Jimmy Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 - September 18, 1997) was an American blu… Read Full Bio ↴Jimmy Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 - September 18, 1997) was an American blues singer.

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.

Good Rockin' Tonight
Jimmy Witherspoon Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Well, I heard the news
There's good rockin' tonight.
Well, I heard the news
There's good rockin' tonight.

I'm gonna hold my baby
As tight as I can.
Tonight she'll know

I'm a mighty, mighty man.
I heard the news,
There's good rockin' tonight.

I say, well, meet me in a hurry
Behind the barn,
Don't you be afraid, darling,
I'll do you no harm
I want you to bring
Along my rockin' shoes,
'cause tonight I'm gonna rock away
All my blues.
I heard the news,
There's good rockin' tonight.

Well, we're gonna rock. we're gonna rock.
Let's rock. come on and rock.
We're gonna rock all our blues away.

Have you heard the news?
Everybody's rockin' tonight.
Have you heard the news?
Everybody's rockin' tonight.

I'm gonna hold my baby
As tight as I can,
Well, tonight she'll know
I'm a mighty, mighty man.
I heard the news,
There's good rockin' tonight.

Well, we're gonna rock, rock, rock,
Come on and rock, rock, rock,
Well, rock, rock, rock, rock,

Let's rock, rock, rock, rock,
We're gonna rock all our blues away.

Overall Meaning

In Jimmy Witherspoon's song "Good Rockin' Tonight", the lyrics are about hearing the news of a night of good rock and roll. The singer talks about how he is going to hold his baby tight and show her how much of a "mighty, mighty man" he is. He urges his partner to meet him behind a barn, promising her that she has nothing to be afraid of, and tells her to bring his rockin' shoes. He then expresses his excitement about "rocking away all [his] blues". The chorus emphasizes the excitement about the list of people who are rocking tonight and expresses a resolve to rock all their blues away. These lyrics are classic of early rock and roll, boasting about dancing and having fun on a night out.

Line by Line Meaning

Well, I heard the news There's good rockin' tonight.
I received some news that we're going to have a great time tonight with some excellent music.

I'm gonna hold my baby As tight as I can. Tonight she'll know I'm a mighty, mighty man. I heard the news, There's good rockin' tonight.
I am going to hold my significant other very closely tonight, and they will know that I'll be a powerful force. I just heard some news that tonight will be an exciting night for rock music.

I say, well, meet me in a hurry Behind the barn, Don't you be afraid, darling, I'll do you no harm I want you to bring Along my rockin' shoes, 'cause tonight I'm gonna rock away All my blues. I heard the news, There's good rockin' tonight.
Meet me quickly behind the barn, and do not be afraid, sweetheart. I'll do whatever I can to make sure that you're safe. I need you to bring me my shoes made for dancing because tonight, I'll be dancing away any sorrows that I have. My excitement for tonight's rock concert began with the news I received earlier.

Well, we're gonna rock. we're gonna rock. Let's rock. come on and rock. We're gonna rock all our blues away.
We're all going to rock out tonight and dance away any sadness that we've been feeling.

Have you heard the news? Everybody's rockin' tonight. Have you heard the news? Everybody's rockin' tonight.
Have you heard the news about the rock concert tonight? Everybody is going to be there and will be listening to some incredible music.

I'm gonna hold my baby As tight as I can, Well, tonight she'll know I'm a mighty, mighty man. I heard the news, There's good rockin' tonight.
I'm going to hold my sweetheart as tight as possible tonight. She'll notice my strength, and be in awe of me as she knows the excellence of the rock music that I heard about earlier.

Well, we're gonna rock, rock, rock, Come on and rock, rock, rock, Well, rock, rock, rock, rock, Let's rock, rock, rock, rock, We're gonna rock all our blues away.
We're all going to have a great time tonight, rocking out to the music and dancing away any issues that we might have had before.

Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management
Written by: Roy Brown

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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