He was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Harris traveled as a singer and dancer with the Lucky Millinder Big Band in his youth. His first big solo hit was in 1944 with his record "Who Threw The Whiskey in the Well". He was a dynamic live performer who brought a lot of attention to the emerging styles of rhythm and blues.
Harris made a major contribution to the birth of rock and roll when he covered "Good Rocking Tonight", written and originally recorded by Roy Brown. Brown's version was a jump blues with a jazz rhythm section. Harris's cover version was much more frantic and played with a much stronger back beat. In effect, Harris, a black artist, had done what many white artists were to do later. He had turned blues into rock and roll and made one of the first rock and roll records. The song was later covered by Elvis Presley.
Harris recorded for many labels and in 1947, had a hit on Aladdin Records with "Wynonie's Blues", featuring Illinois Jacquet on tenor sax. His greatest success came at King Records where he was the leading male solo artist. "All She Wants to Do is Rock" went to Number One on the R&B charts. Many of his songs were novelty numbers, like "(Don't Roll Those) Bloodshot Eyes (at Me)", "Good Morning, Judge", and "I Love my Baby's Pudding", and his last hit, "Loving Machine".
Harris' severe alcoholism resulted in his career going into a tailspin in the mid-1950s. While other blues shouters of his generation such as Big Joe Turner were able to maintain their popularity despite changing styles, and Presley's cover versions brought his songs to a whole new audience, Harris fell into obscurity. He recorded little after 1956 and nothing after 1960. Harris' last public appearance was as a guest performer at a Motortown Revue concert at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California in 1966, which was universally considered to be a disaster (according to author Nick Tosches' article on Harris in Creem magazine, collected in Tosches' Unsung Heroes of Rock and Roll). Harris died of throat cancer on June 14, 1969.
Grandma Plays the Numbers
Wynonie Harris Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We found out (Now we know)
We found out
We found out, that grandma plays the numbers
We found out (yes we did)
We found out (she couldn't keep it hid)
We found out
Now we know grandma plays the numbers
Think about 'em everyday
Dream about 'em every night
Gets up early in the mornin'
See the numbers come down just right
We found out (yes we know)
We found out (bless her soul)
We found out
Now we know that grandma plays the numbers
We found out (yes we know)
We found out (bless her soul)
We found out
Now we know grandma plays the numbers
We found out (yes oh yes)
We found out (we found out)
We found out
Now we know, that grandma plays the numbers
She's at the fruitstand everyday
Buys bananas by the bunch
She looked at all the pricetags
That's why she gets her hunch
We found out (yes we know)
We found out (bless her soul)
We found out
Now we know, grandma plays the numbers
The lyrics of Wynonie Harris's song "Grandma Plays the Numbers" tell the story of a discovery made by the singer and their friends about their grandma's secret gambling habit. The repeated phrase "we found out" emphasizes the surprise and revelation of this discovery. The lyrics also suggest that playing the numbers is a daily habit for grandma, as she thinks about them constantly and even dreams about them at night. She also has a system for predicting the winning numbers, based on the prices of fruits at the local fruit stand. The lyrics end with a sense of admiration and love for grandma, as the singer blesses her soul and accepts her habit.
Line by Line Meaning
We found out (Yes we did)
We discovered something surprising
We found out (Now we know)
We have learned something new
We found out
We uncovered a secret
We found out, that grandma plays the numbers
We discovered that grandma plays the illegal lottery
We found out (yes we did)
We are certain of what we discovered
We found out (she couldn't keep it hid)
Grandma couldn't keep her habit hidden
Now we know grandma plays the numbers
We have come to know that grandma is involved in gambling
Think about 'em everyday
Grandma thinks about the lottery every day
Dream about 'em every night
Grandma dreams about winning the lottery every night
Gets up early in the mornin'
Grandma wakes up early in the morning
See the numbers come down just right
Grandma hopes to see the winning numbers
We found out (yes we know)
We are certain of what we learned
We found out (bless her soul)
We still have respect for grandma
She's at the fruitstand everyday
Grandma visits the fruit stand daily
Buys bananas by the bunch
She buys bananas in bulk
She looked at all the pricetags
Grandma compares prices
That's why she gets her hunch
She gets her lucky numbers from comparing fruit prices
Now we know, grandma plays the numbers
We are aware that grandma is involved in the illegal lottery
We found out (yes oh yes)
We are very sure of what we discovered
We found out (we found out)
We have discovered this secret
Contributed by Elizabeth L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.