Bewildered
Encyclopedia
"Bewildered" is a popular song written in 1936 by Teddy Powell
and Leonard Whitcup. It was a 1938 hit for Tommy Dorsey
and His Orchestra, and was also recorded by Mildred Bailey
in the same year. The song was revived in the late forties when two different versions, by the Red Miller
Trio and Amos Milburn
respectively, reached number one on the R&B chart in 1948. Both these versions departed significantly from the original published melody
and neither version made the pop chart
"Bewildered" is a popular song written in 1936 by Teddy Powell
and Leonard Whitcup. It was a 1938 hit for Tommy Dorsey
and His Orchestra, and was also recorded by Mildred Bailey
in the same year. The song was revived in the late forties when two different versions, by the Red Miller
Trio and Amos Milburn
respectively, reached number one on the R&B chart in 1948. Both these versions departed significantly from the original published melody
and neither version made the pop chart
"Bewildered" is a popular song written in 1936 by Teddy Powell
and Leonard Whitcup. It was a 1938 hit for Tommy Dorsey
and His Orchestra, and was also recorded by Mildred Bailey
in the same year. The song was revived in the late forties when two different versions, by the Red Miller
Trio and Amos Milburn
respectively, reached number one on the R&B chart in 1948. Both these versions departed significantly from the original published melody
and neither version made the pop chart. "Bewildered" was subsequently recorded by several other R&B performers, including Billy Eckstine
and The Ink Spots
, with Eckstine's version reaching #4 R&B and #27 pop
. A decade later it was recorded by Mickey & Sylvia
, again with an altered melody similar to the Red Miller Trio recording.
and The Famous Flames
recorded "Bewildered" in 1959. Their doo-wop
-tinged rendition was somewhat similar to the Amos Milburn version, with a strong triplet feeling and a heavily melisma
tic vocal line. It was first released as a track on Brown's 1960 album
Think. The following year it was issued as a single
, which reached the R&B Top Ten and became Brown's second single (after "Think") to enter the Pop Top 40 (US Charts: #8 R&B
; #40 Pop
).
"Bewildered" became a staple of Brown's concerts for the rest of his career. It was featured in a medley
on his breakthrough 1963 album Live at the Apollo and appeared on several of his later live album
s, including Love, Power, Peace (1971) and Revolution of the Mind: Recorded Live at the Apollo, Vol. III (1971). He also recorded other studio versions for albums including Prisoner of Love (1963) and Sex Machine
(1970).
and The Famous Flames:
with the James Brown Band:
Teddy Powell
Teddy Powell was an American jazz guitarist, composer and big band leader...
and Leonard Whitcup. It was a 1938 hit for Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
and His Orchestra, and was also recorded by Mildred Bailey
Mildred Bailey
Mildred Bailey was a popular and influential American jazz singer during the 1930s, known as "The Rockin' Chair Lady" and "Mrs. Swing"...
in the same year. The song was revived in the late forties when two different versions, by the Red Miller
Red Miller (singer)
Red Miller was an American R&B singer, who had a # 1 R&B chart hit in 1948 with "Bewildered"....
Trio and Amos Milburn
Amos Milburn
Amos Milburn was an African American rhythm and blues singer and pianist, popular during the 1940s and 1950s...
respectively, reached number one on the R&B chart in 1948. Both these versions departed significantly from the original published melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
and neither version made the pop chart
"Bewildered" is a popular song written in 1936 by Teddy Powell
Teddy Powell
Teddy Powell was an American jazz guitarist, composer and big band leader...
and Leonard Whitcup. It was a 1938 hit for Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
and His Orchestra, and was also recorded by Mildred Bailey
Mildred Bailey
Mildred Bailey was a popular and influential American jazz singer during the 1930s, known as "The Rockin' Chair Lady" and "Mrs. Swing"...
in the same year. The song was revived in the late forties when two different versions, by the Red Miller
Red Miller (singer)
Red Miller was an American R&B singer, who had a # 1 R&B chart hit in 1948 with "Bewildered"....
Trio and Amos Milburn
Amos Milburn
Amos Milburn was an African American rhythm and blues singer and pianist, popular during the 1940s and 1950s...
respectively, reached number one on the R&B chart in 1948. Both these versions departed significantly from the original published melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
and neither version made the pop chart
"Bewildered" is a popular song written in 1936 by Teddy Powell
Teddy Powell
Teddy Powell was an American jazz guitarist, composer and big band leader...
and Leonard Whitcup. It was a 1938 hit for Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
and His Orchestra, and was also recorded by Mildred Bailey
Mildred Bailey
Mildred Bailey was a popular and influential American jazz singer during the 1930s, known as "The Rockin' Chair Lady" and "Mrs. Swing"...
in the same year. The song was revived in the late forties when two different versions, by the Red Miller
Red Miller (singer)
Red Miller was an American R&B singer, who had a # 1 R&B chart hit in 1948 with "Bewildered"....
Trio and Amos Milburn
Amos Milburn
Amos Milburn was an African American rhythm and blues singer and pianist, popular during the 1940s and 1950s...
respectively, reached number one on the R&B chart in 1948. Both these versions departed significantly from the original published melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
and neither version made the pop chart. "Bewildered" was subsequently recorded by several other R&B performers, including Billy Eckstine
Billy Eckstine
William Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
and The Ink Spots
The Ink Spots
The Ink Spots were a popular vocal group in the 1930s and 1940s that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop...
, with Eckstine's version reaching #4 R&B and #27 pop
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. A decade later it was recorded by Mickey & Sylvia
Mickey & Sylvia
Mickey & Sylvia was an American R&B duo, composed of Mickey Baker and Sylvia Robinson. They were the first big seller for Groove Records.Mickey was a music instructor and Sylvia one of his pupils. Baker was inspired to form the group by the success of Les Paul & Mary Ford. They had a Top 20 hit...
, again with an altered melody similar to the Red Miller Trio recording.
James Brown and The Famous Flames version
James BrownJames Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
and The Famous Flames
The Famous Flames
The Famous Flames was an R&B vocal group founded by Bobby Byrd that recorded and performed with James Brown during the early years of his career...
recorded "Bewildered" in 1959. Their doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
-tinged rendition was somewhat similar to the Amos Milburn version, with a strong triplet feeling and a heavily melisma
Melisma
Melisma, in music, is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic, as opposed to syllabic, where each syllable of text is matched to a single note.-History:Music of ancient cultures used...
tic vocal line. It was first released as a track on Brown's 1960 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Think. The following year it was issued as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, which reached the R&B Top Ten and became Brown's second single (after "Think") to enter the Pop Top 40 (US Charts: #8 R&B
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
; #40 Pop
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
).
"Bewildered" became a staple of Brown's concerts for the rest of his career. It was featured in a medley
Medley (music)
In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumental. A medley which is a remixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks...
on his breakthrough 1963 album Live at the Apollo and appeared on several of his later live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
s, including Love, Power, Peace (1971) and Revolution of the Mind: Recorded Live at the Apollo, Vol. III (1971). He also recorded other studio versions for albums including Prisoner of Love (1963) and Sex Machine
Sex Machine (album)
Sex Machine is a 1970 double album by James Brown. It showcases the playing of the original J.B.'s lineup featuring Bootsy and Catfish Collins, and includes an 11-minute rendition of the album's title song. This rendition is different from the original recording of the title song, which was...
(1970).
Personnel
- James Brown - lead vocal
and The Famous Flames:
- Bobby ByrdBobby ByrdBobby Byrd born Robert Howard Byrd was an American funk/soul/R&B/gospel musician, songwriter and record producer. He was born in Toccoa, Georgia, and is a 1998 winner of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's prestigious Pioneer Award...
- vocals, piano - Bobby Bennett - vocals
- "Baby Lloyd" Stallworth - vocals
- Johnny Terry - vocals
- Willie Johnson - vocals
with the James Brown Band:
- George Dorsey - alto saxophone
- J.C. Davis - tenor saxophone
- Bobby Roach - guitar
- Bernard OdumBernard OdumBernard Odum was an US bass guitar player best known for performing in James Brown's band in the 1960s.Odum started playing with Brown in 1956 and became a full-time member of Brown's band in 1958...
- bass - Nat Kendrick - drums