| "The Sky Is Crying" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by Elmore James | |
| B-side | "Held My Baby Last Night" |
| Released | March 1960 |
| Recorded | Chicago, November 3 or 4, 1959 |
| Genre | Blues |
| Length | 2:47 |
| Label | Fire |
| Songwriter(s) | Elmore James [1] |
| Producer(s) | Bobby Robinson |
"The Sky Is Crying" is a blues standard written and initially recorded by Elmore James in 1959. Called "one of his most durable compositions", [2] "The Sky Is Crying" became a R&B record chart hit and has been interpreted and recorded by numerous artists.
"The Sky Is Crying" is a slow-tempo twelve-bar blues notated in 12/8 time in the key of C. [3] It is an impromptu song inspired by a Chicago downpour during the recording session: [2]
The sky is crying, look at the tears roll down the street (2×)
I'm waiting in tears looking for my baby, and I wonder where can she be?
The songs features prominent slide guitar by James with his vocals, accompanied by his longtime backing band, the Broomdusters: J. T. Brown on saxophone, Johnny Jones on piano, Odie Payne on drums, and Homesick James on bass. James' unique slide guitar sound on the recording has generated some debate; Homesick James attributed it to a recording studio technique, others have suggested a different amplifier or guitar setup, and Ry Cooder felt that it was an altogether different guitar than James' usual Kay acoustic with an attached pickup. [4]
The single, with the artist credit "Elmo James and His Broomdusters", reached number 15 on Billboard magazine's Hot R&B Sides chart in 1960, [5] making it James' last chart showing before his death in 1963. James recorded a variation of the song, "The Sun Is Shining", in April 1960, [6] five months after the recording date of "The Sky Is Crying" (although some places "Sun" as a precursor to "Sky", [7] possibly because the bulk of James' recordings for Fire/Fury/Enjoy took place after the Chess recordings).
"The Sky Is Crying" is identified as a blues standard [8] and in 1991, James' original was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in the "Classics of Blues Recordings" category. [9] Record producer Bobby Robinson noted that the song is "a magnificent vehicle both for Elmore's emotion-packed blues vocal and his ringing slide guitar". [9]
In 1969, Albert King recorded "The Sky Is Crying" for the album Years Gone By . [10] Unlike James' who played it with a slide, King used a fretted approach on guitar. Stevie Ray Vaughan later performed the song regularly as an apparent tribute to King. [11] He and his backing band, Double Trouble, recorded versions during the sessions for their 1984 album Couldn't Stand the Weather and 1985's Soul to Soul . [12] Neither was released until the posthumous compilations Blues at Sunrise (2000) and The Sky Is Crying (1991), respectively. [12] [11] Critic Dan Forte noted, "Stevie tips his Clint Eastwood hat to two of his idols: Elmore James, who wrote the tune, and Albert King, who also recorded it, and whose influence is evident in every lick and bend here [on the 1991 release]." [11]
Eric Clapton played a version of the song at a small live show at RD Studios in Park Royal, London on Dec. 8, 2023. The album, "To Save A Child: An Intimate Live Concert [13] ," was released digitally on April 26, 2024. The proceeds benefit children in Gaza.
Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that reflect characteristics of the human singing voice. It typically involves playing the guitar in the traditional position with the use of a slide fitted on one of the guitarist's fingers. The slide may be a metal or glass tube, such as the neck of a bottle, giving rise to the term bottleneck guitar to describe this type of playing. The strings are typically plucked while the slide is moved over the strings to change the pitch. The guitar may be placed on the player's lap and played with a hand-held bar.
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. His slide guitar technique earned him the nickname "King of the Slide Guitar".
Stephen Ray Vaughan was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians in the history of blues music, and one of the greatest guitarists of all time. He was the younger brother of guitarist Jimmie Vaughan.
Blues rock is a fusion genre and form of rock music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock. From its beginnings in the early to mid-1960s, blues rock has gone through several stylistic shifts and along the way it inspired and influenced hard rock, Southern rock, and early heavy metal.
Albert Nelson, known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps best known for his popular and influential album Born Under a Bad Sign (1967) and its title track. He, B.B. King, and Freddie King, all unrelated, were known as the "Kings of the Blues". The left-handed Albert King was known for his "deep, dramatic sound that was widely imitated by both blues and rock guitarists".
Homesick James was an American blues musician known for his mastery of the slide guitar. He worked with his cousin, Elmore James, and with Sonny Boy Williamson II.
Years Gone By is the third studio album by Albert King, released by Stax Records in 1969. In the same year, the album reached number 46 on Billboard R&B Albums chart and number 133 on Billboard 200.
