B-side "Personal Manager" Format 7-inch 45 rpm record Genre Blues | Released 1967 (1967) Recorded May 17, 1967 | |
Studio Stax, Memphis, Tennessee | ||
"Born Under a Bad Sign" is a blues song recorded by American blues singer and guitarist Albert King in 1967. Called "a timeless staple of the blues", the song also had strong crossover appeal to the rock audience with its bass and guitar harmony line and topical astrology reference. "Born Under a Bad Sign" became an R&B chart hit for King and numerous blues and other musicians have made it perhaps the most recorded Albert King song.
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Original song
The lyrics to "Born Under a Bad Sign" were written by Stax Records rhythm and blues singer William Bell with music by Stax bandleader Booker T. Jones (of Booker T. & the M.G.'s). Bell recalled, "We needed a blues song for Albert King ... I had this idea in the back of my mind that I was gonna do myself. Astrology and all that stuff was pretty big then. I got this idea that [it] might work." The lyrics describe "hard luck and trouble" tempered by "wine and women", with wordplay in the chorus in the turnaround:
Similar lyrics are found in Lightnin' Slim's 1954 swamp blues song "Bad Luck Blues":
Jones's arrangement for the song does not follow the typical twelve-bar blues I-IV-V progression. Rather, it is dominated by an R&B-style bass/rhythm guitar line, which Bell claimed that he came up with "while fooling around on the guitar". Albert King provided his signature guitar fills around his vocals and solos during the break and outro, with backing by Booker T. & the M.G.'s and the Memphis Horns.
"Born Under a Bad Sign" became a Billboard R&B chart hit for King, reaching number 49. It was later included on his first album for Stax, also titled Born Under a Bad Sign. The album's cover depicts images of "bad luck signs" or common superstitions, including a black cat, a Friday the 13th calendar page, skull and crossbones, ace of spades, and snake eyes. Subsequently, the song has appeared on numerous King and various artist collections.
Albert King recorded an updated version of "Born Under a Bad Sign" with producer Allen Toussaint for his 1978 New Orleans Heat album. Live versions are included on Wednesday Night in San Francisco, Chicago 1978, In Session with Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Godfather of the Blues: His Last European Tour 1992, and Talkin' Blues (see Albert King discography for album details).
Cream version
In 1968, British rock group Cream recorded "Born Under a Bad Sign" for their third album, Wheels of Fire. The group's record company, which also distributed Stax records, requested that they record it, according to guitarist Eric Clapton. Cream's rendition follows Albert King's, except for bassist and singer Jack Bruce combining two verses into "I've been down ever since I was ten" and an extended guitar solo by Clapton. Musicologist Robert Palmer described Clapton's playing as "practically Albert King parodies".
Cream recorded a live version for the BBC October 24, 1967, which was released on BBC Sessions in 2003. Another live version was recorded during their reunion performances in 2005 and included on Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005.
Recognition and influence
In 1988, Albert King's "Born Under a Bad Sign" was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. Writing for the Foundation, Jim O'Neal called it "one of the signature hits of Albert King that started to win the left-handed string-bender a crossover following in 1967, as he began to break out of the chittlin circuit to invade rock venues like the Fillmore". King's song is also included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".
"Born Under a Bad Sign" has been recorded by many artists, including: Blue Cheer, Paul Butterfield, Robben Ford, Jimi Hendrix, Etta James, MDC, Pappo, Paul Rodgers, Koko Taylor with Buddy Guy, Pat Travers, Big Mama Thornton, Rita Coolidge and cartoon character Homer Simpson. Co-writers William Bell (1969) and Booker T. Jones (1968) each recorded the song. Bell re-recorded it for his 2016 album This Is Where I Live.