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.
I Wanna Be Around
Jimmy Witherspoon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When somebody breaks your heart
Some somebody twice as smart as I
A somebody who will swear to be true
As you used to do with me
Who'll leave you to learn
That misery loves company, wait and see
I mean, I wanna be around to see how he does it
When he breaks your heart to bits
Let's see if the puzzle fits so fine
And that's when I'll discover that revenge is sweet
As I sit there applaudin' from a front-row seat
When somebody breaks your heart
Like you, like you broke mine
In Jimmy Witherspoon's song "I Wanna Be Around," he expresses his desire to be present when someone else inevitably breaks the heart of the person who broke his heart. He begins the song with the line "I wanna be around to pick up the pieces when somebody breaks your heart" and goes on to explain that he wants to be there to witness the moment when the person who caused him pain experiences the same heartbreak, with someone "twice as smart" as him.
He then describes the satisfaction he would feel when watching the person who caused him pain suffer the same fate, exclaiming "revenge is sweet" as he sits in the front row, watching the drama unfold. Witherspoon's interpretation of heartbreak is one of an inevitable cycle, where everyone gets hurt eventually, and the satisfaction of seeing someone else suffer is the only comfort.
Overall, Witherspoon's lyrics are an insightful commentary on the complex emotions and power dynamics of hurt and revenge. While the song initially seems bitter and vengeful, it ultimately reveals a sympathetic perspective on the cycle of hurt and pain, and the desire for some kind of closure or justice.
Line by Line Meaning
I wanna be around to pick up the pieces
I want to be present when someone breaks your heart so that I can help you pick up the pieces.
When somebody breaks your heart
When someone causes you emotional pain by breaking your heart.
Some somebody twice as smart as I
Someone who is twice as smart as me could break your heart in a more clever or sophisticated way than I did.
A somebody who will swear to be true
Someone who will make promises to be faithful to you, as you once did with me.
As you used to do with me
As you once made promises to be true to me.
Who'll leave you to learn
This person will leave you alone to experience the pain of heartbreak.
That misery loves company, wait and see
You will soon realize that other people who are also in pain will gravitate towards you since misery loves company.
I mean, I wanna be around to see how he does it
I want to be present to witness how this other person will break your heart.
When he breaks your heart to bits
When this person causes you immense emotional pain by breaking your heart into tiny pieces.
Let's see if the puzzle fits so fine
Let's see if this person fits perfectly into your life, or if they end up causing chaos and heartbreak.
And that's when I'll discover that revenge is sweet
At that moment, I will realize that there is a certain pleasure in seeing someone who hurt me experience the same pain.
As I sit there applaudin' from a front-row seat
I will sit back and enjoy the show while watching the person who hurt me experience emotional pain.
Like you, like you broke mine
Just like how you broke my heart, this person will also inflict emotional pain on you.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHNNY MERCER, SADIE VIMMERSTEDT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind