwriter(s) Luther Dixon, Al Smith
Jimmy Reed singles chronology
"Close Together"
(1961)
"Big Boss Man"
(1961)
"Bright Lights, Big City"
(1961)

"Big Boss Man" is a blues song first recorded by Jimmy Reed in 1960. It became one of his most popular songs, although the songwriting is credited to Luther Dixon and Al Smith. Chicago-based Vee-Jay Records released it as a single, which became one of Reed's last appearances on the record charts. The song has been recorded by artists in diverse styles, including Elvis Presley, B.B. King, and Hope Sandoval, who also had chart successes with the song.

Contents

Original song

"Big Boss Man" is an uptempo twelve-bar blues shuffle that features "one of the most influential Reed grooves of all time". [1] It is credited to Jimmy Reed's manager, Al Smith, and Vee-Jay Records staff writer Luther Dixon. [1] The song is one of the few Reed hits that was written by someone other than Reed and his wife. [2]

Reed recorded the song in Chicago on March 29, 1960; backing Reed, who sang and played harmonica and guitar, are Mamma Reed on vocal, Lee Baker and Lefty Bates on guitars, Willie Dixon on bass, and Earl Phillips on drums. [1]

"Big Boss Man" was originally released on Jimmy Reed's 1960 album Found Love. In 1961, Vee-Jay Records released it as a single, which reached number 13 on Billboard's R&B Hot Sides chart and number 78 on its Hot 100 chart. [3]

Legacy

In 1990, the song was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. [2] In its induction statement, blues historian Jim O'Neal noted that the song's appeal went beyond blues musicians and:

If there ever was a blues theme for the proletariat, it was Jimmy Reed’s 1961 smash, "Big Boss Man". "You got me workin', boss man, workin' 'round the clock, I want me a drink of water but you won’t let Jimmy stop," Reed sang, but the refrain asserted "You ain’t so big, you’re just tall, that’s all." [2]

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included it in its 1995 list of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". [4]

As one of Reed's best-known songs, "Big Boss Man" has been recorded by numerous artists. [5] In 1967, a version by Elvis Presley that reached number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. [6] He performed the song as part of a medley during the Elvis 1968 Comeback Special . [7] In their early days, "Big Boss Man" was part of the Grateful Dead's concert repertoire. [8] It was usually sung by Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, who also provided blues-style harmonica accompaniment. [9] According to group chronicler David Malvinni, McKernan's "powerful voice" was well-suited to deliver convincing renditions of older blues songs, compared to vocals by other blues revival bands. [9] A live recording first appeared on their 1971 self-titled album.

B.B. King recorded the song for his 1985 album Six Silver Strings . Released on a single by MCA Records, his rendition reached number 62 on Billboard's Hot Black singles chart. [3] Hope Sandoval recorded the song for Mercury Rev's 2019 album Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited . [10] An album review noted: "Hope Sandoval takes 'Big Boss Man' in just the way you'd want and expect Hope Sandoval to take 'Big Boss Man' like it's an old Velvet Underground ballad she's just heard." [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Perkins</span> American guitarist (1932–1998)

Carl Lee Perkins was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, beginning in 1954. Among his best-known songs are "Blue Suede Shoes", "Honey Don't", "Matchbox" and "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Reed</span> American blues musician and songwriter

Mathis James Reed was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with blues as well as non-blues audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), "Baby What You Want Me to Do" (1960), "Big Boss Man" (1961), and "Bright Lights, Big City" (1961) appeared on both Billboard magazine's rhythm and blues and Hot 100 singles charts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockabilly</span> Early style of rock and roll music

Rockabilly is an early style of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blues, leading to what is considered "classic" rock and roll. Some have also described it as a blend of bluegrass with rock and roll. The term "rockabilly" itself is a portmanteau of "rock" and "hillbilly"; the latter is a reference to country music that contributed strongly to the style. Other important influences on rockabilly include western swing, boogie-woogie, jump blues, and electric blues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller</span> American songwriting and record producing duo

Leiber and Stoller were an American Grammy award-winning songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber and composer Michael Stoller They wrote numerous standards for Broadway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Mama Thornton</span> American blues singer (1926–1984)

Willie Mae Thornton, better known as Big Mama Thornton because of her height, and weight, was an American singer and songwriter of the blues and R&B. She was the first to record Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog", in 1952, which was written for her and became her biggest hit, staying seven weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B chart in 1953. According to Maureen Mahon, a music professor at New York University, "the song is seen as an important beginning of rock-and-roll, especially in its use of the guitar as the key instrument".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otis Blackwell</span> American songwriter (1931–2002)

Otis Blackwell was an American songwriter whose work influenced rock and roll. His compositions include "Fever", "Great Balls of Fire" and "Breathless", "Don't Be Cruel", "All Shook Up" and "Return to Sender", and "Handy Man".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Reed</span> American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor (1937–2008)

Jerry Reed Hubbard was an American singer, guitarist, composer, songwriter and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included "Guitar Man", "U.S. Male", "A Thing Called Love", "Alabama Wild Man", "Amos Moses", "When You're Hot, You're Hot", "Ko-Ko Joe", "Lord, Mr. Ford", "East Bound and Down", "The Bird", and "She Got the Goldmine ".

<i>The Sun Sessions</i> 1976 compilation album by Elvis Presley

The Sun Sessions is a compilation album by American singer Elvis Presley, containing songs he recorded at Sun Studios in 1954 and 1955. It was issued by RCA Records in 1976, and had been issued and charted as The Sun Collection in the UK the previous year. It features liner notes by Roy Carr of the New Musical Express. The Sun Sessions features most of the tracks Elvis recorded at Sun studio and were produced by Sam Phillips, the head of Sun Studios. Elvis began his singing career with Sun Records label in Memphis. The album reached number two on the Billboard Country Albums and number 1 on the Cashbox Country Albums charts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">That's All Right</span> 1946 song written by Arthur Crudup

"That's All Right" is a song written and originally performed by the American blues singer Arthur Crudup and recorded in 1946. It was rereleased in early March 1949 by RCA Victor under the title "That's All Right, Mama", which was issued as RCA's first rhythm and blues record on its new 45 rpm single format.

