Early in the Morning (Sonny Boy Williamson I song)

"Early in the Morning" (sometimes called "'Bout the Break of Day") is a blues song that was recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson I in 1937. Identified as a blues standard,[1] it was inspired by earlier blues songs. "Early in the Morning" has been recorded by numerous musicians,[2] including Junior Wells, who made it part of his repertoire.

For other uses, see Early in the Morning.
"Early in the Morning"
Single by Sonny Boy Williamson I
B-side"Project Highway"
Released1937 (1937)
RecordedChicago, November 11, 1937
GenreBlues
Length2:47
LabelBluebird
Songwriter(s)Unknown

Origins

Charlie Spand recorded "Soon This Morning" on June 6, 1929.[3] The song features Spand's vocal and piano and opens:

It's early in the mornin' 'bout the break of day
My head on the pillow where my mama used to lay

Spand subsequently recorded several versions of "Soon This Morning". Several other bluesmen also recorded renditions of the song, often varying the lyrics. Some early versions include Big Bill Broonzy as "At the Break of Day" (1934),[4] Walter Roland as "Early This Morning" (1934),[5] Jimmie Gordon as "Soon in the Morning" (1935),[6] Bill Gaither as "Bout the Break of Day" (1936),[7] Speckled Red as "Early in the Morning" (1938),[8] and Washboard Sam as "So Early in the Morning" (1939).[9]

Leroy Carr recorded "Truthful Blues" on August 14, 1928,[10] 10 months prior to Spand's recording.[11] Although he performs the song at a slower tempo and uses different lyrics, it has elements similar to "Soon This Morning".[12] Also singing in a piano blues style, Carr's recording opens:

And I woke up this mornin' just about the break of day
And I woke up this mornin' just about the break of day
And I did not have no sweet woman just to drive my blues away

Both lyrical variations have been used frequently in subsequent recordings,[13] but it is unknown if Carr's recording influenced Spand's.

Sonny Boy Williamson I version

John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson recorded "Early in the Morning" in 1937. The song is a medium-tempo twelve-bar blues that features Williamson's vocal and harmonica accompanied by Robert Lee McCoy (later known as Robert Nighthawk) and Henry Townsend on guitars.[2] He incorporated his signature "call-and-response style of alternating vocal passages with pungent harmonica blasts" that became a fundamental of blues harmonica.[14] Williamson's chorus uses lyrics similar to the earlier songs:

You tell me 'Come early in the mornin', baby 'bout the break of day'
Now ya oughta see me grab the pillow where my baby used to lay

Williamson's "Early in the Morning" (and the other early versions of the song) was released before blues songs were tracked by record industry trade magazines such as Billboard. When he re-recorded the song in 1945, it did not appear in the R&B chart.[15]

Junior Wells versions

Chicago blues harmonica player Junior Wells recorded several versions of "Early in the Morning" during his career. He first recorded it in 1954 for States Records (S-139), while he claimed he was AWOL from the U.S. Army.[16] Titled "'Bout the Break of Day", Wells added several verses which have been used in subsequent versions of the song by other artists. Backing Wells on vocal and harmonica are Muddy Waters and Louis Myers on guitars, Otis Spann on piano, Willie Dixon on bass, and Fred Below on drums. In 1965, he recorded two versions of the song with Buddy Guy – a live recording at Pepper's Lounge in Chicago from It's My Life, Baby! (Vanguard) and a studio recording for the influential Hoodoo Man Blues album.

Recordings by other artists

Many artists have recorded their interpretations of "Early in the Morning",[13] including Tampa Red (1951); Muddy Waters (1963) later released on One More Mile (1994); Charlie Musselwhite from Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's Southside Band (1967); and B.B. King with Van Morrison from B.B. King & Friends: 80 (2005). Eric Clapton recorded three versions of "Early in the Morning": a studio version from Backless (1978) and live versions from Crossroads 2: Live in the Seventies (1978, released 1996) and Just One Night (1980).

References
  1. Herzhaft, Gerard (1992). "Early in the Morning". Encyclopedia of the Blues. Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press. p. 446. ISBN 1-55728-252-8.
  2. Fancourt, Les (1995). Sugar Mama – The Essential Recordings of Sonny Boy Williamson (Album notes). Sonny Boy Williamson I. Indigo Records. pp. 2–3. IGOCD 2014.
  3. Paramount Records 12760
  4. Bluebird Records 5571
  5. Banner Records 33343
  6. Decca Records 7099
  7. Decca 7404 as "Leroy's Buddy"
  8. Bluebird 8069
  9. Bluebird 8358
  10. Vocalion 1232
  11. "Vocalion 78rpm numerical listing discography: 1000 - 1499 race series". The Online Discographical Project. The Online Discographical Project. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  12. Balfour, Alan (1992). Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order, Volume 1 (19 June 1928 To 19 March 1929) (CD notes). Leroy Carr. Document Records. DOCD-5134, track 5. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  13. "Song search results for Early in the Morning". AllMusic. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  14. Dahl, Bill (1996). "Sonny Boy Williamson [I]". In Erlewine, Michael (ed.). All Music Guide to the Blues. San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books. p. 283. ISBN 0-87930-424-3.
  15. Whitburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 447. ISBN 0-89820-068-7.
  16. Koester, Bob (1998). Blues Hit Big Town (Album notes). Junior Wells. Chicago: Delmark Records. p. 2. DD-640.
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