My Babe
Little Walter's only number-one R&B hit written by Willie Dixon.
"My Babe" is a Chicago blues song written by Willie Dixon for Little Walter. Released in 1955 on Checker Records, a subsidiary of Chess Records, it was the only Dixon composition to reach number one on the R&B singles chart. The song became one of the biggest hits of both Dixon's and Little Walter's careers.
Quick Facts
- Artist
- Little Walter
- B-side
- Thunder Bird
- Released
- 1955
- Recorded
- January 25, 1955
- Genre
- R&B, Chicago blues
- Label
- Checker
- Writer
- Willie Dixon
- Producer
- Leonard Chess, Phil Chess
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- Willie Dixon based "My Babe" on the traditional gospel song "This Train (Is Bound For Glory)" recorded by Sister Rosetta Tharpe as "This Train".
- The song was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 2008 in the "Classic of Blues Recording – Singles or Album Tracks" category.
- In 1961, "My Babe" was re-issued with an overdubbed female vocal backing chorus and briefly crossed over to the pop charts.
Releases and charts
Little Walter recorded "My Babe" within days of Ray Charles's "I Got a Woman" appearing on the national R&B charts. Checker released the single while Charles's song was still charting. "My Babe" spent 19 weeks on the Billboard R&B charts beginning on March 12, 1955, including five weeks at number one, surpassing Charles's record. The B-side was the harmonica instrumental "Thunderbird," following the pattern of Little Walter's 1952 number-one hit "Juke," which paired a vocal performance with a harmonica instrumental on the flip side.
More in Checker Records Singles
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