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.
Fool's Paradise
Jimmy Witherspoon Lyrics
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I can't hold the teardrops from my eyes
For at sundown I will lay a-dyin'
At the door of the Fool's Paradise
Rode into this cattle town this mornin'
Left my burro to check the market price
And I walked into the nearest barroom
There the crowd was gay and girls were dancin'
And the men were playin' cards and dice
So I stepped up to the bar to join them
What a grand place this Fool's Paradise
It was then I showed to them your picture
I passed it around once or twice
Then a man insulted your sweet honour
At the bar of the Fool's Paradise
So I slapped his face and I told him, I says
"You eat them words Mister, or draw, that's my advice"
And he said, "Well, somebody might get hurt inside
But I'll be glad to meet you in the street at sundown
At sundown in front of the Fool's Paradise"
So goodbye my darlin', may God bless you
I go to make this sacrifice
And if ever you visit old Dodge City
Remember the Fool's Paradise
The song Fool's Paradise by Jimmy Witherspoon is a mournful letter from a man who has found himself in trouble in a town called Dodge City. He has been insulted at the Fool's Paradise, a lively bar where people play cards and dice and women dance. The singer had shown the people in the bar a picture of his sweetheart and one man insulted her honor. He stood up for her and challenged the man to a duel at sundown in front of the Fool's Paradise. The singer knows he may not survive the duel, hence the tear drops in his eyes as he writes the letter to his sweetheart.
The lyrics of Fool's Paradise are a powerful depiction of a man standing up for the honor of his loved one in a place where right and wrong are often blurred. It is a reminder of the risks a person takes when living by a code of honor. It also highlights the consequences of violence and the sacrifice of love. The song portrays the singer’s journey as one that will ultimately end in tragedy.
Line by Line Meaning
As I write this letter to you darlin', I can't hold the teardrops from my eyes
I'm sad and crying as I write this letter to you, my love
For at sundown I will lay a-dyin', at the door of the Fool's Paradise
I will die tonight in front of the Fool's Paradise
Rode into this cattle town this mornin', left my burro to check the market price
I arrived in this town this morning and left my donkey to check the market prices
And I walked into the nearest barroom, they call it the Fool's Paradise
I entered the closest bar, which they refer to as the Fool's Paradise
There the crowd was gay and girls were dancin', and the men were playin' cards and dice
The bar was filled with happy people, dancing women, and men gambling with cards and dice
So I stepped up to the bar to join them, what a grand place this Fool's Paradise
Excitedly, I went to the bar and joined the crowd, commenting on what a great place this Fool's Paradise was
It was then I showed to them your picture, I passed it around once or twice
I shared a picture of you with the people and passed it around
Then a man insulted your sweet honour, at the bar of the Fool's Paradise
A man at the bar insulted your reputation, my love
So I slapped his face and I told him, I says 'You eat them words Mister, or draw, that's my advice'
I slapped him and warned him to take back his words or be ready to fight
And he said 'Well, somebody might get hurt inside, but I'll be glad to meet you in the street at sundown, at sundown in front of the Fool's Paradise'
The man warned that someone could get hurt in the bar, but he was looking forward to meeting me outside the Fool's Paradise at sundown
So goodbye my darlin', may God bless you, I go to make this sacrifice
So, my love, goodbye and may God bless you as I go to make this sacrifice
And if ever you visit old Dodge City, remember the Fool's Paradise
If you ever come to old Dodge City, remember the Fool's Paradise
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DANNY ELFMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind