Blues to the Bone
Encyclopedia
Blues to the Bone is a 2004 album by Etta James
. The album contains a selection of twelve blues standards which are among her favourites. James and her sons Donto and Sametto James produced the album, which reached number four in the Billboard
Top Blues chart.
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
. The album contains a selection of twelve blues standards which are among her favourites. James and her sons Donto and Sametto James produced the album, which reached number four in the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Top Blues chart.
Critical reception
Allmusic gave the album a rating of four out of five, calling it "a solid album of no-frills, gutbucket performances".Track listing
- "I Got My Mojo WorkingGot My Mojo Working"Got My Mojo Working" is a 1956 song written by Preston Foster and first recorded by Ann Cole, but popularized by Muddy Waters in 1957. Waters' rendition of the song was featured on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at #359 and was inducted in the Grammy Hall of...
" (Preston Foster) – 3:34 - "Don't Start Me to TalkingDon't Start Me Talkin'"Don't Start Me Talkin" is a song written and performed by Sonny Boy Williamson II...
" (Sonny Boy Williamson IISonny Boy Williamson IIWillie "Sonny Boy" Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, from Mississippi. He is acknowledged as one of the most charismatic and influential blues musicians, with considerable prowess on the harmonica and highly creative songwriting skills...
) – 2:52 - "Hush Hush" (Jimmy ReedJimmy ReedMathis James "Jimmy" Reed was an American blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries...
) – 3:34 - "Lil' Red RoosterLittle Red Rooster"Little Red Rooster" is a song that is a classic of the blues. Howlin' Wolf recorded "The Red Rooster" in 1961, a song credited to blues arranger and songwriter Willie Dixon, although earlier songs have been cited as inspiration...
" (Willie DixonWillie DixonWilliam James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
) – 3:54 - "That's AlrightThat's All Right (Jimmy Rogers song)"That's All Right" or "That's Alright" is a blues song that is "a recognised standard and is widely performed". Based on earlier songs, Chicago blues singer and guitarist Jimmy Rogers recorded "That's All Right" in 1950...
" (Jimmy RogersJimmy RogersJimmy Rogers was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters' band of the 1950s.-Career:...
) – 3:42 - "Crawlin' King Snake" (John Lee HookerJohn Lee HookerJohn Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
) – 5:32 - "Dust My BroomDust My Broom"Dust My Broom" is a blues standard originally recorded as "I Believe I'll Dust My Broom"by Robert Johnson, the Mississippi Delta blues singer and guitarist, on November 23, 1936 in San Antonio, Texas. The song was originally released on 78 rpm format as Vocalion 03475, ARC 7-04-81 and Conqueror 8871...
" (Robert JohnsonRobert JohnsonRobert Leroy Johnson was an American blues singer and musician. His landmark recordings from 1936–37 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced later generations of musicians. Johnson's shadowy, poorly documented life and death at age 27 have given...
) – 3:35 - "The Sky Is CryingThe Sky Is Crying (song)"The Sky Is Crying" is a song that has become a blues standard. The song was written and recorded by Elmore James in 1959. Called "one of his most durable compositions", "The Sky Is Crying" became a R&B record chart hit and has been interpreted and recorded by numerous artists.-Original song:"The...
" (Elmore JamesElmore JamesElmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
) – 3:59 - "Smokestack Lightnin'" (Howlin' WolfHowlin' WolfChester Arthur Burnett , known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....
) – 6:50 - "You Shook MeYou Shook Me"You Shook Me" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon and J. B. Lenoir. Earl Hooker first recorded it as an instrumental which was then overdubbed with vocals by Muddy Waters in 1962....
" (Dixon, J. B. LenoirJ. B. LenoirJ. B. Lenoir /ləˈnɔːr/ was an African American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter, active in the 1950s and 1960s Chicago blues scene....
) – 3:51 - "Driving WheelDriving Wheel (song)"Driving Wheel", also called "Drivin' Wheel" or "Driving Wheel Blues", is blues song recorded by Roosevelt Sykes in 1936...
" (Roosevelt SykesRoosevelt SykesRoosevelt Sykes was an American blues musician, also known as "The Honeydripper". He was a successful and prolific cigar-chomping blues piano player, whose rollicking thundering boogie-woogie was highly influential.-Career:Born in Elmar, Arkansas, Sykes grew up near Helena but at age 15, went on...
) – 2:59 - "Honey, Don't Tear My Clothes" (Lightnin' HopkinsLightnin' HopkinsSam John Hopkins better known as Lightnin’ Hopkins, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist, from Houston, Texas...
) – 3:31
Personnel
- Etta James – vocals
- John "Juke" LoganJohn "Juke" LoganJohn "Juke" Logan is an American electric blues harmonica player, singer, pianist and songwriter. He is best known for his harmonica playing on the theme music for television programs and films...
– harmonica - Josh Sklair, Bobby Murray – guitar
- Brian Ray – guitar, slideguitar
- Sametto James – bass
- Donto Metto James – drums
- Mike Finegan – piano