Released August 1967 (1967-08) Length 2:43 | Genre Blues, blues rock Label Stax (no. S-723) | |
Recorded Stax Studios, Memphis, Tennessee, June 9, 1967 Writer(s) Booker T. Jones, C. Wells, Al Jackson, Jr., Donald Dunn, Steve Cropper | ||
"The Hunter" is a blues song first recorded by Albert King in 1967. The song has been recorded by various other performers, including Ike and Tina Turner, who had a 1969 hit with the song in the R&B and Pop music charts.
Contents
Original song
"The Hunter" was written by Stax Records' house band, Booker T. and the MGs, and Carl Wells. The song is a mid-tempo twenty-four bar blues in the key of A. Backing Albert King (vocal and guitar) are: Booker T. Jones (organ), Steve Cropper (rhythm guitar), Donald "Duck" Dunn (bass), Al Jackson, Jr. (drums) plus members of The Memphis Horns, Wayne Jackson (trumpet), Andrew Love (tenor saxophone), and Joe Arnold (baritone sax). "The Hunter" was first released on Albert King's 1967 album, Born Under a Bad Sign, which "became one of the most popular and influential blues albums of the late '60s". In 1969, it was released as a single (with "As the Years Go Passing By" on Atlantic 2604), but did not reach the charts. The song later appeared on various Albert King compilation albums.
Ike and Tina Turner rendition
Ike and Tina Turner recorded "The Hunter" in 1969 and, although it was over six minutes long, the song became a hit. It reached number 37 in the Billboard R&B chart and number 93 in the Billboard Pop Singles chart (Blue Thumb 102). The song was included on their 1969 album, also titled The Hunter, which reached number 176 in the Billboard album chart (Blue Thumb BTS-11).
Other recordings
Early versions of "The Hunter" include those by Blue Cheer (Outsideinside 1968), Pacific Gas & Electric (Get It On 1968), Free (Tons of Sobs 1968), and Blues Magoos (Never Goin' Back to Georgia 1969). Canned Heat recorded a demo version in 1967, but re-recorded it as "Amphetamine Annie" (an early anti-drug song) using the same music (Boogie with Canned Heat 1968). Led Zeppelin used some of the lyrics from "The Hunter" during the "How Many More Times" medley on their 1969 debut album Led Zeppelin.
Later recordings include versions by Great White (Great White 1983), Koko Taylor (Queen of the Blues 1985), Danzig (Danzig 1988), Paul Rodgers (Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters 1993), Doyle Bramhall (Bird's Nest on the Ground 1994), and Gov't Mule (Live... With a Little Help from Our Friends 1999), and Schenker – Pattison Summit (The Endless Jam Continues 2005).