B-side "Lucinda" Format 7" 45 RPM Label Chess | Released October 1955 (1955-10) Genre Rhythm and blues | |
Recorded June 1, 1955 in Chicago, Illinois | ||
"The Seventh Son", also recorded as "Seventh Son", is a song written by Willie Dixon. It was released as a single by Willie Mabon on Chess Records in 1955. It has also been recorded by artists such as Johnny Rivers (on his album Meanwhile Back at the Whisky à Go Go), Bill Haley & His Comets (released on their 1999 greatest-hit compilation), John Mellencamp (on the 2005 reissue of Rough Harvest), Billy "Crash" Craddock (on the album You Better Move On), Mose Allison, Sting, Georgie Fame, Climax Blues Band, the Soul Agents, Long John Baldry, George Thorogood and, as with many of his own songs, by Willie Dixon.
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Original version
Willie Mabon recorded "The Seventh Son" on June 1, 1955 in Chicago, Illinois. The exact personnel on the session is not known for sure but is most likely Willie Mabon (vocals, piano), Bill Martin (trumpet), Herbert Robinson (tenor saxophone), Willie Dixon (bass), and Oliver Coleman (drums). The song was paired for release as a single with "Lucinda" as its b-side and was released in October.
Johnny Rivers version
Johnny Rivers recorded his version of "The Seventh Son" supposedly at the Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood, California and released it on Meanwhile Back at the Whisky à Go Go in 1965 and released it as a single. Most, if not all, of these 'live' Whisky tracks were studio recordings with audience noise added, however. The single version of the song peaked at #7 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 singles chart. Johnny Rivers' version also topped RPM magazine's Top Singles chart.