.gif)
Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)
Encyclopedia
"Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just As Bad)" (also known as "Call It Stormy Monday" or just "Stormy Monday") is a blues
song written by T-Bone Walker
and first recorded in 1947. Confusingly, it is also sometimes referred to as "Stormy Monday Blues
", although that is the title of a 1942 song by Earl Hines
and Billy Eckstine
. Walker titled his song as he did to avoid the name collision.
The song is based in the standard 12-bar blues format. The lyrics portray a person who is separated from their love, and is suffering from guilt in some way because of what they have done.
The original recording appeared on Black & White Records
, produced by Ralph Bass
, and was one of Walker's breakthrough sides in pioneering the idiom of electric blues guitar
. This recording also featured smoky trumpet
work from sideman Teddy Buckner
. It reached number five on the R&B charts in 1948. B.B. King has said that "Call It Stormy Monday" inspired him to begin playing electric guitar.
Walker re-recorded the song with better fidelity and a somewhat different arrangement on his classic 1959 Atlantic Records
album T-Bone Blues.
The song became a standard for blues
and blues rock artists, and over the years was recorded by Albert King
, Eva Cassidy
, Question Mark and the Mysterians, Jethro Tull
, Eric Clapton
, Shake Your Hips!, Lee Michaels
, and others. Trouble ensued when artists named it "Stormy Monday Blues", however, as for instance Bobby Bland
did on a well-known rendition, as it was mis-credited and royalties went to the Hines-Eckstine song rather than Walker's. This may have also happened on some of the treatments that were just called "Stormy Monday".
The Allman Brothers Band
included a live performance (as "Stormy Monday") on their album At Fillmore East
in 1971. It garnered considerable airplay on progressive rock
and album-oriented rock
radio formats during the 1970s.
The 1988 Mike Figgis
film Stormy Monday
was named for the song, and includes B. B. King
's performance of it over the opening credits.
, follows the structure of an altered 12-bar blues, using the following chord progression:
The Allman Brothers Band instrumentation of the song is typical of the group, consisting of vocals, two guitars
, bass guitar
, organ
, and drums
. It demonstrates a different style of music, however, from most Allman Brothers pieces, with a very slow tempo and softer feel, running at only 60 beats per minute. Duane Allman
's virtuosic guitar playing can be heard at this slower tempo, in the first of three solos, with Gregg Allman's organ solo shifting to a jazz-waltz feel and Dickey Betts' guitar solo ending it. By means of a careful tape edit, a harmonica solo by Thom Doucette was omitted from the issued version in 1971; it was restored to the song in the 1992 release of the The Fillmore Concerts.
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...
song written by T-Bone Walker
T-Bone Walker
Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker was a critically acclaimed American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who was one of the most influential pioneers and innovators of the jump blues and electric blues sound. He is the first musician recorded playing blues with the...
and first recorded in 1947. Confusingly, it is also sometimes referred to as "Stormy Monday Blues
Stormy Monday Blues
"Stormy Monday Blues" is a jazz song first recorded in 1942 by Earl Hines and His Orchestra with Billy Eckstine on vocals. The song was a hit, reaching number one in Billboard magazine's "Harlem Hit Parade", making it Hines' only appearance in the charts....
", although that is the title of a 1942 song by Earl Hines
Earl Hines
Earl Kenneth Hines, universally known as Earl "Fatha" Hines, was an American jazz pianist. Hines was one of the most influential figures in the development of modern jazz piano and, according to one source, is "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz".-Early...
and Billy Eckstine
Billy Eckstine
William Clarence Eckstine was an American singer of ballads and a bandleader of the swing era. Eckstine's smooth baritone and distinctive vibrato broke down barriers throughout the 1940s, first as leader of the original bop big-band, then as the first romantic black male in popular...
. Walker titled his song as he did to avoid the name collision.
The song is based in the standard 12-bar blues format. The lyrics portray a person who is separated from their love, and is suffering from guilt in some way because of what they have done.
The original recording appeared on Black & White Records
Black & White Records
Black & White Records was a Los Angeles, California based record company, active in recording blues and country and Western artists during the 1940s and 1950s. It also had offices at 2117 Foster Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. It was acquired by Capitol Records....
, produced by Ralph Bass
Ralph Bass
Ralph Bass , born in The Bronx, New York of an Italian-American-Catholic father, and a German-American-Jewish mother, was an influential rhythm and blues record producer and talent scout for several independent labels and was responsible for many hit records. He was a pioneer in bringing black...
, and was one of Walker's breakthrough sides in pioneering the idiom of electric blues guitar
Electric guitar
An 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...
. This recording also featured smoky trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
work from sideman Teddy Buckner
Teddy Buckner
Teddy Buckner was a jazz trumpeter associated with Dixieland music....
