He became a full-time musician around 1957 but remained unknown outside of the Chicago area, where he played small clubs in the black neighborhoods and also at the open-air Maxwell Street Market. He was known for his electrified slide guitar playing, his cheap Japanese guitars, and his raucous boogie beats. He was also famed among guitar players for having six fingers on his left hand.
After hearing Taylor with his band, the HouseRockers (consisting of Brewer Phillips, second guitar, and Ted Harvey, drums) in 1970 at Florence's Lounge on Chicago's South Side, an idealistic young white man named Bruce Iglauer attempted unsuccessfully to get him signed by his employer, Delmark Records. Iglauer then decided to form a small record label with a $2500 inheritance and recorded Taylor's debut album, Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers, on his fledgling Alligator Records in 1971. It was the first release on Alligator records, now a major blues label. It was recorded live in studio in just two nights. Iglauer began managing and booking the band, which toured nationwide and performed with stars like Muddy Waters and Big Mama Thornton. The band became particularly popular in the Boston area, where Hound Dog inspired a young protege named George Thorogood.
Their second release, Natural Boogie, was recorded in late 1973, and led to greater acclaim and touring. In 1975, Taylor and his band toured Australia and New Zealand with Freddie King and Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee. His third Alligator album, Beware of the Dog, was recorded live in 1974 but was only released after his death. More posthumous releases occurred as well, including Genuine Houserocking Music and Release The Hound, on the Alligator label as well as some bootleg live recordings. Hound Dog Taylor was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1984.
Legacy
Hound Dog Taylor is best known for his raw vocal style and searing slide guitar, using a cheap Teisco guitar and Sears Roebuck amplifier to great advantage. He was not a smooth virtuoso on either of his instruments (guitar or vocals), and was known to say, "When I die, they'll say, 'He couldn't play shit, but he sure made it sound good!'" The HouseRockers were also unique in the fact that they had no bass player; rather, Taylor and Phillips would take turns playing the rhythm/bass line while the other soloed. Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers have been called "The Ramones of the blues".
Freddie King admitted when interviewed that his classic, "Hideaway", later covered by Eric Clapton, was inspired by an unnamed Hound Dog Taylor instrumental he had heard Taylor perform at the south side Chicago club Mel's Hideaway in the late 1950s. Stevie Ray Vaughan also covered Taylor's best known song, "Give Me Back My Wig", both in concert and in studio.
Hound Dog Taylor died of cancer in 1975 and was buried in Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.
Give Me Back My Wig
Hound Dog Taylor And The HouseRockers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Give me back my wig, honey let your head go bald
You really had no business, honey buyin' no wig at all
Give me back that wig, honey let your head go bald
Give me back that wig, honey let your head go bald
You really had no business, honey buyin' no wig at all
Give me back my wig, honey let your head go bald
Give me back that wig, honey let your head go bald
You really had no business, honey buyin' no wig at all
The song "Give Me Back My Wig" by Hound Dog Taylor And The HouseRockers is a humorous play on the idea of wigs as a symbol of vanity and the pressure for women to conform to a certain standard of beauty. The song is essentially an ultimatum from the singer to their partner to return their wig and embrace their natural appearance, even if it means going bald. The repetition of the phrase "give me back my wig" reinforces the importance of this demand and the urgency with which it is made.
The lyrics are delivered with a playful, almost taunting tone, adding to the overall lightheartedness of the song. However, there is also a certain level of frustration and annoyance expressed in the lyrics, suggesting that the singer feels their partner has made a poor decision by buying a wig.
Overall, "Give Me Back My Wig" is a fun, catchy song that highlights the absurdity of societal beauty standards and the importance of self-acceptance.
Line by Line Meaning
Give me back my wig, honey let your head go bald
I want you to return my wig and accept your natural beauty.
Give me back my wig, honey let your head go bald
I am demanding my wig back but also urging you to embrace your true self by going bald.
You really had no business, honey buyin' no wig at all
I believe you should not have purchased a wig and should have appreciated your natural appearance.
Give me back that wig, honey let your head go bald
I again request that you return my wig and encourage you to embrace your own baldness.
Give me back that wig, honey let your head go bald
I am repeating my previous request for my wig and emphasizing the need for you to remove your wig and be confident with your baldness.
You really had no business, honey buyin' no wig at all
I firmly believe that it was unnecessary for you to buy a wig and you should have been proud of yourself just the way you are.
Give me back my wig, honey let your head go bald
I am reiterating my demand for my wig and again encouraging you to be proud of your natural appearance.
Give me back that wig, honey let your head go bald
I repeat my request for my wig and urge you to remove your wig to feel comfortable in your own skin.
You really had no business, honey buyin' no wig at all
I am certain that purchasing a wig was not necessary and if you embrace your baldness, you will feel more confident and satisfied with yourself.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., ALLIGATOR RECRDS/EYEBALL MUSIC
Written by: THEODORE R TAYLOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@andrewpike3788
Give me back my wig
Honey now let your head go bald
Give me back my wig
Honey now let your head go bald
Really didn't have no business
Honey buyin' you no wig at all
Takin' me downtown
Say four forty nine
When I get down there
I swear, nine ninety nine
You just give me back my wig
Honey now let your head go bald
Really didn't have no business
Honey buyin' you no wig at all
Yeah my Mama told me
And your good friend too
When you get that wig
That's the way you gonna do
You just give me back my wig
Honey now let your head go bald
Really didn't have no business
Honey buyin' you no wig at all
Goodbye little one
All I got to say
Give me back my wig and be
On your merry way
You just give me back my wig
Honey, now let your head go bald
Really didn'thave no business
Honey buyin' you no wig at all
@robertdonadee9860
I had one of Hound Dogs' albums back in the seventies. Alligator records out of Chicago sold them by mail. My basement flooded years later, and I lost my vast record collection. To this day, I can't get over it.
@1968joseph1
Proof that emotional guitar goodness outweighs technical guitar greatness by a country f&-+in' mile.
@eddiecrane5647
Albert King had more feeling in his 4 note "Albert King Box' than any of those other guys you're eluding to.
@ubertar
True, that's the more important ingredient, but if you've got both, so much the better! e.g. Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, John MacLaughlin, etc.
@beandipcartography
💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
@1968joseph1
except, he would be one of the guitarists I am eluding to....@@eddiecrane5647
@mgn5667
been looking for this for a while::: if you are here listening you are cool...
@wladekwloszcz3803
I may be cool, but the test takes place on July 6th, 2020, in Suwalki, Poland, Europe, where me and my friends are going to dance this at midnite, celebratin' the cancelled XII International Suwalki Blues Festival. I am takin' my PA system down there for a week, and we are going to disco blues for 14 gals and old farts, for six nights, incl. music by R.L. Burnside, too.
@siulumlion
Yeah, dog.
@lindakaymills8746
@@wladekwloszcz3803 Enjoyed your comment.
Did you have fun? 🤣😂