<i>Having Fun with Elvis on Stage</i> 1974 live album by Elvis Presley

Having Fun with Elvis on Stage is a 1974 spoken word concert album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley consisting entirely of dialogue and banter, mostly jokes, by Presley between songs during his live concerts, with the songs themselves removed from the recordings. The album was created as a ploy by Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker to release a Presley album through his own label, Boxcar Records, without using content that contractually belonged to RCA Records, so that Parker could earn 100% of the profits. Having Fun with Elvis on Stage was first sold at Presley's concerts, but RCA later claimed rights to the recordings and began to package and distribute it.

<i>The Delta Sweete</i> 1968 studio album by Bobbie Gentry

The Delta Sweete is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry. It was released on February 5, 1968, by Capitol Records. The album was produced by Kelly Gordon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boom Boom (John Lee Hooker song)</span> Blues standard

"Boom Boom" is a song written by American blues singer and guitarist John Lee Hooker and recorded in 1961. Although it became a blues standard, music critic Charles Shaar Murray calls it "the greatest pop song he ever wrote". "Boom Boom" was both an American R&B and pop chart success in 1962 and a UK top-twenty hit in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hi-Heel Sneakers</span> 1963 song by Tommy Tucker

"Hi-Heel Sneakers" is a blues song written and recorded by Tommy Tucker in 1963. Blues writer Mary Katherine Aldin describes it as an uptempo twelve-bar blues, with "a spare, lilting musical framework", and a strong vocal. The song's rhythmic approach has also been compared to that of Jimmy Reed. Tucker's lyrics recall the time he spent as a Golden Gloves boxer in the 1950s:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Feel So Bad (Chuck Willis song)</span> 1961 single by Elvis Presley

"I Feel So Bad" is a blues song written and originally recorded by Chuck Willis, and released in 1954. It rose to No. 8 on the Billboard Rhythm & Blues Chart in early 1954, and appears on the album Chuck Willis Wails the Blues. Elvis Presley recorded the song on March 12, 1961, in RCA Studio B, in Nashville, Tennessee, and released it as a single on RCA Victor that year.

<i>Clambake</i> (soundtrack) 1967 soundtrack album by Elvis Presley

Clambake is the sixteenth soundtrack album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3893, in October 1967. It is the soundtrack to the 1967 film of the same name starring Presley. He entered RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee on February 21, 1967 for Recording sessions for his twenty fifth film. Supplemental material sessions took place on September 10 and 11, 1967. It peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200.

Luther Dixon was an American songwriter, record producer, and singer. Dixon's songs achieved their greatest success in the 1950s and 1960s, and were recorded by Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Jackson 5, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dusty Springfield, Jimmy Reed and others. As a producer, Dixon helped create the signature sound of the girl group the Shirelles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baby What You Want Me to Do</span> Blues standard written by Jimmy Reed

"Baby What You Want Me to Do" is a blues song that was written and recorded by Jimmy Reed in 1959. It was a record chart hit for Reed and, as with several of his songs, it has appeal across popular music genres, with numerous recordings by a variety of musical artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Claus Is Back in Town</span> 1957 song by Elvis Presley

"Santa Claus Is Back in Town" is a Christmas song written in 1957 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and first recorded that year by Elvis Presley as the opening track on Elvis' Christmas Album, the best-selling Christmas/holiday album of all time in the United States. The song has since become a rock and roll Christmas standard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Male</span> 1968 song by Elvis Presley

"U.S. Male" is a song originally recorded by Jerry Reed, and appears on his 1967, debut album, The Unbelievable Guitar and Voice of Jerry Reed. The song was also recorded by Elvis Presley.

Lefty Bates was an American Chicago blues guitarist. He led the Lefty Bates Combo and worked with the El Dorados, the Flamingos, Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Etta James, the Aristo-Kats, the Hi-De-Ho Boys, the Moroccos, and the Impressions. A regular on the Chicago blues scene, his major work was as a session musician on numerous recordings in the 1950s and 1960s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Koda, Cub (2000). The Very Best of Jimmy Reed (CD notes). Jimmy Reed. Los Angeles: Rhino Records. p. 14. R2 79802.
  2. 1 2 3 O'Neal, Jim (November 10, 2016). "1990 Hall of Fame Inductees: Big Boss Man — Jimmy Reed (Vee-Jay, 1960)". The Blues Foundation . Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  3. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (1988). "Artist entries". Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. pp. 346, 240. ISBN   0-89820-068-7.
  4. "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . 1995. Archived from the original on May 2, 2007. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  5. "Jimmy Reed: 'Big Boss Man' Also Performed By". AllMusic . Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  6. "Elvis Presley: Chart History – Hot 100". Billboard . Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  7. Bush, John. "Elvis Presley: The '68 Comeback Special Review". AllMusic . Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  8. Malvinni, David (2013). Grateful Dead and the Art of Rock Improvisation. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press. pp. 30, 63. ISBN   978-0-8108-8255-3.
  9. 1 2 Malvinni, David (2010). Tuedio, Jim; Spector, Stan (eds.). The Grateful Dead in Concert: Essays on Live Improvisation. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 79. ISBN   978-0-7864-4357-4.
  10. 1 2 Hann, Michael (February 8, 2019). "Mercury Rev: Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited Review – Fun but Overdone". Theguardian.com . Retrieved March 6, 2021.