| "Spoonful" |
|
| Single by Howlin' Wolf |
| B-side |
"Howlin' for My Darling" |
| Released |
1960 (1960) |
| Format |
Seven-inch 45 rpm record |
| Recorded |
Chess Studios, Chicago, June 1960 |
| Genre |
Blues |
| Length |
2:45 |
| Label |
Chess (no. 1762) |
| Writer(s) |
Willie Dixon |
| Producer(s) |
Leonard Chess, Phil Chess, Willie Dixon |
| Howlin' Wolf singles chronology |
"I've Been Abused"
(1959) |
"Spoonful"
(1960) |
"Back Door Man"
(1961) |
|
"Spoonful" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon and first recorded in 1960 by Howlin' Wolf. Called "a stark and haunting work",[1] it is one of Dixon's best known and most interpreted songs. Etta James had a pop and R&B record chart hit with "Spoonful" in 1961 and it was popularized in the later 1960s by the British rock group Cream.
Contents
- 1 Background and lyrics
- 2 Composition and recording
- 3 Cream renditions
- 4 Recognition
- 5 Recordings by other artists
- 6 Notes
- 7 References
- 8 External links
Background and lyrics
Dixon's "Spoonful" is loosely based on "A Spoonful Blues", a song recorded in 1929 by Charley Patton (Paramount 12869),[2] which is related to "All I Want Is A Spoonful" by Papa Charlie Jackson (1925) and "Cocaine Blues" by Luke Jordan (1927). The lyrics relate men's sometimes violent search to satisfy their cravings, with "a spoonful" used mostly as a metaphor for pleasures, which have been interpreted as sex, love, or drugs.[3]
- It could be a spoonful of coffee, it could be a spoonful of tea
- But one little spoon of your precious love, is good enough for me
- Men lies about that spoonful, some of them dies about that spoonful
- Some of them cries about that spoonful, but everybody fight about that spoonful
Composition and recording
"Spoonful" has a one-chord, modal blues structure found in other songs Willie Dixon wrote for Howlin' Wolf, such as "Wang Dang Doodle" and "Back Door Man" as well as in Wolf's own "Smokestack Lightning". It uses eight-bar vocal sections with twelve-bar choruses and is performed at a medium blues tempo in the key of E.[4] Music critic Bill Janovitz describes it as "brutal, powerful Wolf bellowing in his raspy style. There are few recordings that equal the powerful force of 'Spoonful,' or, for that matter, any other Wolf/Dixon Chess side."[1]
Backing Wolf on vocals are: longtime accompanist Hubert Sumlin on guitar; relative newcomer Freddie Robinson on second guitar; and Chess recording veterans Otis Spann on piano, Fred Below on drums, and Dixon on double-bass. It has been suggested that Freddie King contributed the second guitar on "Spoonful", but both Sumlin and Robinson insist it was Robinson.[5] In 1962, the song was included on Wolf's second compilation album for Chess titled Howlin' Wolf.
In 1968, Wolf reluctantly re-recorded "Spoonful", along with several of his blues classics in Marshall Chess' attempt at updating Wolf's sound for the burgeoning rock market. Unlike his 1971 The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions (Chess LP-60008) where he was backed by several rock stars, including Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts, here he was backed by relatively unknown studio session players. The resulting album, The Howlin' Wolf Album, with its "comically bombastic" arrangements and instrumentation, was a musical and commercial failure.[6] Wolf offered his assessment in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine "Man ... that stuff's dogshit".[6]
Cream renditions
| "Spoonful" |
| Single by Cream |
| from the album Fresh Cream (UK edition) |
| A-side |
"Spoonful, Part 1" |
| B-side |
"Spoonful, Part 2" |
| Released |
September 1967 (1967-09) (US) |
| Format |
Seven-inch 45 rpm record |
| Recorded |
Mayfair Sound, London, September 1966 |
| Genre |
Blues rock |
| Length |
2:25 – Part 1
2:28 – Part 2 |
| Label |
Atco (no.45-6522) |
| Writer(s) |
Willie Dixon |
| Producer(s) |
Robert Stigwood |
| American singles chronology |
"Strange Brew"
(1967) |
"Spoonful"
(1967) |
"Sunshine of Your Love"
(1968) |
|
| Music sample |
|
"Spoonful"
Studio version from Fresh Cream
|
|
|
The British rock group Cream recorded "Spoonful" for their 1966 UK debut album, Fresh Cream. For the American release of Fresh Cream, "I Feel Free" was substituted for "Spoonful". The song was released in the US later in 1967 as a two-sided single (Atco 45-6522), but edited as Part 1 fades out as the instrumental break starts and Part 2 begins just before the third verse. The unedited studio version made its US album debut on the Best of Cream compilation in 1969.
Cream frequently played "Spoonful" in concert and the song evolved beyond the blues-rock form of the 1966 recording into a vehicle for extended improvised soloing influenced by the sixties San Francisco music scene. One such rendering, recorded at a Winterland concert and included on their 1968 album Wheels of Fire, lasts nearly seventeen minutes.
Recognition
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed Howlin' Wolf's "Spoonful" as one of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".[7] It is ranked number 219 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[8] In 2010, the song was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame "Classics of Blues Recordings" category, noting that "Otis Rush has stated that Dixon presented 'Spoonful' to him, but the song didn't suit Rush's tastes and so it ended up with Wolf, and soon thereafter with Etta James".[9]
Recordings by other artists
"Spoonful" has been recorded by many artists in a variety of styles. Some of these include:[10]
- 1961 Etta James – At Last! (and 1998 Life, Love & the Blues)
- 1964 Gil Evans – The Individualism of Gil Evans
- 1964 Paul Butterfield Blues Band – What's Shakin' (released 1966)
- 1965 The Blues Project – Live at The Cafe Au Go Go
- 1966 Allman Joys – Early Allman (released in 1973)
- 1966 Canned Heat – Vintage (released 1970)
- 1966 Shadows of Knight – Back Door Men (1966)
- 1966 Ten Years After – Ten Years After
- 1969 Blues Creation – Blues Creation
- 1970 Willie Dixon – I Am the Blues
- 1996 Johnny Diesel – Short Cool Ones
- 2000 Chris Whitley – Perfect Day
- 2002 Uli Jon Roth and Jack Bruce – Legends of Rock at Castle Donington (DVD)
- 2008 The Stone Foxes – The Stone Foxes
- 2011 George Thorogood – 2120 South Michigan Ave.
- 2015 Bruno Marini – Electric Church
Notes
- ^ a b Janovitz, Bill. "Howin' Wolf: Spoonful – Song Review". AllMusic. Rovi Corp. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
- ^ Segrest 2004, p. 173.
- ^ LaRose 2006, pp. 923–924.
- ^ The Blues. Hal Leonard Corporation. 1995. pp. 190–191. ISBN 0-7935-5259-1.
- ^ Segrest 2004, p. 369.
- ^ a b Segrest 2004, pp. 249–250.
- ^ "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". Exhibit Highlights. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 1995. Archived from the original on 2007. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
- ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone (963). December 9, 2004. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
- ^ "Classic of Blues Recording – Single or Album Track". Blues Hall of Fame Inductees Winners. The Blues Foundation. 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
- ^ "Song Search Results for Spoonful". AllMusic. Rovi Corp. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
References
- Herzhaft, Gerard (1992). "Spoonful". Encyclopedia of the Blues. University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 1-55728-252-8.
- LaRose, Joseph A (2006). "Spoonful (A Spoonful Blues)". In Komara, Edward. Encyclopedia of the Blues. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-92699-7.
- Segrest, James; Hoffman, Mark (2004). Moanin' at Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-375-42246-3.
External links
- Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
|
Howlin' Wolf
|
|
| Albums |
- Moanin' in the Moonlight (1959)
- Howlin' Wolf (1962)
- The Howlin' Wolf Album (1969)
- The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions (1972)
|
|
| Noted songs |
- "How Many More Years" (1951)
- "Forty-Four" (1954)
- "Evil" (1954)
- "Smokestack Lightning" (1956)
- "Sitting on Top of the World" (1957)
- "Poor Boy" (1957)
- "Wang Dang Doodle" (1960)
- "Back Door Man" (1960)
- "Spoonful" (1960)
- "I Ain't Superstitious" (1961)
- "Little Red Rooster" (1962)
- "Goin' Down Slow" (1961)
- "My Country Sugar Mama" (1964)
- "Killing Floor" (1964)
|
|
| Collaborators |
- Charlie Patton
- Sonny Boy Williamson II
- Willie Dixon
- Floyd Jones
- Johnny Shines
- Hubert Sumlin
|
|
| Related articles |
- Chicago Blues
- Delta Blues
- Chess Records
|
|
|
Etta James
|
|
| Studio albums |
- At Last!
- The Second Time Around
- Etta James
- Etta James Sings for Lovers
- Etta James Top Ten
- The Queen of Soul
- Call My Name
- Tell Mama
- Etta James Sings Funk
- Losers Weepers
- Etta James
- Come a Little Closer
- Etta Is Betta Than Evvah!
- Deep in the Night
- Changes
- Seven Year Itch
- Stickin' to My Guns
- The Right Time
- Mystery Lady: Songs of Billie Holiday
- Time After Time
- Love's Been Rough on Me
- Life, Love & the Blues
- 12 Songs of Christmas
- Heart of a Woman
- Matriarch of the Blues
- Blue Gardenia
- Let's Roll
- Blues to the Bone
- All the Way
- The Dreamer
|
|
| Live albums |
- Etta James Rocks the House
- Red-Hot & Live
- Blues in the Night Volume One: The Early Show
- The Late Show: Blues in the Night Volume Two
- Burnin' Down the House: Live at the House of Blues
|
|
| Compilation albums |
- My Greatest Songs
- Miss Etta James: The Complete Modern and Kent Recordings
- Gold
|
|
| Singles |
- "The Wallflower (Dance with Me, Henry)"
- "Spoonful"
- "All I Could Do Was Cry"
- "At Last"
- "Trust in Me"
- "Seven Day Fool"
- "Something's Got a Hold on Me"
- "Baby What You Want Me to Do"
- "I Got You Babe"
- "Almost Persuaded"
- "Piece of My Heart"
- "I Just Want to Make Love to You"
|
|
| Related articles |
|
|
|
Book:Etta James
|
|
|
Cream
|
|
- Ginger Baker
- Jack Bruce
- Eric Clapton
|
|
| Studio albums |
- Fresh Cream
- Disraeli Gears
- Wheels of Fire
- Goodbye
|
|
| Live albums |
- Live Cream
- Live Cream Volume II
- BBC Sessions
- Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005
|
|
| Film |
|
|
| Compilations |
- Best of Cream
- Heavy Cream
- Strange Brew: The Very Best of Cream
- The Very Best of Cream
- Those Were the Days
- Cream Gold * I Feel Free - Ultimate Cream
|
|
| Singles |
- "Wrapping Paper"
- "I Feel Free"
- "Strange Brew"/"Tales of Brave Ulysses"
- "Spoonful"
- "Sunshine of Your Love"/"SWLABR"
- "Anyone for Tennis"
- "White Room"
- "Crossroads"
- "Badge"
- "Lawdy Mama"
|
|
| Songs |
- "Four Until Late"
- "Rollin' and Tumblin'"
- "I'm So Glad"
- "Toad"
- "We're Going Wrong"
- "Outside Woman Blues"
- "Sitting on Top of the World"
- "Born Under a Bad Sign"
- "Steppin' Out"
- "Doing That Scrapyard Thing"
|
|
| Collaborators |
- Pete Brown
- Felix Pappalardi
- Martin Sharp
- Gail Collins
- Janet Godfrey
- George Harrison
- Mike Taylor
- Robert Stigwood
|
|
| Related articles |
- Discography
- John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
- Eric Clapton and the Powerhouse
- Blind Faith
- Derek and the Dominos
- The Yardbirds
- BBM
- Ginger Baker's Air Force
- The Dirty Mac
- Graham Bond
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