"Young Man Blues" is a song by jazz artist Mose Allison. Allison first recorded it in March 1957 for his debut album, '' Back Country Suite'', in which it appears under the title "Back Country Suite: Blues". In Allison's two-CD compilation set of 2002, ''Allison Wonderland'', Allison reveals that the tune's full title is: "Back Country Suite: Blues (a.k.a. 'Young Man's Blues')".

The Who version

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

performed "Young Man Blues" regularly in concert between 1968 and 1970. The first appearance of the song by the group was a studio recording on the limited-edition sampler album ''The House That Track Built'' released on 1 September 1969. This version was not available again until 2003 when it was included on the deluxe edition of the '' Tommy'' album. The most recognized version comes from the 1970 album ''

Live at Leeds ''Live at Leeds'' is the first live album by the English rock music, rock band the Who, recorded at the University of Leeds Refectory on 14 February 1970 and released on 11 May 1970, by Decca Records, Decca and MCA Records, MCA in the United St ...

'', where it was the opening track of the original release. Allison himself called this the "Command Performance" version of his song. It was released as a single in Canada and reached number 38. Another live performance, from a 1969 performance at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, City of Westminster, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the Lond ...

, features in the movie and soundtrack for '' The Kids Are Alright''. A live performance from the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival was used in the documentary film '' Message to Love''. The Who brought it back briefly in 1974, again in 1982 and finally in 2002. The song was included in ''

Rock Band 2 ''Rock Band 2'' is a 2008 rhythm game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to ''Rock Band (video game), Rock Band'' (2007) and the second installment in the Rock Band, ''Rock Band ' ...

'' as downloadable content.

Other covers

It has also been covered live by

You Am I You Am I are an Australian power pop band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted at the ...

Joe Bonamassa Joseph Leonard Bonamassa ( ; born May 8, 1977) is an American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He started his career at age twelve, when he opened for B.B. King. Since 2000, Bonamassa has released fifteen solo albums through his inde ...

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, The Bright Light Social Hour and Motorpsycho. The tune is also found on Chris Spedding's 2009 reissued album ''One Step Ahead of the Blues'', where in the liner notes Spedding states he was trying make a version which was how he imagined Allison originally recorded it; having never heard it. Spedding's

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

version differs considerably from either Allison's

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

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 ...

or the Who's rock versions.

References

{{Authority control The Who songs American jazz songs