Born Under a Bad Sign (song)
| "Born Under a Bad Sign" | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Single by Albert King | |
| B-side | "Personal Manager" |
| Released | 1967 |
| Format | 7-inch 45 rpm record |
| Recorded | May 17, 1967 |
| Studio | Stax, Memphis, Tennessee |
| Genre | Soul blues |
| Length | 2:44 |
| Label | Stax |
| Writer(s) | Booker T. Jones, William Bell |
| "Born Under a Bad Sign" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Cream from the album Wheels of Fire | |
| Released | February 1968 (UK) |
| Genre | Blues rock |
| Length | 3:09 |
| Label | Polydor |
| Writer(s) | Booker T. Jones, William Bell |
| Producer(s) | Felix Pappalardi |
"Born Under a Bad Sign" is a blues song recorded by American blues singer and guitarist Albert King in 1967. Called "a timeless staple of the blues", the song also had strong crossover appeal to the rock audience with its bass and guitar harmony line and topical astrology reference. "Born Under a Bad Sign" became an R&B chart hit for King and numerous blues and other musicians have made it perhaps the most recorded Albert King song.
The lyrics to "Born Under a Bad Sign" were written by Stax Records rhythm and blues singer William Bell with music by Stax bandleader Booker T. Jones (of Booker T. & the M.G.'s). Bell recalled, "We needed a blues song for Albert King ... I had this idea in the back of my mind that I was gonna do myself. Astrology and all that stuff was pretty big then. I got this idea that [it] might work." The lyrics describe "hard luck and trouble" tempered by "wine and women", with wordplay in the chorus in the turnaround:
Born under a bad sign, been down since I began to crawl
If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all
Similar lyrics are found in Lightnin' Slim's 1954 swamp blues song "Bad Luck Blues":
Lord if it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all (2×)
You know bad luck has been followin' poor Lightnin', ever since I began to crawl
Now folks I was born in the last month of the year
Jones's arrangement for the song does not follow the typical twelve-bar blues I-IV-V progression. Rather, it is dominated by an R&B-style bass/rhythm guitar line, which Bell claimed that he came up with "while fooling around on the guitar". Albert King provided his signature guitar fills around his vocals and solos during the break and outro, with backing by Booker T. & the M.G.'s and the Memphis Horns.
"Born Under a Bad Sign" became a Billboard R&B chart hit for King, reaching number 49. It was later included on his first album for Stax, also titled Born Under a Bad Sign. The album's cover depicts images of "bad luck signs" or common superstitions, including a black cat, a Friday the 13th calendar page, skull and crossbones, ace of spades, and snake eyes. Subsequently, the song has appeared on numerous King and various artist collections.
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