Over a career that spanned seven decades, he said he had written almost a thousand songs and had recorded hundreds of them. McCracklin recorded over 30 albums, and earned four gold records. Tom Mazzolini of the San Francisco Blues Festival said of him, "He was probably the most important musician to come out of the Bay Area in the post-World War II years."
McCracklin was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He joined the United States Navy in 1938, later settled in Richmond, California, and began playing at the local Club Savoy owned by his sister-in-law Willie Mae "Granny" Johnson. The room-length bar served beer and wine, and Granny Johnson served home-cooked meals of greens, ribs, chicken, and other southern cuisine. A house band composed of Bay Area based musicians alternated with and frequently backed performers such as B. B. King, Charles Brown, and L. C. Robinson. Later in 1963 he would write and record a song "Club Savoy" on his I Just Gotta Know album.
His recorded a debut single for Globe Records, "Miss Mattie Left Me", in 1945, and recorded "Street Loafin' Woman in 1946. McCracklin recorded for a number of labels in Los Angeles and Oakland, prior to joining Modern Records in 1949-1950. He formed a group called Jimmy McCracklin and his Blues Blasters in 1946, with guitarist Lafayette Thomas who remained with group until the early 1960s.
His popularity increased after appearing on the TV pop Dick Clark's American Bandstand in support of his self written single "The Walk" (1957), subsequently released by Checker Records in 1958. It went to No. 5 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 7 on the pop chart, after more than 10 years of McCracklin selling records in the black community on a series of small labels. Jimmy McCracklin Sings, his first solo album, was released in 1962, in the West Coast blues style. In 1962, McCracklin recorded "Just Got to Know" for his own Art-Tone label in Oakland, after the record made No. 2 on the R&B chart. For a brief period in the early 1970s McCracklin ran the Continental Club in San Francisco. He booked blues acts such as T-Bone Walker, Irma Thomas, Big Joe Turner, Big Mama Thornton, and Etta James. In 1967, Otis Redding and Carla Thomas had success with "Tramp", a song credited to McCracklin and Lowell Fulson. Salt-n-Pepa made a hip-hop hit out of the song in 1987. Oakland Blues (1986) was an album arranged and directed by McCracklin, and produced by World Pacific. The California rock-n-roll "roots music" band The Blasters named themselves after McCracklin's backing band The Blues Blasters. Blasters' lead singer Phil Alvin explained the origin of the band's name: "I thought Joe Turner’s backup band on Atlantic records – I had these 78s – I thought they were the Blues Blasters. It ends up it was Jimmy McCracklin's. I just took the 'Blues' off and Joe finally told me, that’s Jimmy McCracklin’s name, but you tell ‘im I gave you permission to steal it.
McCracklin continued to tour and produce new albums in the 1980s and 1990s. Bob Dylan has cited McCracklin as a favorite. He played at the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1973, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1984 and 2007. He was given a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1990, and the Living Legend and Hall of Fame award at the Bay Area Black Music Awards, in 2007. McCracklin continued to write, record, and perform into the 21st century.
He died in San Pablo, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, on December 20, 2012, after a long illness, aged 91.
I Want To Make Love To You
Jimmy McCracklin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell me what you want to do do you wan to be with me
Baby you looking so good tonight I can't control myself
I want to take you home with me
And lay you on your back take off all your clothes
Make love to you like you never ever known
And I'm going to take my time and give it to you right
I'm going to take my time and give it to you right
All you have to do is hold the back of my head
As I stroke you back and fourth real slow, real slow nice and easy, nice and easy
That's what I'm going to do all night long why'all
Ain't no one gonna interrupt our love making baby
Twenty four seven 365 days of the year
I'll do anything to have your body here
Let's fly high like the bird we call a dove, let's fly high when we making love
I just want to make love to you, but we go tot do it right
I just want to make love to you, I don't wan to fuss and fight
I just want to make love to you, but we got to do it right
I just want to make love to you, I don't want to fuss and fight
Baby you're looking so good
Do you want to dance take my hand and follow me
Let's dance the night away
You're gonna think that we are making love on the dance floor
I'm gonna do so many freaky things to you
I'm gonna hold you so close grind on you real slow
I'm gonna make you want to get your coat and come on home with me
That's my mission baby
I just want to make love to you, but we got to do it right
I just want to make love to you, I don't want to fuss and fight
I just want to make love to you, but we got to do it right
I just want to make love to you, I don't want to fuss and fight
I just want to make love to you
The song "I Want To Make Love To You" by Jimmy McCracklin is a straightforward romantic and sexual track, where the artist is expressing his desires to be with someone in an intimate and loving manner. The song has a slow yet groovy beat which sets a romantic and sensual mood. The lyrics are quite simple; the artist wants to take the woman home with him, undress her, and make love to her all night long, without any distraction or interruption. He is looking for love, romance, and intimacy with no strings attached.
The first verse shows the singer asking the woman what she wants to do, whether she wants to be with him or not. He then continues to complement her looks and admits that he cannot control himself with her around. He wants to take her home, lay her down and make love to her all night. The second verse describes how the singer will take his time during sex and make it last all night long. The lyrics in the bridge suggest that the singer does not want to fight or fuss while making love; he wants a smooth and gentle experience where they can just enjoy each other’s company.
Overall, the song portrays the desire for love and intimacy without the complexities of a committed relationship. It is a song about enjoying the moment, experiencing pleasure, and sharing an intimate connection with someone without any drama.
Line by Line Meaning
Either you with me or against me
I need to know if you want to be with me or not
Tell me what you want to do do you wan to be with me
Please tell me if you want to be with me
Baby you looking so good tonight I can't control myself
You look amazing tonight, I can't help but feel attracted to you
I want to take you home with me
I want to bring you back to my place
And lay you on your back take off all your clothes
I want to undress you and lay you on your back
Make love to you like you never ever known
I want to make love to you in a way you've never experienced before
And I'm going to take my time and give it to you right
I want to take my time and make sure I please you
I want to make love to you all night
I want to make love to you for the entire night
All you have to do is hold the back of my head
You just need to hold my head as I pleasure you
As I stroke you back and fourth real slow, real slow nice and easy, nice and easy
I want to slowly pleasure you with soft and gentle movements
That's what I'm going to do all night long why'all
I'm going to keep pleasuring you this way for as long as we're making love
Ain't no one gonna interrupt our love making baby
No one is going to interrupt us while we're making love
Twenty four seven 365 days of the year
I want to make love to you all day, every day
I'll do anything to have your body here
I'll do anything to have you in my arms
Let's fly high like the bird we call a dove, let's fly high when we making love
Let's reach new heights of pleasure together when we make love
I just want to make love to you, but we go tot do it right
I just want us to make love in the right way
I just want to make love to you, I don't wan to fuss and fight
I don't want us to argue, I just want to make love to you
Do you want to dance take my hand and follow me
Would you like to dance with me? Come with me and let's dance
Let's dance the night away
Let's dance all night long
You're gonna think that we are making love on the dance floor
Our dancing will be so passionate that it will feel like we're making love on the dance floor
I'm gonna do so many freaky things to you
I'm going to do many exciting and pleasurable things to you
I'm gonna hold you so close grind on you real slow
I'm going to hold you close and pleasure you with slow, grinding movements
I'm gonna make you want to get your coat and come on home with me
I'm going to pleasure you so much that you'll want to come home with me
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JERRY LYNN WILLIAMS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind