Since I Met You Baby (song)

Last updated
"Since I Met You Baby"
Single by Ivory Joe Hunter
B-side "You Can't Stop This Rocking And Rolling"
ReleasedOctober 26, 1956 (U.S.)
Recorded1956
Genre Rhythm and blues, pop
Length2:41
Label Atlantic 1111 (U.S.)
Quality 1567 (Canada)
Columbia DB 3872 (U.K.)
Songwriter(s) Ivory Joe Hunter
Producer(s) Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler
"Since I Met You Baby"
Single by Sonny James
from the album The Astrodome Presents in Person Sonny James
B-side "Clinging to a Hope"
ReleasedAugust 1969 (U.S.)
Recorded1969
Genre Country
Length2:48
Label Capitol
Songwriter(s) Ivory Joe Hunter
Producer(s) George Richey
Sonny James singles chronology
"Running Bear"
(1969)
"Since I Met You Baby"
(1969)
"It's Just a Matter of Time"
(1970)

"Since I Met You Baby" is an American rhythm and blues song written and recorded by pianist Ivory Joe Hunter. The song, which Hunter recorded in 1956, became an American standard, and saw renewed popularity in 1969 when country music artist Sonny James released his hit version.

Contents

Song background

Hunter had already tasted major success with popular and rhythm and blues audiences with songs such as "I Almost Lost My Mind". He moved to Atlantic Records by 1954, and around that time wrote "Since I Met You Baby."

The song, a 12-bar blues, was described by AllMusic critic Steve Huey as "a masterpiece of smooth, bluesy elegance" and "decidedly removed from the tide of raucous rock & roll sweeping the country." In fact, compared to many of the other uptempo, rock-beat songs of the period, the song was "augmented by a wordless vocal choir (supervised by Ray Ellis who also did the orchestral arrangement) that's strongly reminiscent of traditional pop recordings of the period," wrote Huey. Saxophonist Jesse Powell provided the harmony on the second verse. [1] [2]

"Since I Met You Baby" topped the Billboard magazine Rhythm and Blues Records chart for three weeks in 1957, and became Hunter's only Billboard Hot 100 entry, stopping at No. 12.

Atlantic licensed the recording to Quality Records in Canada and EMI's Columbia label in the UK.

Hunter was presented with a gold record for this song which was awarded during his appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show . [3]

Cover versions

Sonny James

Sonny James had major success covering pop standards, both of the present time and of the past, during the 1960s. In 1969 alone, he had reached the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart with two such covers: "Only the Lonely" and "Running Bear."

"Since I Met You Baby" was James' third cover song released during 1969. Supposedly recorded live (the song's introduction and fade out features a cheering audience), the audience was added to the studio recording. James took the song to No. 1 on the Hot Country Singles chart that October. His 13th chart-topper overall, the song was his ninth consecutive country No. 1 in an eventual string of 16 straight chart-toppers in as many single releases, dating between 1967 and 1971.

Other artists

Mindy Carson had a chart version of the song in 1957.

Sam Cooke included this song on his 1961 album, My Kind of Blues .

The Spencer Davis Group recorded a version on their second UK album The Second Album (1966), Fontana TL5295.

Country-Tejano artist Freddy Fender had a major country hit in the mid-1970s with a Spanish version of the song, "Desde Que Conozco", which featured in John Sayles's 1996 movie, Lone Star .

Countless other artists have recorded "Since I Met You Baby," and they represented a wide range of genres. A partial listing includes Neil Young, Pat Boone, Sandy Posey, Bill Anderson, Paul Evans, Mickey Gilley, Bruce Channel, Sam Cooke, Willy DeVille, José Feliciano, Oscar Harris, Narvel Felts, B.B. King, Wanda Jackson, Solomon Burke, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dean Martin, Lou Rawls, Gary Moore, Bobby Vee, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, and Johnny "Guitar" Watson. [4]

Chart performance

Ivory Joe Hunter

Chart (1956)Peak
position
U.S. Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles1
U.S. Billboard Hot 10012

Mindy Carson

Chart (1956)Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 10034

Bobby Vee

Chart (1960)Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 10081

Sonny James

Chart (1969)Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles [5] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 10065
Canadian RPM Top Country Singles3
Canadian RPM Top Singles79
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary38

Freddy Fender

Chart (1975)Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles10
U.S. Billboard Hot 10045
Canadian RPM Top Singles52

B.B. King And Gary Moore

Chart (1992)Peak
position
U.K. Singles Charts59

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonny James</span> American country music singer-songwriter (1928–2016)

Jimmie Hugh Loden, known professionally as Sonny James, was an American country music singer and songwriter best known for his 1957 hit, "Young Love", topping both the Billboard Hot Country and Billboard's Disk Jockey singles charts. Dubbed the "Southern Gentleman" for his congenial manner, his greatest success came from ballads about the trials of love. James had 72 country and pop charted releases from 1953 to 1983, including an unprecedented five-year streak of 16 straight Billboard Hot Country No. 1 singles among his 26 Billboard Hot Country No. 1 hits. From 1964 to 1976, James placed 21 of his albums in the Top 10 of Billboard Top Country Albums. James was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1961 and co-hosted the first Country Music Association Awards Show in 1967. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007.


"I Almost Lost My Mind" is a popular song written by Ivory Joe Hunter and published in 1950. Hunter's recording of the song was a number one hit on the US Billboard R&B singles chart in that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivory Joe Hunter</span> American singer-songwriter (1914–1974)

Ivory Joe Hunter was an American rhythm-and-blues singer, songwriter, and pianist. After a series of hits on the US R&B chart starting in the mid-1940s, he became more widely known for his hit recording "Since I Met You Baby" (1956). He was billed as The Baron of the Boogie, and also known as The Happiest Man Alive. His musical output ranged from R&B to blues, boogie-woogie, and country music, and Hunter made a name in all of those genres. Uniquely, he was honored at both the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Grand Ole Opry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Hear You Knocking</span> Song first recorded by Smiley Lewis

"I Hear You Knocking" is a rhythm and blues song written by Dave Bartholomew. New Orleans rhythm and blues singer Smiley Lewis first recorded the song in 1955. The lyrics tell of the return of a former lover who is rebuffed.

Delbert McClinton is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist.

<i>A Night in San Francisco</i> 1994 live album by Van Morrison

A Night in San Francisco is a live album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1994. Guest artists were Candy Dulfer, John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells and Jimmy Witherspoon as well as Morrison's daughter, Shana Morrison. James Hunter and Brian Kennedy helped out with the vocals and Georgie Fame was also present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Lynn</span> American rhythm and blues and electric blues guitarist and singer

Barbara Lynn is an American rhythm and blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. She is best known for her R&B chart-topping hit, "You'll Lose a Good Thing" (1962). In 2018, Lynn received a National Heritage Fellowship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lovesick Blues</span> 1949 single by Hank Williams

"Lovesick Blues" is a Tin Pan Alley song, composed by Cliff Friend, with lyrics by Irving Mills. It first appeared in the 1922 musical "Oh, Ernest", and was recorded that year by Elsie Clark and Jack Shea. Emmett Miller recorded it in 1925 and 1928, followed by country music singer Rex Griffin in 1939. The recordings by Griffin and Miller inspired Hank Williams to perform the song during his first appearances on the Louisiana Hayride radio show in 1948. Receiving an enthusiastic reception from the audience, Williams decided to record his own version despite initial push back from his producer Fred Rose and his band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Send Me</span> 1957 single by Sam Cooke

"You Send Me" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer Sam Cooke, released as a single in 1957 by Keen Records. Produced by Bumps Blackwell and arranged and conducted by René Hall. The song, Cooke's debut single, was a massive commercial success, becoming a No. 1 hit on both Billboard's Rhythm & Blues Records chart and the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baby, Please Don't Go</span> Traditional blues standard

"Baby, Please Don't Go" is a traditional blues song that was popularized by Delta blues musician Big Joe Williams in 1935. Many cover versions followed, leading to its description as "one of the most played, arranged, and rearranged pieces in blues history" by French music historian Gérard Herzhaft.

"When Something Is Wrong with My Baby" is a classic hit song, a soul ballad, written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter. It was first released in 1967 by Sam & Dave on Stax Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Red Rooster</span> Blues standard credited to Willie Dixon

"Little Red Rooster" is a blues standard credited to arranger and songwriter Willie Dixon. The song was first recorded in 1961 by American blues musician Howlin' Wolf in the Chicago blues style. His vocal and slide guitar playing are key elements of the song. It is rooted in the Delta blues tradition and the theme is derived from folklore. Musical antecedents to "Little Red Rooster" appear in earlier songs by blues artists Charlie Patton and Memphis Minnie.

Since I Met You Baby can refer to one of two things:

"Oh Baby Don't You Weep" is a song recorded in 1964 by James Brown and The Famous Flames. Based upon the spiritual "Mary Don't You Weep", it was recorded as an extended-length track and released as the first two-part single of Brown's recording career. It peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at #4 on the Cash Box R&B Chart.. It was the last original song featuring the Famous Flames to chart, not counting the 1964 re-release of "Please, Please, Please" and the 1966 B-side release of the Live at the Apollo performance of "I'll Go Crazy".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lonely Teardrops</span> 1958 single by Jackie Wilson

"Lonely Teardrops" is a song written by Berry Gordy Jr., Gwen Gordy and Roquel "Billy" Davis, first recorded and released as a single in 1958 by R&B singer Jackie Wilson, on the Brunswick label. The single was commercially successful, reaching the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100, and number-one on the R&B chart. It is ranked as the 57th biggest U.S. hit of 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue on Black</span> 1998 single by Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band

"Blue on Black" is a song by American blues rock group Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band. Written by Shepherd with Mark Selby and Tia Sillers, it was originally released on their second studio album, Trouble Is... (1997). In 1998, the song was released as a single and reached the top position on the US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Glover</span> American songwriter, arranger, record producer and trumpet player

Henry Bernard Glover was an American songwriter, arranger, record producer and trumpet player. In the music industry of the time, Glover was one of the most successful and influential black executives. He gained eminence in the late 1940s, primarily working for the independent King label. His duties included operating as a producer, arranger, songwriter, engineer, trumpet player, talent scout, A&R man, studio constructor, while later in his career he became the owner of his own label. Glover worked with country, blues, R&B, pop, rock, and jazz musicians, and he helped King Records to become one of the largest independent labels of its time. Thanks to the efforts of family, friends and fans, Glover's hometown of Hot Springs, Arkansas celebrated the 100th anniversary of his birth in 2021 by inducting him into the downtown "Walk of Fame," the Mayor's "Proclamation," "Key to the City," and named a parklet "Henry Glover Way," along Black Broadway after him. In 2018, Glover was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the King Records 75th Anniversary. In 2013, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Lyle</span> Musical artist

Graham Hamilton Lyle is a Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer.

References

  1. "Since I Met You Baby - Ivory Joe Hunter | Song Info | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  2. Marsh, D. (1999). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Da Capo Press. p. 344. ISBN   9780306809019 . Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  3. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1958-01-13. p.  40. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved 2014-10-12.
  4. "Search for "since i met you baby"". AllMusic . Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 172.