STUDIO SESSION FOR SAMMY LEWIS & WILLIE JOHNSON COMBO
AT THE MEMPHIS RECORDING SERVICE FOR SUN RECORDS 1955
SUN RECORDING STUDIO
706 UNION AVENUE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
SUN SESSION: MONDAY MARCH 28, 1955
SESSION HOURS: UNKNOWN
PRODUCER AND RECORDING ENGINEER - SAM C. PHILLIPS
Smokestack lightning in a bottle would be a fair account of ''I Feel So Worried''. The song's steam-driven pulse coupled the driving rhythm of ''Mystery Train'' to the formidable roar of Howlin' Wolf. This scenario can be partly explained by the presence of Willie Johnson (born March 4th 1923 in Senatobia, Mississippi) who had occupied the guitar chair in Wolf's group-double-headed by Memphis harmonica player, Sammy Lewis, (born August 9th 1932) this made for a classic Sun blues issue. (SC)
"I FEEL SO WORRIED*"
Composer: - Sammy Lewis-Willie Johnson
Publisher: - B.M.I. - Hi-Lo Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - U 146 - Take 3 Master (2:37)
Recorded: - March 28, 1955
Released: - April 25, 1955
First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 78/45rpm standard single SUN 218-A mono
I FEEL SO WORRIED / SO LONG BABY GOODBYE
Reissued - 1994 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15801-3-29 mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 1
Sam Phillips tried yet again in recapture the success he had found with Little Junior Parker's ''Feelin' Good''. His most obvious attempt was with Little Junior himself, but Phillips never deemed ''Feelin' Bad'', worthy of release. Although ''Feelin' Bad'' was by no means a weak record, this track is truly the ultimate sequel. In fact, in many ways, it eclipses the original. ''I Feel So Worried'' differs in some ways from Parker's original; the tempo is a touch slower and ''Worried'' is performed in a minor key, or at least comes close to being in a minor key. More on that below. The song also retains the vocal effect (the cry for a flatted-7 note to 8: for example, from B-flat to C) that made ''Feelin' Good'' so memorable, and it captivates the listener once again. Like many of Sun's best blues recordings, this track announces itself and demands attention within the first two bars. Sammy Lewis talk/sing style engaging throughout, and the brief and sudden appearance of a second harmonica at the end of the guitar solo is quite a strong tough.
Not knowing whether this record is in a minor key adds much to its appeal. Without getting too technical, the song is laced with blues notes (flatted-thirds). It's hard to know whether the song is actually written in a major key and features more than its share of blue notes, or whether those flatted thirds are actually part of a minor scale. There's no real way to be sure and whether you're a musician or not, that confusion creates a lot of appealing tension. A fairly well-known example is Dale Hawkins ''Susie Q''. The verdict is no clearer there than it is here. Lewis' vocal, like Parker's before it, is strikingly Southern. In this case, its back country ways may have restricted the disc's urban potential, although it is surprisingly that ''Worried'' didn't grab more attention even in rural venues. Nevertheless, the track is a gem deservedly regarded as one of Sun's best blues records. (HD)
"SO LONG BABY GOODBYE**"
Composer: - Willie Johnson
Publisher: - B.M.I. - Hi-Lo Music Incorporated
Matrix number: - U 147 - Take 1 Master (2:07)
Recorded: - March 28, 1955
Released: - April 25, 1955
First appearance: - Sun Records (S) 78/45rpm standard single SUN 218-B mono
SO LONG BABY GOODBYE / I FEEL SO WORRIED
Reissued - 1994 Bear Family Records (CD) 500/200rpm BCD 15801-3-30 mono
THE SUN SINGLES COLLECTION - VOLUME 1
This well played blues tune might have had a better fate had it not been buried as the flipside of one of the best records released on Sun. it's not as exceptional as the flip, to be sure, but there is plenty to like here. It's a rock solid 12-bar blues with a fine groove, but unexpectedly there's more than that. The line that has probably remained ingrained in those of us who heard this record as impressionable youths is Willie's immortal entreaty, ''Well all right Sammy, blow the back off it''. It's truly hard to get that image (or those words) out of one's consciousness. (HD)
Name (Or. No. Of Instruments)
Sammy Lewis - Vocals* - & Harmonica
Willie Johnson - Vocals** & Guitar
L.C. Hubert - Piano
Joe Nathan Franklin - Drums
Unknown Possibly L.C. Hubert - Piano
© - 706 UNION AVENUE SESSIONS - ©
0:41
2:09:36
2:32
2:21
