Rock Me Baby (song)
Encyclopedia
"Rock Me Baby" is a blues standard
that has become one of the most recorded blues
songs of all time. When B.B. King released "Rock Me Baby" in 1964, it became a Top 40 hit reaching #34 in the Billboard Hot 100
. The song is based on earlier blues songs and has been interpreted and recorded by a variety of artists.
5113). 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, whereas "Rock Me Baby" is an ensemble piece.
Muddy Waters
' song "Rock Me", recorded in 1956 (Chess
1652), is also based on Jackson's song. Some of Jackson's lyrics were used, but Waters incorporated 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 and he interpreted it as an unusual fifteen-bar blues (an uneven number of measures, rather than the traditional twelve bars or somewhat less common eight or sixteen bars). Muddy Waters
recorded a second version of "Rock Me" for his 1978 album I'm Ready
.
Lil' Son Jackson's "Rockin' and Rollin'" was inspired by earlier blues songs. 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'". 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).
, although others have been suggested, such as Lloyd Glenn
and Jimmy McCracklin
. The arrangement "provides a blues structure that allows King room for biting guitar work" and appealed to many guitarists.
There is some confusion as to when B.B. King recorded "Rock Me Baby". Although King had signed to ABC-Paramount Records in January 14, 1962, his former label, Kent Records
, continued to release singles (and albums) well into the 1970s from "many unreleased King masters ... thus forcing King to compete with himself". Recording dates have been estimated as "about 1958" to before 1962. The song was released shortly after King's Paramount release "How Blue Can You Get
" in 1964 and became the first of six
B.B. King records to reach the pop Top 40. In 1997, King re-recorded the song with Eric Clapton
for the album Deuces Wild
.
Some studio versions include Otis Redding
from Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul
(1965), The Animals
from Animalism
(1966), Jeff Beck
as "Rock My Plimsoul" from the Truth album with slightly altered lyrics (1968), Blue Cheer
from Vincebus Eruptum
(1968), Robin Trower
from the album Twice Removed from Yesterday
(1973), Johnny Winter
from Still Alive and Well
(1973), Hot Tuna
from Historic Hot Tuna (1985), Tina Turner
from What's Love Got to Do With It (1993), and Steve Miller Band
from Bingo!
(2010).
Live versions include those by Jimi Hendrix
from Historic Performances Recorded at the Monterey International Pop Festival
(1967, released 1970), Jefferson Airplane
from Bless Its Pointed Little Head
(1968), The Doors
from Live in Detroit
as part of medley with "Heartbreak Hotel
" (1970), Deep Purple
from Made in Europe
as part of medley with "Mistreated" (1976), and The Rolling Stones
from Live Licks
(2003).
Blues standard
A blues standard is a blues song that is widely known, performed, and recorded by blues artists. The following list identifies blues standards and some of the blues artists that have recorded them...
that has become one of the most recorded blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
songs of all time. When B.B. King released "Rock Me Baby" in 1964, it became a Top 40 hit reaching #34 in the Billboard Hot 100
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...
. The song is based on earlier blues songs and has been interpreted and recorded by a variety of artists.
Earlier songs
B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby" is based on "Rockin' and Rollin'", a song recorded by Lil' Son Jackson in 1950 (ImperialImperial Records
Imperial Records is a United States based label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd and reactivated in 2006 by label owner EMI.- The independent and Liberty Records years :...
5113). 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, whereas "Rock Me Baby" is an ensemble piece.
Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
' song "Rock Me", recorded in 1956 (Chess
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
1652), is also based on Jackson's song. Some of Jackson's lyrics were used, but Waters incorporated 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 and he interpreted it as an unusual fifteen-bar blues (an uneven number of measures, rather than the traditional twelve bars or somewhat less common eight or sixteen bars). Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
recorded a second version of "Rock Me" for his 1978 album I'm Ready
I'm Ready (Muddy Waters album)
I'm Ready is a 1978 album by Chicago blues veteran Muddy Waters. The second of Waters' Johnny Winter-produced albums for the Blue Sky Records label, I'm Ready was issued one year after he found renewed commercial and critical success with Hard Again. The album earned Waters a Grammy Award in 1978...
.
Lil' Son Jackson's "Rockin' and Rollin'" was inspired by earlier blues songs. 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'". Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy
Big Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
'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
Okeh Records
Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
6116). Arthur Crudup
Arthur Crudup
Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup was an American Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known outside blues circles for writing songs such as "That's All Right" , "My Baby Left Me" and "So Glad You're Mine", later covered by Elvis Presley and dozens of other artists.-Career:Arthur Crudup...
's 1944 song, "Rock Me Mama". repeats the same refrain as Broonzy, but uses "mama" in place of "baby" (Bluebird
Bluebird Records
Bluebird Records is a sub-label of RCA Victor Records originally created in 1932 to counter the American Record Company in the "3 records for a dollar" market. Along with ARC's Perfect Records, Melotone Records and Romeo Records, and the independent US Decca label, Bluebird became one of the best...
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
Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records is a record label active for many years in the United States and in the United Kingdom.-History:Vocalion was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Piano Company of New York City, which introduced a retail line of phonographs at the same time. The name was derived from one of their...
4693).
B.B. King version
"Rock Me Baby" is a medium-tempo twelve-bar blues notated in the key of C in common or 4/4 time. In addition to King's vocal and guitar, the song features a "tight, punchy arrangement underpinned by a pianist whose identity is in some doubt". Kent part-owner Joe Bihari recalled the pianist as King's frequent collaborator Maxwell DavisMaxwell Davis
Maxwell Davis was an American R&B saxophonist, arranger and record producer.-Biography:Davis was born in Independence, Kansas. In 1937 he moved to Los Angeles, California, playing saxophone in the Fletcher Henderson orchestra...
, although others have been suggested, such as Lloyd Glenn
Lloyd Glenn
Lloyd Glenn was an American R&B pianist, bandleader and arranger, who was a pioneer of the "West Coast" blues style.-Career:...
and Jimmy McCracklin
Jimmy McCracklin
Jimmy McCracklin is an American pianist, vocalist, and songwriter. His style contains West Coast blues, Jump blues, and R&B. Over a career that has spanned seven decades, he says he has written almost a thousand songs and has recorded hundreds of them...
. The arrangement "provides a blues structure that allows King room for biting guitar work" and appealed to many guitarists.
There is some confusion as to when B.B. King recorded "Rock Me Baby". Although King had signed to ABC-Paramount Records in January 14, 1962, his former label, Kent Records
Kent Records
Kent Records was a Los Angeles based record label, launched in the 1960s by the Bihari brothers. It was a follow up to the bankrupted Modern Records and reissued Modern's records. It was later bought by Ace Records, England, which used the label name to release Northern Soul records.The label...
, continued to release singles (and albums) well into the 1970s from "many unreleased King masters ... thus forcing King to compete with himself". Recording dates have been estimated as "about 1958" to before 1962. The song was released shortly after King's Paramount release "How Blue Can You Get
How Blue Can You Get
"How Blue Can You Get" is a song that is a classic of the blues. A slow twelve-bar blues, the song is credited to jazz critic Leonard Feather and his wife, Jane Feather. It has been recorded by several blues and other artists; in 1964, it was a hit for B.B...
" in 1964 and became the first of six
B.B. King records to reach the pop Top 40. In 1997, King re-recorded the song with Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
for the album Deuces Wild
Deuces Wild (album)
Deuces Wild is a celebrity duet album by B. B. King, released on November 4, 1997.- Track listing :#"If You Love Me" - 5:48#"The Thrill Is Gone" - 5:00#"Rock Me Baby" - 6:38...
.
Other versions
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."Some studio versions include Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
from Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul
Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul
Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul is the third studio album by soul singer Otis Redding, released September 15, 1965 on Stax Records. Most recording sessions took place in April and July 1965 at Stax Recording Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. The album is considered by many critics to be Redding's...
(1965), The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
from Animalism
Animalism (album)
Animalism is a blues rock album by The Animals, released in November 1966. The album includes a collaboration with Frank Zappa , with covers of B.B. King, Ray Charles and Sam Cooke....
(1966), Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
as "Rock My Plimsoul" from the Truth album with slightly altered lyrics (1968), Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer was an American psychedelic blues-rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009...
from Vincebus Eruptum
Vincebus Eruptum
-Personnel:Blue Cheer*Dickie Peterson – vocals, bass*Leigh Stephens – guitar*Paul Whaley – drumsAdditional personnel*Abe "Voco" Kesh – production*John MacQuarrie – engineering*John Van Hamersveld – photography...
(1968), Robin Trower
Robin Trower
Robin Leonard Trower , known professionally as Robin Trower, is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum during the 1960s, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio.-Biography:...
from the album Twice Removed from Yesterday
Twice Removed from Yesterday
Twice Removed from Yesterday is guitarist and songwriter Robin Trower's first solo album. It was released in 1973. Cover art is by "Funky" Paul Olsen...
(1973), Johnny Winter
Johnny Winter
John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters...
from Still Alive and Well
Still Alive and Well
Still Alive and Well is the fifth studio album by Johnny Winter, released in 1973.- Track listing :#"Rock Me Baby" - 3:49#"Can't You Feel It" - 3:01#"Cheap Tequila" - 4:05...
(1973), Hot Tuna
Hot Tuna
Hot Tuna is an American blues-rock band formed by bassist Jack Casady and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen as a spin-off of Jefferson Airplane. It plays acoustic and electric versions of original and traditional blues songs.- Jefferson Airplane side project :...
from Historic Hot Tuna (1985), Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
from What's Love Got to Do With It (1993), and Steve Miller Band
Steve Miller Band
The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1967 in San Francisco, California. The band is managed by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals, and is known for a string of mid-1970s hit singles that are staples of the classic rock radio format.-History:In 1965, Steve Miller and...
from Bingo!
Bingo!
Bingo! is an album by the Steve Miller Band released on June 15, 2010.The album is the first studio release by the band since 1993's Wide River. It was recorded alongside a second album which was released 10 months later. The album is dedicated in memory of Norton Buffalo, who died on October 30,...
(2010).
Live versions include those by Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
from Historic Performances Recorded at the Monterey International Pop Festival
Historic Performances Recorded at the Monterey International Pop Festival
-Personnel:The Jimi Hendrix Experience:*Jimi Hendrix – guitar, vocals*Noel Redding – bass*Mitch Mitchell – drumsOtis Redding:*Otis Redding – vocals*Booker T. Jones – organ*Steve Cropper – guitar*Donald "Duck" Dunn – bass guitar*Al Jackson, Jr...
(1967, released 1970), Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
from Bless Its Pointed Little Head
Bless Its Pointed Little Head
Bless Its Pointed Little Head is a live album by Jefferson Airplane recorded at both the Fillmore East and West in the fall of 1968 and released in 1969. Five songs on the album had not appeared on any of the band's previous studio recordings. The songs that did appear on previous albums, however,...
(1968), The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
from Live in Detroit
Live in Detroit (The Doors album)
Live in Detroit is a double live album by American rock band The Doors. The tracks were recorded on May 8, 1970 at Cobo Arena in Detroit. It is one of the first releases from the Bright Midnight Archives. The album is spread out over two CDs. It is widely regarded as one of the best and longest...
as part of medley with "Heartbreak Hotel
Heartbreak Hotel
"Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American rock and roll musician Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. His first number-one pop record, "Heartbreak Hotel" topped Billboards Top 100 chart, became his first...
" (1970), Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
from Made in Europe
Made in Europe
Made in Europe is a live album released by Deep Purple, recorded on the final dates in 1975 on which Ritchie Blackmore was a member of Deep Purple. It was released in 1976 after the group broke up....
as part of medley with "Mistreated" (1976), and The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
from Live Licks
Live Licks
Live Licks is a double live album by The Rolling Stones and was released in 2004. Coming six years after No Security, this seventh official Rolling Stones full-length live release captures performances from the band's year-long 2002–2003 Licks Tour in support of their career-spanning retrospective...
(2003).