Remembered by many these days as a founding member of the groundbreaking Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Elvin Bishop has also tasted pop success with his 1976 smash hit “Fooled Around and Fell In Love.” Bishop’s long and varied career has included other musical stops along the way as well, from deep down gutbucket blues played in smoky South Side Chicago taverns, to raucous roadhouse R&B, to rollicking good time rock & roll. And at every stage along the way, he’s imbued all of his music with deep passion, a uniquely creative spirit, and more than a little bit of sly humor.
Born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Elvin Bishop didn’t have much exposure to live music as a youngster. But his family had a radio, and in between the pop schmaltz and the C&W that ruled the airwaves in the 1950s, that radio could sometimes catch the legendary R&B programming beamed throughout the southern part of the U.S. at night by Nashville radio station WLAC. That station introduced Bishop to the classic records of Jimmy Reed, Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters, and once his ears had been hooked, there was no turning back for young Elvin. He soon got his first guitar and on his own began scratching out the basic outlines of the blues, R&B and rock & roll that had captured his imagination.
By the time he was preparing to go to college in the late 1950s, Bishop had earned a National Merit Scholarship, allowing him to go to almost any school he chose – and there was only one choice on Elvin’s mind, the prestigious University of Chicago, which just happened to be located on Chicago’s South side, ground zero for much of the urban blues Elvin had been studying only from a distance. He arrived in Chicago in 1959, and before long crossed paths with a kindred spirit in Paul Butterfield. Together, they explored the ghetto blues clubs in the black neighborhoods surrounding the university campus at a time when blues giants like Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Otis Rush, Magic Sam and Howlin’ Wolf could be found playing in neighborhood joints on a weeknight. Elvin soaked it all up, gaining impromptu lessons and invaluable stage time in front of discerning audiences, and forging a fluid yet powerful guitar style of his own.
By 1963, Bishop and Butterfield were ready to graduate – not necessarily from the university, but certainly from their apprenticeship under Chicago’s blues elders. Recruiting Howlin’ Wolf’s former rhythm section of Sam Lay on drums and Jerome Arnold on bass, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band was born. In 1965, after adding Mike Bloomfield and Mark Naftalin to the lineup, their revolutionary debut LP was released, kicking open the door for virtually all the young white blues bands that followed.
Bishop remained in the fold for three albums with the Butterfield band, including their innovative “East-West” release (on which Bishop and Bloomfield’s intertwining guitars helped set the stage for the Allman Brothers Band among many others who followed), before venturing out on his own. Elvin released four well-received albums on Epic Records in the early ‘70s, before joining Capricorn Records for a couple of LPs and experiencing his biggest pop success, the national hit “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” from his 1976 LP “Struttin’ My Stuff”.
As popular musical trends evolved, the recording projects tapered off, but road work kept Elvin busy through the ‘80s, and by the time he hooked up with Alligator in 1988, he was returning to his bluesy roots. And that fertile territory has been his focus ever since.
Delta Groove Productions president Randy Chortkoff has been a fan and follower of Elvin’s music through all the many phases of his career, beginning with Butterfield Blues Band in the mid 1960s, so when the opportunity arose to bring Elvin into the Delta Groove fold, Chortkoff jumped at the opportunity. The result was Elvin’s Grammy nominated 2008 CD “The Blues Rolls On”, a project supported by an all-star cast of blues royalty featuring B.B. King, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, George Thorogood , James Cotton, Kim Wilson, Tommy Castro, John Németh, Angela Strehli, plus many more.
Elvin’s brand new release “Red Dog Speaks”, his second on Delta Groove Music, is the exciting next step in his blues journey. Right out of the gate, Bishop leaves no doubt where his heart is, cleverly introducing his long-time cohort - a 1959 Gibson ES-345 that lovingly answers to the name of “Red Dog”, with a gritty slow blues calculated to set the pace for what’s to come. Along the way he smoothly steers the way from strutting blues and R&B, to a good dose of good-time rock & roll, and even an occasional detour through doo-wop, zydeco and gospel. Elvin has made plenty of talented friends over the years, and many of them jumped at the chance to help out including John Nemeth, Buckwheat Zydeco, Roy Gaines, Tommy Castro, Ronnie Baker Brooks, and Kid Andersen who all make guest appearances. And all of it adds up to an amalgam that can only be called “Elvin Bishop music.”
Bishop's official website is at http://www.elvinbishopmusic.com/
So Fine
Elvin Bishop Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My baby's so doggone fine
Sends cold chills up and down my spine
Oh oh, yeah yeah, so fine
She thrills me, she thrills me, she thrills me, yeah
She thrills me come rain or shine
She sends cold chills up and down my spine
Well, I know that she loves me so
Well, I know because my baby tells me so
So fine, so fine, so fine, yeah
My baby's so doggone fine
Sends cold chills up and down my spine
Oh oh, yeah yeah, so fine
So fine, so fine, so fine, yeah
My baby's so doggone fine
Sends cold chills up and down my spine
Oh oh, yeah yeah, so fine
Oh oh, yeah yeah, so fine
Oh oh, yeah yeah, so fine
Elvin Bishop's song "So Fine" is a classic love song about a man who is consistently mesmerized by his lover. The song opens with the repetitive line "So fine, so fine, so fine," emphasizing the singer's strong feelings for his beloved. He then goes on to describe how "My baby's so doggone fine" and how she "sends cold chills up and down my spine." The singer highlights how his partner "thrills" him, and that no matter the weather, she always manages to exceed his expectations.
The singer then emphasizes how he knows that his partner loves him through her actions and words. He states that he knows because "my baby tells me so." The song then concludes with the repetition of the opening lines, emphasizing the continuing power and importance of the singer's feelings toward his partner.
Overall, Elvin Bishop's "So Fine" is a classic love song that captures the feeling of being absolutely enamored by a partner. The catchy melody and repetitive lyrics help to convey the depth of the singer's feelings, and the emphasis on the partner's attractiveness and ability to "thrill" only adds to the overall sentiment of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
So fine, so fine, so fine, yeah
My love is almost indescribable, and it is so fine that I say it three times with a lot of enthusiasm.
My baby's so doggone fine
My partner is unbelievably good-looking and attractive.
Sends cold chills up and down my spine
My partner excites and thrills me deeply, giving me intense feelings that run up and down my body.
Oh oh, yeah yeah, so fine
I can't contain my excitement and just want to express how amazing my partner is and how much they mean to me.
She thrills me, she thrills me, she thrills me, yeah
My partner is the source of immense excitement and happiness in my life that never seems to fade; she constantly makes me happy.
She thrills me come rain or shine
My partner is a constant source of joy and happiness, no matter what life brings.
Well, I know that she loves me so
I am certain my partner has deep affection for me, as she constantly shows me how much she cares.
Well, I know because my baby tells me so
I can tell how much my companion cares about me through her words and actions.
Oh oh, yeah yeah, so fine
I can't contain my excitement and just want to express how amazing my partner is and how much they mean to me.
So fine, so fine, so fine, yeah
My love is almost indescribable, and it is so fine that I say it three times with a lot of enthusiasm.
Sends cold chills up and down my spine
My partner excites and thrills me deeply, giving me intense feelings that run up and down my body.
Oh oh, yeah yeah, so fine
I can't contain my excitement and just want to express how amazing my partner is and how much they mean to me.
So fine, so fine, so fine, yeah
My love is almost indescribable, and it is so fine that I say it three times with a lot of enthusiasm.
Sends cold chills up and down my spine
My partner excites and thrills me deeply, giving me intense feelings that run up and down my body.
Oh oh, yeah yeah, so fine
I can't contain my excitement and just want to express how amazing my partner is and how much they mean to me.
Oh oh, yeah yeah, so fine
I can't contain my excitement and just want to express how amazing my partner is and how much they mean to me.
Writer(s): Johnny Otis, Elvin Bishop Copyright: Eldorado Music Co., Crabshaw Music Inc.
Contributed by Cole E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Bill Slais
on Give It Up
I wrote "Give It Up" with Mickey Thomas and no site has the lyrics, apparently...so...here are the lyrics Mick and I wrote..
...I wanna lay out....I wanna stay out....Don't wanna change my ways...
...I do some drinkin' .....I do some thinkin' .....of what's goin' thru my head these days......
...So if you try to find...some kind of peace of mind...you've got to give as well as take...(oh yeh)
...If you can help it....don't be so selfish (double oh yeh)....
...There's a price you gotta pay (mid-terms??..lol)...YEH (his vocal)
CHORUS
...Everybody's gotta give it up.....repeat....Everybody's go to give it up....
..Everybody's got to give it up sometimes...
BRIDGE
Everybody.....Everybody.....in the world... If you find that...special girl (Kari Lake??..lol)
Don't be blinded....Have a good time...You might find out you could learn a lot.....(hmmm)
GUITAR SOLO
You wanna hold on.....to your freedom....you know you can't keep it all your life...(hmm)
So hears my lesson....forget your PRIDE, son..
...You got to make a sacrifice ....(oh yeh)
Everybody's got to give it up....everybody's got to give it up...
Everybody's got to give it up sometimes (even when Red Tsumani's are predicted...lol)
2nd Bridge (words repeated)
RIDE OUT....Everybody's got to give it up....Everybody's got to give it up sometimes....(even in mid-terms..lol)
Bill Slais
on Give It Up
First off.....Elvin did NOT write "Give It Up" ....Mickey (Thomas) and I wrote the song and the lyrics and I own 100 per cent of publishing and have never been paid a dime for writing it with Mick or a nickel for the publishing... and, even worse, it was re-published on the live album ....and then bought and re-re-published on CD...
Just wanted you to know... at 75 and with Vietnam bladder cancer... I gave up on ever getting paid .....it happened a again on another CD release of a Bay Area guitarist on which I wrote 3 songs and give him half writer's though he didn't write a not... I just love the music business....don't you?