"Big Boss Man" is a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

song first recorded by

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with a wide variety of audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), "Baby Wha ...

in 1960. It became one of his most popular songs, although the songwriting is credited to Luther Dixon and Al Smith.

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

-based

Vee-Jay Records Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana, in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...

released it as a single, which became one of Reed's last appearances on the record charts. The song has been recorded by artists in diverse styles, including

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

, and

Hope Sandoval Hope Sandoval (born June 24, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, and the lead singer of Mazzy Star and Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions. She has also toured and collaborated with other artists, including the Jesus and Mary Chain and Ma ...

, who also had chart successes with the song.

Original song

"Big Boss Man" is an uptempo

twelve-bar blues The twelve-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly ba ...

shuffle that features "one of the most influential Reed grooves of all time". It is credited to Jimmy Reed's manager, Al Smith, and

staff writer Luther Dixon. The song is one of the few Reed hits that was written by someone other than Reed and his wife Mama Reed. Reed recorded the song in

on March 29, 1960; backing Reed, who sang and played harmonica and guitar, are Mama Reed on vocal, Lee Baker and Lefty Bates on guitars,

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

on bass, and Earl Phillips on drums. "Big Boss Man" was originally released on Jimmy Reed's 1960 album ''Found Love''. In 1961, Vee-Jay Records released it as a single, which reached number 13 on ''Billboard''s R&B Hot Sides chart and number 78 on its

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

chart.

Legacy

In 1990, the song was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. In its induction statement,

historian Jim O'Neal noted that the song's appeal went beyond blues musicians and: The

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

included it in its 1995 list of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". As one of Reed's best-known songs, "Big Boss Man" has been recorded by numerous artists. In 1967, a version by

from the ''Clambake'' soundtrack reached number 38 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart. He performed the song as part of a medley during the '' Elvis 1968 Comeback Special''. In their early days, "Big Boss Man" was part of the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

's concert repertoire. It was usually sung by

Ron "Pigpen" McKernan Ronald Charles McKernan (September 8, 1945 – March 8, 1973), known as Pigpen, was an American musician. He was a founding member of the San Francisco Sound, San Francisco band the Grateful Dead and played in the group from 1965 to 1972. ...

, who also provided blues-style harmonica accompaniment. According to group chronicler David Malvinni, McKernan's "powerful voice" was well-suited to deliver convincing renditions of older blues songs, compared to vocals by other blues revival bands. A live recording first appeared on their 1971 self-titled album.

recorded the song for his 1985 album '' Six Silver Strings''. Released on a single by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

, his rendition reached number 62 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s Hot Black singles chart.

recorded the song for Mercury Rev's 2019 album '' Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited''. An album review noted: "Hope Sandoval takes 'Big Boss Man' in just the way you'd want and expect Hope Sandoval to take 'Big Boss Man'like it's an old Velvet Underground ballad she's just heard."

References

External links

Partial list of cover versions at Seconhandsongs.com
{{authority control 1960 songs Blues songs Songs written by Luther Dixon 1961 singles Jimmy Reed songs 1967 singles Elvis Presley songs 1985 singles B. B. King songs Vee-Jay Records singles Protest songs