B-side "I Don't Know Why" Length 3:03 | Genre Blues Label Chess (Cat. No. 1579) | |
Format 7" 45 rpm & 10" 78 rpm record Recorded Chicago
September 1, 1954 | ||
"I'm Ready" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1954. It was a hit, spending nine weeks on the Billboard R&B chart where it reached #4. Since then, "I'm Ready" has been recorded by numerous blues and other artists.
Contents
Original song
"I'm Ready" incorporates a stop-time sixteen-bar structure analogous to Dixon's earlier song written for Muddy Waters, "Hoochie Coochie Man". Backing Waters (vocal and guitar) are: Little Walter (chromatic harmonica), Jimmy Rogers (guitar), Otis Spann (piano), Willie Dixon (bass), and Fred Below (drums). The song is included on several Muddy Waters' compilation albums, first appearing in 1958 on The Best of Muddy Waters.
Muddy Waters later recorded the song for his albums Fathers and Sons (1969), The London Muddy Waters Sessions (1971), and I'm Ready (1978), which was produced by Johnny Winter and earned Waters a Grammy in 1978.
Cover versions
Over the years, "I'm Ready" has been recorded by a variety of blues and other artists, including: Humble Pie from the Humble Pie album (1970), Long John Baldry on his album It Ain't Easy (1971), Buddy Guy from the album Hold That Plane (1972), The Red Devils from King King (1992), Paul Rodgers with Brian May from Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters (1993), George Thorogood from Haircut (1993), Aerosmith from Honkin' on Bobo (2004), and Jeff Healey from Songs from the Road (2009).