Sunday, March 28, 2010

Big Mama Thornton - Rock me (Oregon 1971)

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  1. SusanneApril 25, 2010 at 10:51 PM

    Rock Me Baby" is a blues standard that has become one of the most recorded blues songs of all time.[2] In 1964, B. B. King released "Rock Me Baby" and it became a hit. The song reached #34 in the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first of six B. B. King records to make the pop Top 40 (the Billboard R&B chart was suspended from November 1963 to January 1965, so there is no corresponding R&B chart position for "Rock Me Baby" or other songs released during this period).[3]
    B. B. King's "Rock Me Baby" is based on "Rockin' and Rollin'," recorded by Lil' Son Jackson in 1950 (Imperial 5113).[1] King's lyrics are nearly identical to Jackson's, although instrumentally the songs are different. "Rockin' and Rollin'" is a solo piece, with Jackson's vocal and guitar accompaniment, while "Rock Me Baby" has guitar, piano, bass, and drums in addition to King's vocal. Muddy Waters' "Rock Me," recorded in 1956, is also based on Lil' Son Jackson's song (Chess 1652). Some of Jackson's lyrics are used, but Waters incorporates a couple of verses from his 1951 song "All Night Long" (which is also based on "Rockin' and Rollin'") (Chess 1509). Muddy Waters' "Rock Me" also uses Jackson's guitar figure and the starting of the vocal on the IV chord. Also of note on the Waters' version is the fact that he interprets it as an unusual 15 bar blues, an uneven number of measures, rather than the traditional 12 bars or somewhat less common 8 or 16 bars.
    Although Lil' Son Jackson's "Rockin' and Rollin'" is an original work, in the best blues tradition, it borrows from the earlier songs that inspired it.[2] Many songs from the 1920s through the 1940s have some combination of "rock," "roll," 'baby," and "mama" in the title or lyrics, although instrumentally they are different than "Rock Me Baby," "Rock Me," or "Rockin' and Rollin'." [2] Big Bill Broonzy's 1940 song "Rockin' Chair Blues" makes frequent use of the phrase "rock me baby" as in "Rock me baby now, rock me slow . . . now rock me baby, one time before you go" (OKeh 6116). Arthur Crudup's 1944 song, "Rock Me Mama," repeats the same refrain as Broonzy, but uses "mama" in place of "baby" (Bluebird 34-0725). Curtis Jones' 1939 song "Roll Me Mama" shares a couple of phrases ("like a wagon wheel," "ain't got no bone") with "Rockin' and Rollin'" (Vocalion 4693).
    Over the years, many blues and other artists have interpreted and recorded "Rock Me Baby." Although "most contemporary versions are based on Lil' Son Jackson's 1951 record, 'Rockin' and Rollin'," "B. B. King and Muddy Waters can share credit for making it one of the most familiar blues songs of all time."[1]

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