One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
Encyclopedia
"One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" or "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer" is a call and response
blues song written by Rudy Toombs
and recorded by Amos Milburn
in 1953. It is one of several drinking songs recorded by Milburn in the early 1950s that placed in the top ten of the Billboard R&B chart. Other artists have popularized the song, including John Lee Hooker
in 1966 and George Thorogood
in 1977.
The song was a hit, reaching #2 in the R&B chart during a fourteen-week stay in 1953. The single lists the performers as "Amos Milburn and His Aladdin Chickenshackers" after his first #1 single "Chicken Shack Boogie
". Mickey Baker
provided the guitar parts. Several of Milburn's contemporaries commented on his indulgence; for his part, Milburn added "I practiced what I preached".
Hooker's version is notated as a medium tempo blues with a irregular number of bars in 4/4 time in the key of E. It was recorded in Chicago in 1966 with Hooker (vocal and guitar), Lafayette Leake
(piano), Eddie "Guitar" Burns
(guitar), Fred Below
(drums), and an unknown bass player. The song was released on Hooker's 1966 The Real Folk Blues
album and he later recorded several live versions of the song.
to explain the singer's situation. "House Rent Boogie" is written in the first person
and details the events that transpire after the singer has lost his job. Unable to pay his rent, he tries to get accommodations with a friend, but fails. Lying to his landlady that he has obtained a new job, he gets access to his room and removes all his belongings. He then goes down to a tavern and orders the three alcoholic drinks to help him forget his sorrows.
Call and response (music)
In music, a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first...
blues song written by Rudy Toombs
Rudy Toombs
Rudolph "Rudy" Toombs , born in Monroe, Louisiana, was an American black songwriter who wrote "Teardrops from My Eyes", Ruth Brown's first number one R&B successful song...
and recorded by Amos Milburn
Amos Milburn
Amos Milburn was an African American rhythm and blues singer and pianist, popular during the 1940s and 1950s...
in 1953. It is one of several drinking songs recorded by Milburn in the early 1950s that placed in the top ten of the Billboard R&B chart. Other artists have popularized the song, including John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John 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...
in 1966 and George Thorogood
George Thorogood
George Thorogood is an American blues rock vocalist/guitarist from Wilmington, Delaware, United States, known for his hit song "Bad to the Bone" as well as for covers of blues standards such as Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" and John Lee Hooker's "House Rent Boogie/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One...
in 1977.
Original song
Amos Milburn's "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer" is a mid-tempo blues song with pop-style chord changes. It tells the story of a man who is "in a bar at closing time trying to get enough booze down his neck to forget that his girlfriend's gone AWOL, harassing a tired, bored bartender who simply wants to close up and go home into serving just one more round". During the one break in the song, Milburn implores the bartender:- One more nip and make it strong
- I got to find my baby if it takes all night long
- One scotch, one bourbon, one beer...
The song was a hit, reaching #2 in the R&B chart during a fourteen-week stay in 1953. The single lists the performers as "Amos Milburn and His Aladdin Chickenshackers" after his first #1 single "Chicken Shack Boogie
Chicken Shack Boogie
"Chicken Shack Boogie" is a 1948 jump-boogie style song by West Coast blues artist Amos Milburn. It was the first of four number-one hits on the R&B chart by Milburn. The single's B-side, "It Took a Long, Long Time", also appeared in the chart, where it reached number nine....
". Mickey Baker
Mickey Baker
Mickey Baker, also known as Mickey "Guitar" Baker is an American guitarist...
provided the guitar parts. Several of Milburn's contemporaries commented on his indulgence; for his part, Milburn added "I practiced what I preached".
John Lee Hooker version
John Lee Hooker recorded the song as "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" in 1966. Hooker transformed Milburn's song "into a vehicle for himself". He used the storyline and chorus (but altered the order), but "edited the verse down to its essentials, filled in the gaps with narrative and dialogue, and set the whole thing to a rocking cross between South Side shuffle and signature boogie". Part of Hooker's narrative included:- And then I sit there, drinkin', gettin' high, mellow, knocked out, feelin' good
- About that time I looked on the wall, at the old clock on the wall
- About that time it was ten-thirty then, I looked down the bar at the bartender, he said
- "What do you want down there?", one bourbon, one scotch, and one beer...
Hooker's version is notated as a medium tempo blues with a irregular number of bars in 4/4 time in the key of E. It was recorded in Chicago in 1966 with Hooker (vocal and guitar), Lafayette Leake
Lafayette Leake
Lafayette Leake was a blues and jazz pianist, organist, vocalist and composer who played for Chess Records as a session musician, and as a member of the Big Three Trio, during the formative years of Chicago blues. He played piano on many of Chuck Berry's recordings.-Biography:Leake was born in...
(piano), Eddie "Guitar" Burns
Eddie "Guitar" Burns
Eddie "Guitar" Burns is an American Detroit blues guitarist, harmonica player, singer and songwriter...
(guitar), Fred Below
Fred Below
Fred Below was a leading blues drummer, best known for his innovative work with Little Walter and Chess Records in the 1950s. Nobody laid more of the Chicago blues rhythmic foundations, particularly its archetypal backbeat, than Fred Below.-Career:He was born in Chicago, and started playing drums...
(drums), and an unknown bass player. The song was released on Hooker's 1966 The Real Folk Blues
The Real Folk Blues
The Real Folk Blues is a series of blues compilation albums released between 1965 and 1967 by Chess Records, and distributed by MCA Records. Each album in the series highlighted the music of one major Chess artist, including John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Sonny Boy Williamson II...
album and he later recorded several live versions of the song.
George Thorogood version
George Thorogood recorded "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" for his 1977 debut album, George Thorogood and the Destroyers. His version is actually a medley of the song and another Hooker recording, "House Rent Boogie", which serves as a back-storyBack-story
A back-story, background story, or backstory is the literary device of a narrative chronologically earlier than, and related to, a narrative of primary interest. Generally, it is the history of characters or other elements that underlie the situation existing at the main narrative's start...
to explain the singer's situation. "House Rent Boogie" is written in the first person
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
and details the events that transpire after the singer has lost his job. Unable to pay his rent, he tries to get accommodations with a friend, but fails. Lying to his landlady that he has obtained a new job, he gets access to his room and removes all his belongings. He then goes down to a tavern and orders the three alcoholic drinks to help him forget his sorrows.
Other versions
- Thurston HarrisThurston HarrisThurston Harris was a male American singer, briefly popular in the early to mid 1950s.-Career:Harris first appeared on record as the featured vocalist recording with the Lamplighters in 1953 one of the many groups on the early R&B scene in South Central Los Angeles, during that time. The group...
- 1960 - titled as "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer", released as a single, with "Send Me Some Loving" as the B-side. - Champion Jack DupreeChampion Jack DupreeWilliam Thomas Dupree, best known as Champion Jack Dupree, was an American blues pianist. His birth date is disputed, given as July 4, July 10, and July 23, in the years 1908, 1909, or 1910. He died on January 21, 1992.-Biography:...
- titled as "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer" released on The Sonet Blues Story in 2006. - The Casey Sisters And The Salt Flat Stompers - titled as "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer".
- Swing Cats - 2006 - titled as "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer", released on Swing Cat Stomp album.
- Zakiya Hooker (John Lee Hooker's daughter) - titled as "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer"
- Alexis Korner released a version of the song on his album Accidentally born in New Orleans.
- Will SchuesterWill SchuesterWilliam "Will" Schuester, often referred to as Mr. Schue, is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Matthew Morrison and has appeared in Glee since its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Will was developed by Glee...
(played by Matthew MorrisonMatthew MorrisonMatthew James "Matt" Morrison is an American actor, director, musician, and singer-songwriter. He is best known for starring in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including his portrayal of Link Larkin in Hairspray on Broadway, and most notably for his Emmy and Golden Globe nominated...
) and Shannon Beiste (played by Dot-Marie Jones) sang the song at a honky tonk bar in the GleeGlee (TV series)Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
episode "Blame It on the AlcoholBlame It on the Alcohol"Blame It on the Alcohol" is the fourteenth episode of the second season of the television series Glee, and the 36th overall. The episode was written by Ian Brennan, directed by Eric Stoltz and first aired in the United States on Fox on February 22, 2011...
."