Sugar Mama (song)
Encyclopedia
"Sugar Mama" or "Sugar Mama Blues" is a song that is a standard of the blues. Inspired by earlier blues songs, early Chicago bluesman Tampa Red
recorded "Sugar Mama Blues No. 1" in 1934. The song has been recorded by numerous artists, including Sonny Boy Williamson
and Howlin' Wolf
.
recorded "Sugar Farm Blues" February 6, 1934 (Melotone M12958, listed as "Poor Jim with Dan Jackson"). Sonny Boy Williamson I, with whom "Sugar Mama" is often associated, was an early collaborator of Rachell. "Themes that Yank Rachell recorded also turn up in the blues of [Sleepy John] Estes, [Sonny Boy] Williamson, and other artists from the [same] area, and it would be difficult to determine which artist actually created any particular theme".
work and vocals. "Sugar Mama No. 1", recorded May 12, 1934, features the lyrics often found in subsequent versions of the song:
"Sugar Mama Blues No. 2", recorded March 23, 1934 (Vocalion 2753), has some different lyrics (although recorded first, it was released later, hence "No. 2").
on May 5, 1937, Sonny Boy Williamson
recorded "Sugar Mama Blues" (along with the single's flip side "Good Morning, School Girl
"). Williamson's song uses most of the lyrics in Tamp Red's "Sugar Mama Blues No. 1" as well as the overall arrangement. However, his version features a harmonica solo with guitar accompaniment by Robert Lee McCoy, later known as Robert Nighthawk. Williamson later recorded several versions of "Sugar Mama Blues".
Both Tampa Red's and Williamson's "Sugar Mama Blues" were released before Billboard Magazine or a similar service began tracking such releases, so it is difficult to gauge which version was the most popular.
(piano), Hubert Sumlin
and Buddy Guy
(guitars), Andrew McMahon (bass), and Sam Lay
(drums). The song was credited to Wolf as are many subsequent versions.
as "New Sugar Mama" (1940 Bluebird 8760), John Lee Hooker
(1952 Chess 1515 and 1965 from It Serves You Right to Suffer
), B.B. King (1959 Kent 329), Taste
(1969 Taste), and Fleetwood Mac
with Otis Spann
(1969 Fleetwood Mac in Chicago/Blues Jam in Chicago, Vols. 1–2).
Tampa Red
Tampa Red , born Hudson Woodbridge but known from childhood as Hudson Whittaker, was an American Chicago blues musician....
recorded "Sugar Mama Blues No. 1" in 1934. The song has been recorded by numerous artists, including Sonny Boy Williamson
Sonny Boy Williamson I
Sonny Boy Williamson was an American blues harmonica player and singer, and the first to use the name Sonny Boy Williamson.-Biography and career:...
and Howlin' Wolf
Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett , known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....
.
Origins
Country bluesman Yank RachellYank Rachell
James "Yank" Rachell was an American country blues musician, dubbed an "elder statesman of the blues."-Career:...
recorded "Sugar Farm Blues" February 6, 1934 (Melotone M12958, listed as "Poor Jim with Dan Jackson"). Sonny Boy Williamson I, with whom "Sugar Mama" is often associated, was an early collaborator of Rachell. "Themes that Yank Rachell recorded also turn up in the blues of [Sleepy John] Estes, [Sonny Boy] Williamson, and other artists from the [same] area, and it would be difficult to determine which artist actually created any particular theme".
Tampa Red song
Tampa Red recorded two different versions of "Sugar Mama Blues" in 1934, shortly after Rachell's "Sugar Farm Blues". Both were medium tempo twelve-bar blues that featured Red's trademark slide resonator guitarResonator guitar
A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar whose sound is produced by one or more spun metal cones instead of the wooden sound board . Resonator guitars were originally designed to be louder than conventional acoustic guitars which were overwhelmed by horns and percussion...
work and vocals. "Sugar Mama No. 1", recorded May 12, 1934, features the lyrics often found in subsequent versions of the song:
- Sugar mama sugar mama, please come back to me (2x)
- Bring my granulated sugar, and ease my misery...
"Sugar Mama Blues No. 2", recorded March 23, 1934 (Vocalion 2753), has some different lyrics (although recorded first, it was released later, hence "No. 2").
Sonny Boy Williamson song
During his first recording session for Bluebird RecordsBluebird 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...
on May 5, 1937, Sonny Boy Williamson
Sonny Boy Williamson I
Sonny Boy Williamson was an American blues harmonica player and singer, and the first to use the name Sonny Boy Williamson.-Biography and career:...
recorded "Sugar Mama Blues" (along with the single's flip side "Good Morning, School Girl
Good Morning, School Girl
"Good Morning, School Girl" or "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" is a blues standard that has been "covered countless times across the decades"...
"). Williamson's song uses most of the lyrics in Tamp Red's "Sugar Mama Blues No. 1" as well as the overall arrangement. However, his version features a harmonica solo with guitar accompaniment by Robert Lee McCoy, later known as Robert Nighthawk. Williamson later recorded several versions of "Sugar Mama Blues".
Both Tampa Red's and Williamson's "Sugar Mama Blues" were released before Billboard Magazine or a similar service began tracking such releases, so it is difficult to gauge which version was the most popular.
Howlin' Wolf song
In 1964, Howlin' Wolf recorded the song as "My Country Sugar Mama" (Chess 1911) with lyrics from the Yank Rachell, Tampa Red, and Sonny Boy Williamson songs. The song was performed as a Chicago blues shuffle with Wolf (vocals and harmonica), Arnold Rogers (tenor sax), Donald Hankins (baritone sax), Lafayette LeakeLafayette Leake
Lafayette Leake was a blues and jazz pianist, organist, vocalist and composer who played for Chess Records as a session musician, and as a member of the Big Three Trio, during the formative years of Chicago blues. He played piano on many of Chuck Berry's recordings.-Biography:Leake was born in...
(piano), Hubert Sumlin
Hubert Sumlin
Hubert Sumlin is an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer, best known for his celebrated work, from 1955, as guitarist in Howlin' Wolf's band. His singular playing is characterized by "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic...
and Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
(guitars), Andrew McMahon (bass), and Sam Lay
Sam Lay
Sam Lay is an American drummer and vocalist, who has been performing since the late 1950s.-Life and career:...
(drums). The song was credited to Wolf as are many subsequent versions.
Other versions
"Sugar Mama Blues", usually called "Sugar Mama", has been recorded a by many blues and other musicians including Tommy McClennanTommy McClennan
Tommy McClennan was an American Delta blues singer and guitarist.-Life and career:McClennan was born on a farm near Yazoo City, Mississippi, United States, and grew up in the town...
as "New Sugar Mama" (1940 Bluebird 8760), 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...
(1952 Chess 1515 and 1965 from It Serves You Right to Suffer
It Serves You Right to Suffer
It Serves You Right to Suffer is an album by blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist John Lee Hooker, released on the Impulse Records label in early 1966...
), B.B. King (1959 Kent 329), Taste
Taste (band)
Taste was an Irish rock and blues band formed in 1966 that gained fame in large part because of their unique style, and the talent and charisma of the band's founder, songwriter and musician Rory Gallagher...
(1969 Taste), and Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
with Otis Spann
Otis Spann
Otis Spann was an American blues musician, who many consider the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.-Career:Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Spann became known for his distinct piano style....
(1969 Fleetwood Mac in Chicago/Blues Jam in Chicago, Vols. 1–2).