Early in the Morning (Sonny Boy Williamson I song)


"Early in the Morning" is a blues song that was recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson I in 1937. Identified as a blues standard, it was inspired by earlier blues songs. "Early in the Morning" has been recorded by numerous musicians, including Junior Wells, who made it part of his repertoire.

Origins

recorded "Soon This Morning" on June 6, 1929. The song features Spand's vocal and piano and opens:
Spand subsequently recorded several versions of "Soon This Morning". Several other bluesmen also recorded renditions of the song, often varying the lyrics. Some early versions include Big Bill Broonzy as "At the Break of Day", Walter Roland as "Early This Morning", Jimmie Gordon as "Soon in the Morning", Bill Gaither as "Bout the Break of Day", Speckled Red as "Early in the Morning", and Washboard Sam as "So Early in the Morning".
Leroy Carr recorded "Truthful Blues" on August 14, 1928, 10 months prior to Spand's recording. Although he performs the song at a slower tempo and uses different lyrics, it has elements similar to "Soon This Morning". Also singing in a piano blues style, Carr's recording opens:
Both lyrical variations have been used frequently in subsequent recordings, but it is unknown if Carr's recording influenced Spand's.

Sonny Boy Williamson I version

recorded "Early in the Morning" in 1937. The song is a medium-tempo twelve-bar blues that features Williamson's vocal and harmonica accompanied by Robert Lee McCoy and Henry Townsend on guitars. He incorporated his signature "call-and-response style of alternating vocal passages with pungent harmonica blasts" that became a fundamental of blues harmonica. Williamson's chorus uses lyrics similar to the earlier songs:
Williamson's "Early in the Morning" was released before blues songs were tracked by record industry trade magazines such as Billboard. When he re-recorded the song in 1945, it did not appear in the R&B chart.

Junior Wells versions

Chicago blues harmonica player Junior Wells recorded several versions of "Early in the Morning" during his career. He first recorded it in 1954 for States Records, while he claimed he was AWOL from the U.S. Army. Titled "'Bout the Break of Day", Wells added several verses which have been used in subsequent versions of the song by other artists. Backing Wells on vocal and harmonica are Muddy Waters and Louis Myers on guitars, Otis Spann on piano, Willie Dixon on bass, and Fred Below on drums. In 1965, he recorded two versions of the song with Buddy Guy – a live recording at Pepper's Lounge in Chicago from It's My Life, Baby! and a studio recording for the influential Hoodoo Man Blues album.

Recordings by other artists

Many artists have recorded their interpretations of "Early in the Morning", including Tampa Red ; Muddy Waters later released on One More Mile ; Charlie Musselwhite from Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's Southside Band ; and B.B. King with Van Morrison from '. Eric Clapton recorded three versions of "Early in the Morning": a studio version from Backless and live versions from ' and Just One Night.