James John (Jimmy) Witherspoon, also known by the nickname “Spoon”, was a versatile "blues shouter" who achieved commercial success and critical acclaim in the genres of blues, jazz, and rhythm and blues. His 1947 recording “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” was a hit in 1949 and became his signature song.
His date of birth is usually given as August 8, 1923, but some sources give the birth year as 1920, and more than one source gives the birth date as August 18, 1921, attributing the information to his son. Since he may have run away from home to Los Angeles, California, as early as 1935, the earlier dates seem more plausible. In a 1996 interview, he gave his age as seventy-four, which also corresponds with the 1921 date.
Jimmy Witherspoon was born in Gurdon (Clark County) Arkansas to Leonard Witherspoon, a Missouri Pacific Railroad brakeman, and Eva Tatum Witherspoon, a church pianist. The family was devoutly religious. His parents were members of the choir at their Baptist church.
He didn't pursue music professionally until after his stint in the Merchant Marines in World War II. On his return to the Unites States in 1944, he replaced Walter Brown in Jay McShann's band, and performed with Big Joe Turner and T-Bone Walker.
Witherpoon's first hit record was "Ain't Nobody's Business", which he followed in 1949 with a reworking of the Leroy Carr song "In the Evening When the Sun Goes Down". His hit "Ain't Nobody's Business" was one of the biggest records of the era, and stayed on the Billboard charts for 34 weeks. Spoon made at least 200 recordings, and was one of the few true giants of the post-war blues boom.
Witherspoon recorded for a variety of labels through the 1950s, including cornerstone sides with Swingtime, Federal, Chess, RCA, and even a Dixieland session with The Wilbur de Paris New Orleans Jazz Band for Atlantic in 1956. His long career included performances on jazz stages around the world, from Carnegie Hall to the Newport Jazz Festival, touring Japan with Count Basie, and European tours with Buck Clayton's All Stars. Witherspoon managed to span the worlds of blues, R&B, and jazz with his deep baritone voice and unique style.
Witherspoon died September 18, 1997 in Los Angeles, California.
Spoon first attracted attention singing with Teddy Weatherford's band in Calcutta, India, which made regular radio broadcasts over the U. S. Armed Forces Radio Service during World War II. Witherspoon made his first records with Jay McShann's band in 1945. In 1949, recording under his own name with the McShann band, he had his first hit, "Ain't Nobody's Business,"[2] a song which came to be regarded as his signature tune. In 1950 he had hits with two more songs closely identified with him: "No Rollin' Blues", "Big Fine Girl", as well as "Failing By Degrees" and "New Orleans Woman" recorded with the Gene Gilbeaux Orchestra which included Herman Washington and Don Hill on the Modern Records label. These were recorded from a live performance on May 10, 1949 at a "Just Jazz" concert Pasadena, CA sponsored by Gene Norman. Another classic Witherspoon composition is "Times Gettin' Tougher Than Tough".
Witherspoon's style of blues - that of the "blues shouter" - became unfashionable in the mid-1950s, but he returned to popularity with his 1959 album, Jimmy Witherspoon at the Monterey Jazz Festival, which featured Roy Eldridge, Woody Herman, Ben Webster, Coleman Hawkins, Earl Hines and Mel Lewis, among others. He later recorded with Gerry Mulligan, Leroy Vinnegar, Richard "Groove" Holmes and T-Bone Walker.
Tours and successes
In 1961 he toured Europe with Buck Clayton and returned to the UK on many occasions, featuring on a mid-sixties live UK recording Spoon Sings and Swings (1966) with tenor sax player Dick Morrissey's quartet. In 1970, he appeared on Brother Jack McDuff's London Blue Note recording To Seek a New Home together with British jazz musicians, including Dick Morrissey, again, and Terry Smith. In the 1970s he also recorded the album Guilty! (later released on CD as Black & White Blues) with Eric Burdon and featuring Ike White & the San Quentin Prison Band. He then toured with a band of his own featuring Robben Ford and Russ Ferrante. A recording from this period, Spoonful, featured 'Spoon accompanied by Robben Ford, Joe Sample, Cornell Dupree, Thad Jones and Bernard Purdie. He continued performing and recording into the 1990s.
Other performers with whom Witherspoon recorded include Jimmy Rowles, Earl "Fatha" Hines, Vernon Alley, Mel Lewis, Teddy Edwards, Gerald Wiggins, John Clayton, Paul Humphrey, Pepper Adams, Kenny Burrell, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Jimmy Smith, Long John Baldry, Junior Mance, Ellington bassist Jimmy Woode, Kenny Clarke, Gerry Mulligan, Jim Mullen, Count Basie, Van Morrison, Dutch Swing College Band, Gene Gilbeaux and others.
Acting
In the 1995 film Georgia, Witherspoon portrayed a traveling, gun-collecting blues singer, Trucker, who has a relationship with the troubled character Sadie, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Evenin'
Jimmy Witherspoon Lyrics
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Ev'ry night you come and you find me, oh Lord
And you always come and remind me, oh yes
That my gal is gone, my baby's gone, oh Lord, my baby's gone
Evenin'
Can't you see I'm deeply in your power, oh Lord?
Every minute seems like an hour, oh Lord
Now shadow's fallin', well,
Are on the wall
That's the time I miss your kiss, most of all
Even though I try, how can I go on, oh yes, go on
Pretty baby
Evenin'
Let me sleep 'til the gray dawn is breakin', oh yes
I don't care if I don't awaken, oh Lord
Since my gal she's gone, my baby's gone, oh yes she's gone
Evenin'
Let me sleep 'til gray dawn is breakin', oh Lord
I don't care if I don't awaken, oh yes, since my gal she's gone
My baby's gone, my baby's gone
My baby's gone
The song "Evenin'" by Jimmy Witherspoon is about a man who is struggling to cope with the loss of his lover. Every night, he is reminded of her absence, and he feels helpless and powerless without her. The lyrics are poignant and emotional, conveying the depth of his grief and the longing he feels for his lost love.
The song begins with the lyrics, "Ev'ry night you come and you find me, oh Lord / And you always come and remind me, oh yes / That my gal is gone, my baby's gone, oh Lord, my baby's gone". These lines suggest that the singer is talking to "Evenin'" as a personification of the night. He feels like the night is taunting him with his loneliness and the absence of his lover. This sets the tone for the rest of the song, which is filled with sadness, longing, and heartache.
As the song continues, the singer talks about how deeply he is affected by his lover's absence. He says that every minute feels like an hour, and he can't imagine how he will go on without her. The lines "Now shadow's fallin', well, / Are on the wall / That's the time I miss your kiss, most of all" are particularly poignant. They suggest that the singer is struggling to cope with the night, and that the darkness serves as a reminder of his loss.
The song ends with the lines "Evenin' / Let me sleep 'til the gray dawn is breakin', oh yes / Since my gal she's gone, my baby's gone, oh yes she's gone". These lines suggest that the singer is resigned to his fate, and that he just wants to sleep until the morning when he can try to face the day without his lover. Overall, "Evenin'" is a moving and emotional song about the pain of losing someone you love.
Line by Line Meaning
Evenin'
Addressing the evening as a person or entity
Ev'ry night you come and you find me, oh Lord
The singer feels that evening always comes and reminds him of the absence of his lover
And you always come and remind me, oh yes
Evening is a reminder of the singer's loneliness
That my gal is gone, my baby's gone, oh Lord, my baby's gone
The artist's lover is no longer with him and he is feeling the absence deeply
Can't you see I'm deeply in your power, oh Lord?
The artist feels trapped by the evening's constant reminder of his loneliness
Every minute seems like an hour, oh Lord
The singer is experiencing time slowly and painfully
Since my gal, she's gone, my baby's gone, my baby's gone
The loss of the singer's lover is affecting his perception of time
Now shadow's fallin', well, are on the wall
The physical presence of darkness is a metaphor for the artist's emotional state
That's the time I miss your kiss, most of all
The evening reminds the artist of the physical intimacy he once shared with his lover
Even though I try, how can I go on, oh yes, go on
The artist is struggling to move on from the loss of his lover
Pretty baby
An affectionate term for the singer's lover
Let me sleep 'til the gray dawn is breakin', oh yes
The artist is asking for respite from his emotional pain
I don't care if I don't awaken, oh Lord
The singer is indifferent to the possibility of not waking up
Since my gal she's gone, my baby's gone, oh yes she's gone
The singer's lover is gone, and the pain lingers even in his sleep
Evenin'
Reiteration of the address to the evening as a presence in the singer's life
Let me sleep 'til gray dawn is breakin', oh Lord
Repetition of the request for rest from the pain
My baby's gone, my baby's gone
The loss of the artist's lover is repeated, underscoring his pain
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HARRY A. WHITE, MITCHELL PARISH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind