"Good Morning, School Girl" | ||||
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Single by Sonny Boy Williamson I | ||||
B-side | "Sugar Mama Blues" | |||
Released | 1937 | |||
Format | 10-inch 78 rpm | |||
Recorded | Aurora, Illinois, May 5, 1937 | |||
Genre | Blues | |||
Length | 3:00 | |||
Label | Bluebird (no. 7059) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Unknown | |||
Sonny Boy Williamson I singles chronology | ||||
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"Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl" | |
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Single by Don and Bob | |
B-side | "I'm Lost" |
Released | 1961 |
Format | 7-inch 45 rpm |
Recorded | 1961 |
Genre | Rhythm and blues |
Length | 2:25 |
Label | Argo (no. 5400) |
Songwriter(s) | Don Level, Bob Love |
"Good Morning, School Girl" is a blues standard which has been identified as an influential blues song. Pre-war Chicago blues vocalist and harmonica pioneer John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson first recorded it in 1937. Subsequently, a variety of artists have recorded versions of the song, usually calling it "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl".
Sonny Boy Williamson I recorded "Good Morning, School Girl" in 1937 during his first recording session for Bluebird Records. The song is an uptempo blues with an irregular number of bars. Although identified with Chicago blues, a write-up in the Blues Hall of Fame notes "it was a product of Sonny Boy’s west Tennessee roots and his pre-Chicago ensemble work". The melody has been traced to “Back and Side Blues”, a 1934 blues song recorded by Son Bonds. "Good Morning, School Girl" features Williamson's vocal and harmonica with accompaniment by Big Joe Williams and Robert Lee McCoy (also known as Robert Nighthawk) on guitars.
In October 1948, Leroy Dallas recorded a version of the song which he entitled "Good Morning Blues". It was released as a single on Sittin' In With Records. The Texas bluesman Smokey Hogg recorded his version, calling it "Little School Girl". In 1950, the song reached number five on the Billboard R&B chart. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, several versions of "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" were recorded as acoustic country-style blues, including versions by John Lee Hooker, Lightnin' Hopkins, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Muddy Waters and Doctor Ross. In 1965, Junior Wells with Buddy Guy recorded it as a Chicago blues, with a distinctive guitar and bass line, for their influential Hoodoo Man Blues album. McDowell included a 1971 performance on Live in New York and in 1978, Muddy Waters recorded an updated rendition for I'm Ready.