. It reached number five on the R&B charts in 1948. B.B. King has said that "Call It Stormy Monday" inspired him to begin playing electric guitar.
Walker re-recorded the song with better fidelity and a somewhat different arrangement on his classic 1959 Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
album T-Bone Blues.
The song became a standard for 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...
and blues rock artists, and over the years was recorded by Albert King
Albert King
Albert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
, Eva Cassidy
Eva Cassidy
Eva Marie Cassidy was an American vocalist known for her interpretations of jazz, blues, folk, gospel, country and pop classics. In 1992 she released her first album, The Other Side, a set of duets with go-go musician Chuck Brown, followed by a live solo album, Live at Blues Alley in 1996...
, Question Mark and the Mysterians, Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock 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...
, Shake Your Hips!, Lee Michaels
Lee Michaels
Lee Michaels plays the Hammond organ, piano, and guitar , and is best known for his 1971 Top 10 pop hit single, "Do You Know What I Mean."-Career:...
, and others. Trouble ensued when artists named it "Stormy Monday Blues", however, as for instance Bobby Bland
Bobby Bland
Robert Calvin Bland better known as Bobby "Blue" Bland, is an American singer of blues and soul. He is an original member of the Beale Streeters, and is sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues"...
did on a well-known rendition, as it was mis-credited and royalties went to the Hines-Eckstine song rather than Walker's. This may have also happened on some of the treatments that were just called "Stormy Monday".
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
included a live performance (as "Stormy Monday") on their album At Fillmore East
At Fillmore East
At Fillmore East is a double live album by The Allman Brothers Band. The band's breakthrough success, At Fillmore East was released in July 1971. It ranks Number 49 among Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and remains among the top-selling albums in the band’s catalogue...
in 1971. It garnered considerable airplay on progressive rock
Progressive rock (radio format)
Progressive rock is a radio station programming format that prospered in the late 1960s and 1970s, in which the disc jockeys are given wide latitude in what they may play, similar to the freeform format but with the proviso that some kind of rock music is almost always what is played...
and album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
radio formats during the 1970s.
The 1988 Mike Figgis
Mike Figgis
Michael "Mike" Figgis is an English film director, writer, and composer.-Personal life:Figgis was born in Carlisle, England and grew up in Africa. Figgis for several years had a relationship with the actress Saffron Burrows and cast her in several films...
film Stormy Monday
Stormy Monday
Stormy Monday is the 1988 feature film debut of director Mike Figgis. Starring Sean Bean, Tommy Lee Jones, Sting and Melanie Griffith, it is an atmospheric, noirish thriller. The notable jazz soundtrack is also by Figgis. Being set in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, the film is something of an homage...
was named for the song, and includes B. B. King
B. B. King
Riley B. King , known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter.Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at No.3 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. According to Edward M...
's performance of it over the opening credits.
Structure
"Stormy Monday", although written in the key of A flat major, is usually performed in the key of G majorG major
G major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...
, follows the structure of an altered 12-bar blues, using the following chord progression:
- G9Ninth chordA ninth chord is a chord that encompasses the interval of a ninth when arranged in close position with the root in the bass.A dominant ninth is a dominant chord with a ninth. A ninth chord, as an extended chord, typically includes the seventh along with the basic triad structure. Thus, a Cmaj9...
| C9 | G9/A♭9 | G9 | - C9 | C9 | G9 / A minor7Seventh chordA seventh chord is a chord consisting of a triad plus a note forming an interval of a seventh above the chord's root. When not otherwise specified, a "seventh chord" usually means a major triad with an added minor seventh...
| B minorMinor chordIn music theory, a minor chord is a chord having a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth.When a chord has these three notes alone, it is called a minor triad....
7 / B♭ minor7 | - A minor7 | C minorMinor chordIn music theory, a minor chord is a chord having a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth.When a chord has these three notes alone, it is called a minor triad....
7 | G9 / C9 | G9 / D augmented
The Allman Brothers Band instrumentation of the song is typical of the group, consisting of vocals, two guitars
Electric guitar
An 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...
, bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, and drums
Drum kit
A 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 ....
. It demonstrates a different style of music, however, from most Allman Brothers pieces, with a very slow tempo and softer feel, running at only 60 beats per minute. Duane Allman
Duane Allman
Howard Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...
's virtuosic guitar playing can be heard at this slower tempo, in the first of three solos, with Gregg Allman's organ solo shifting to a jazz-waltz feel and Dickey Betts' guitar solo ending it. By means of a careful tape edit, a harmonica solo by Thom Doucette was omitted from the issued version in 1971; it was restored to the song in the 1992 release of the The Fillmore Concerts.