The Sky Is Crying is the fifth and final studio album by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, compiling songs recorded throughout most of their career. Released 14 months after Vaughan's death in 1990, the album features ten previously unreleased tracks recorded between 1984 and 1989. Only one title, "Empty Arms", appeared on any of the group's previous albums. The tracks were compiled by Vaughan's brother, Jimmie Vaughan, and was Vaughan's highest charting album at number 10.
In the Beginning is the second live album by Stevie (Ray) Vaughan and Double Trouble. While the album was released about two years after Vaughan's death in 1990, the actual performance took place on April 1, 1980, at Steamboat 1874 in Austin, Texas, and was broadcast live on KLBJ-FM radio. A 25-year-old Vaughan, still more than three years away from the release of his first studio album, performs with his "Double Trouble" bandmates: Chris Layton, drummer, and Jackie Newhouse, bassist.
"Cross Road Blues" is a song written by the American blues artist Robert Johnson. He performed it solo with his vocal and acoustic slide guitar in the Delta blues style. The song has become part of the Robert Johnson mythology as referring to the place where he sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for musical genius. This is based largely on folklore of the American South that identifies a crossroads as the site where Faustian bargains can be made, as the lyrics do not contain any references to Satan.
"Dust My Broom" is a blues song originally recorded as "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom" by American blues artist Robert Johnson in 1936. It is a solo performance in the Delta blues-style with Johnson's vocal accompanied by his acoustic guitar. As with many of his songs, it is based on earlier blues songs, the earliest of which has been identified as "I Believe I'll Make a Change", recorded by the Sparks brothers as "Pinetop and Lindberg" in 1932. Johnson's guitar work features an early use of a boogie rhythm pattern, which is seen as a major innovation, as well as a repeating triplets figure.
"One Way Out" is a blues song that was recorded in the early 1960s by both Sonny Boy Williamson II and Elmore James. A reworking of the song by G. L. Crockett, titled "It's a Man Down Here", appeared on the Billboard record charts in 1965. In 1971, the Allman Brothers Band recorded an updated live version of the song, which was included on their popular Eat a Peach album (1972).
Stevie Ray Vaughan was an American blues rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and the frontman for the band Double Trouble. He is often regarded as one of the greatest guitarists and blues musicians of all time. During his career, he released four studio albums, one live album, and several singles.
"Madison Blues" is a blues song by American blues musician Elmore James. It is an upbeat Chicago-style shuffle featuring James' amplified slide guitar and vocal. He recorded it in 1960 for Chess Records, during a session that also produced "Talk to Me Baby" and "The Sun Is Shining", a follow-up to his popular single "The Sky Is Crying".
"Crosscut Saw", or "Cross Cut Saw Blues" as it was first called, is a hokum-style song "that must have belonged to the general repertoire of the Delta blues". Mississippi bluesman Tommy McClennan's recording of the song was released in 1941 and has since been interpreted by many blues artists. "Crosscut Saw" became an early R&B chart hit for Albert King, "who made it one of the necessary pieces of modern blues".
"Look on Yonder Wall" is a blues song first recorded in 1945 by James "Beale Street" Clark. Clark, also known as "Memphis Jimmy", was a blues pianist from Memphis, Tennessee. During the 1940s, he appeared on recordings by Jazz Gillum, Red Nelson, and an early Muddy Waters session, as well as several singles in his own name.
"Shake Your Moneymaker" or "Shake Your Money Maker" is a song recorded by Elmore James in 1961 that has become one of his best-known pieces. Inspired by earlier songs, it has been interpreted and recorded by several blues and other artists.
"I Can't Hold Out", also known as "Talk to Me Baby", is a blues song written by Willie Dixon and recorded by Elmore James in 1960 for the Chess label. Called a classic and a "popular James standard", it has been interpreted and recorded by several artists.
Elmore James was an American blues slide guitarist and singer who recorded from 1951 until 1963. His most famous song, "Dust My Broom", an electrified adaptation of a Robert Johnson tune, was his first hit and features one of the most identifiable slide guitar figures in blues. James' composition "The Sky Is Crying" and his rendition of Tampa Red's "It Hurts Me Too" were among his most successful singles on the record charts. Other popular James songs, such as "I Can't Hold Out", ""Madison Blues", "Shake Your Moneymaker", "Bleeding Heart", and "One Way Out", have been recorded by several other artists, including Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix, and the Allman Brothers Band.
"I Must Have Done Somebody Wrong" is a blues song written and recorded by Eddie Kirkland in 1959. Using the same lyrics but modifying aspects of the music, Elmore James recorded it as "Done Somebody Wrong" in 1960; he took sole writing credit for it and it came to be known as an Elmore James song. "Done Somebody Wrong" was interpreted by the Allman Brothers Band in 1971 and featured on their classic live album At Fillmore East. As Billboard magazine has stated, the song became "more associated with the Allmans than with James in the end."
