Driving Wheel
| "Driving Wheel Blues" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by the Honey Dripper a.k.a. Roosevelt Sykes | |
| B-side | "Barrel House Man" |
| Released | 1936 |
| Recorded | February 18, 1936 |
| Genre | Blues |
| Length | 3:06 |
| Label | Decca (no. 7252) |
| Songwriter(s) | Unknown |
"Driving Wheel", also called "Drivin' Wheel" or "Driving Wheel Blues", is blues song recorded by Roosevelt Sykes (listed as "The Honey Dripper" on early singles) in 1936. It became a standard of the blues and has been recorded by numerous artists, including Junior Parker and Al Green, who had Billboard magazine charts successes with the song.
Original song
Roosevelt Sykes' "Driving Wheel Blues" is a solo twelve-bar blues, with Sykes providing piano accompaniment to his vocal. The song is performed at a medium tempo with the opening lyrics:
My baby don't have to work, she don't have to rob and steal (2×)
I give her everything she needs, I am her driving wheel
Sykes' recorded the song on February 18, 1936 for Decca Records.[1] It was released before Billboard magazine or a similar service began tracking such singles, but "Driving Wheel" became an early blues standard.[1] He later recorded additional studio and live versions of the song.[2]
Junior Parker/Al Green versions
Junior Parker, as "Little Junior Parker", recorded "Driving Wheel" for Duke Records in 1960 or 1961.[3] Although Parker's vocal line and lyrics follow Sykes' version, the song uses a group arrangement with a horn section and adds a break in the middle of the song. Most subsequent versions of "Driving Wheel" show Parker's influence, including the distinctive bass line. When the song was released in 1961, it spent eleven weeks in the US Billboard R&B chart, where it reached number five; it also reached number 85 in the pop chart.[4]
In 1971, soul/gospel singer Al Green recorded the song in Memphis for Hi Records.[4] His song peaked at number 46 in the R&B chart and reached number 115 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles pop chart.[4] The song is included on the 1971 Al Green Gets Next to You album[5] as well as various compilation albums. Green's version uses a different arrangement, in keeping with his soul music approach.[5]
Recordings by other artists
"Driving Wheel" has been recorded by a variety of artists,[6] including B.B. King (1961 from his My Kind of Blues album, and in 2005 with Glenn Frey on B.B. King & Friends: 80); Paul Butterfield Blues Band (1967 The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw); Junior Wells (recorded a live version 1968 for his Sings Live at the Golden Bear album, in 1977 he recorded another live version with Buddy Guy from Live at Montreux); Albert King (1970s Funky London, released in 1994); Luther Allison (1974 Luther's Blues); and Etta James (2004 Blues to the Bone album).
References
- ^ a b
Herzhaft, Gerard (1992). "Drivin' Wheel". Encyclopedia of the Blues. University of Arkansas Press. p. 445. ISBN 1-55728-252-8.
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"Roosevelt Sykes: Drivin' Wheel – Appears on". AllMusic. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
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Vera, Billy (1992). Junior's Blues – The Duke Recordings Volume One (Album notes). Junior Parker. MCA/Duke Records. p. 5. MCAD-10669.
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Whitburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. pp. 174, 319. ISBN 0-89820-068-7.
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Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Al Green: Gets Next to You – Album review". AllMusic. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
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"Song search results for Driving Wheel". AllMusic. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
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