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.
One Scotch
Jimmy Witherspoon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer, yeah
Please Mr. Bartender, listen here
I ain’t here for trouble so have no fear
One scotch, one bourbon and one beer
I don’t want soda up, bubble gum
You got what it takes now give me some
I’m on this kick and I can't get on
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer
Hey Mr. Bartender, listen here
I ain’t here for trouble and have no fear
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer
My baby started me on this spree
I can’t find her and she can’t find me
She left this morning, sayin' she wouldn’t stay
She’s been out all night and it’s the break of day
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer, yeah
Hey Mr. Bartender, listen here
I ain’t here for trouble and have no fear
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer
One more nipping make it strong
I got to find my baby if it’s all night long
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer, yeah
Hey Mr. Bartender, listen here
I ain’t here for trouble and have no fear
One scotch, one bourbon and one beer
Did you hear me, fellas, I said?
Pour a quarter, one scotch
Now I’m gonna put a bourbon on the side
Give me bourbon who serves two
One scotch
Jimmy Witherspoon's "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer" is a song about a man who has been recently abandoned by his significant other and is coping with the loss of his love by compulsively drinking. The singer asks the bartender for "one scotch, one bourbon, one beer" repeatedly, insisting that he doesn't want any soda pop or gum. He admits that he is on a "kick" that he can't get off of and that he needs these drinks to deal with his girlfriend's departure. He implores the bartender to make his drink strong so he can find his girlfriend if it takes all night.
The lyrics are full of lamentation and desperation, hinting at the singer's inability to cope with being alone after his significant other has left him. His girlfriend appears to have left him with no explanation other than that she wasn't going to stay anymore. The song communicates a sense of sadness, pain and loneliness at the same time a man tries to fix his broken heart and numb his sadness.
Line by Line Meaning
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer
I want one shot of scotch, one shot of bourbon, and one beer
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer, yeah
I really want one shot of scotch, one shot of bourbon, and one beer
Please Mr. Bartender, listen here
Hey, bartender, please pay attention to me
I ain’t here for trouble so have no fear
Don't worry, I'm not looking for any problems
One scotch, one bourbon and one beer
Just to be clear, I want one shot of scotch, one shot of bourbon, and one beer
I don’t want soda up, bubble gum
I don't want any frills or fancy mixers
You got what it takes now give me some
I know you have these three drinks, so please give them to me
Since my baby’s been gone, everyday is lost
Ever since my girlfriend left me, my days have been empty
I’m on this kick and I can't get on
I'm stuck in this habit and can't shake it off
My baby started me on this spree
My girlfriend was the one who introduced me to these drinks
I can’t find her and she can’t find me
We've lost track of each other
She left this morning, sayin' she wouldn’t stay
She left this morning and said she wouldn't be coming back
She’s been out all night and it’s the break of day
She's been out all night and it's now morning
One more nipping make it strong
Can you please make this last shot stronger?
I got to find my baby if it’s all night long
I need to find my girlfriend, even if it takes me all night
Did you hear me, fellas, I said?
Hey, guys, did you hear what I'm asking for?
Pour a quarter, one scotch
Can you pour me a quarter of a shot of scotch?
Now I’m gonna put a bourbon on the side
I also want a shot of bourbon
Give me bourbon who serves two
Please give me a double shot of bourbon
One scotch
Just to be clear, I still want one shot of scotch
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: RUDOLPH TOOMBS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MrSpiderro
Lyrics
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer, yeah
Please Mr. Bartender, listen here
I ain’t here for trouble so have no fear
One scotch, one bourbon and one beer
I don’t want soda up, bubble gum
You got what it takes now give me some
Since my baby’s been gone, everyday is lost
I’m on this kick and I can't get on
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer
Hey Mr. Bartender, listen here
I ain’t here for trouble and have no fear
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer
My baby started me on this spree
I can’t find her and she can’t find me
She left this morning, sayin' she wouldn’t stay
She’s been out all night and it’s the break of day
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer, yeah
Hey Mr. Bartender, listen here
I ain’t here for trouble and have no fear
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer
One more nipping make it strong
I got to find my baby if it’s all night long
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer
One scotch, one bourbon, one beer, yeah
Hey Mr. Bartender, listen here
I ain’t here for trouble and have no fear
One scotch, one bourbon and one beer
Did you hear me, fellas, I said?
Pour a quarter, one scotch
Now I’m gonna put a bourbon on the side
Give me bourbon who serves two
One scotch
@0040489
GOOD!!
@SwingboyPA
??? Hi...I'm not sure what you thought I meant, but I'm just commenting that this version is better than anything Thorogood could put out. Sadly, a lot of folks think that the G.T. version is the 'go to' version of this song. I've met people who have thought that Thorogood wrote the song. :( I guess the bright side is that crossover guys like Thorogood are perhaps keeping people interested in Blues, but that's another post... :)
@youreordinaryfool3163
good post
claps
@PRFCTCUE
This isn't the Thorogood version my friend.
@SwingboyPA
Jimmy is SO much better than that slacker George Thorogood.