Shake Down (album)
Encyclopedia
Shake Down is the debut studio album by the British rock band Savoy Brown
. It was released in 1967 (on Decca) and is mainly an album of covers, featuring three songs penned by blues singer Willie Dixon
. In addition to Dixon, the band covers John Lee Hooker
and B.B. King.
Savoy Brown
Savoy Brown, originally known as the Savoy Brown Blues Band, are a British blues rock band, formed in 1965, in Battersea, South West London...
. It was released in 1967 (on Decca) and is mainly an album of covers, featuring three songs penned by blues singer Willie Dixon
Willie Dixon
William 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...
. In addition to Dixon, the band covers 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...
and B.B. King.
Track listing
- "I Ain't SuperstitiousI Ain't Superstitious"I Ain't Superstitious" is a song written by bluesman Willie Dixon and first recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1961. It recounts various superstitions, including that of a black cat crossing the pathway...
" (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...
) – 3:25 - "Let Me Love You Baby" (Willie Dixon) – 3:00
- "Black NightBlack Night (Charles Brown song)"Black Night" is a 1951 song by Charles Brown. The single was the second of two chart entries to make it to number one on the U.S. R&B chart.-References:...
" (Jesse Mae Robinson) – 4:47 - "High Rise" (Beverly Bridge, Sonny ThompsonSonny ThompsonSonny Thompson was an American R&B bandleader and pianist, popular in the 1940s and 1950s.Born Alfonso Thompson in Centreville, Mississippi, he began recording in 1946, and in 1948 achieved two #1 R&B chart hits on the Miracle label – "Long Gone " and "Late Freight", both featuring saxophonist...
, Freddie KingFreddie KingFreddie King , thought to have been born as Frederick Christian, originally recording as Freddy King, and nicknamed "the Texas Cannonball", was an influential African-American blues guitarist and singer. He is often mentioned as one of "the Three Kings" of electric blues guitar, along with Albert...
) – 2:44 - "Rock Me BabyRock Me Baby (song)"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...
" (B.B. King, Joe JoseaBihari brothersThe Bihari Brothers, Lester, Jules, Saul and Joe, were American music entrepreneurs and the founders of Modern Records in Los Angeles and its subsidiaries such as Meteor Records based in Memphis.-Origins:...
) – 2:56 - "I Smell Trouble" (Deadric MaloneDon RobeyDon Robey was an American record label executive, songwriter and record producer, who used criminal means as part of his business model...
) – 4:28 - "Oh! Pretty Woman" (Albert KingAlbert KingAlbert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
) – 2:28 - "Little Girl" (Willie Dixon) – 1:38
- "The Doormouse Rides the Rails" (Martin StoneMartin Stone (guitarist)Martin Stone is an English guitarist and book antiquarian. A longtime resident of Fingest in Buckinghamshire, he currently lives in Paris.-Musical career:...
) – 3:32 - "It's My Own Fault" (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...
) – 4:55 - "Shake 'Em on DownShake 'Em on Down"Shake 'Em on Down" is a country-style blues song recorded by Bukka White in 1937. It is his best-known song and "became part of the repertoire of Chicago blues".-Background:...
" (traditional, arranged by Savoy Brown and Bob Hall) – 6:00
Savoy Brown
- Bryce Portius – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
- Kim SimmondsKim SimmondsKim Simmonds is a Welsh guitarist, now residing in New York and best known as leader and founding member of the blues/rock band Savoy Brown.-Career:...
– lead and rhythm guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Martin StoneMartin Stone (guitarist)Martin Stone is an English guitarist and book antiquarian. A longtime resident of Fingest in Buckinghamshire, he currently lives in Paris.-Musical career:...
– lead and rhythm guitar - Ray Chappell – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Leo Mannings – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
Additional Musicians
- Bob Hall – pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
on "I Ain't Superstitious", "Little Girl", "Shake 'em on Down"