Mean Old World

"Mean Old World"
Single by T-Bone Walker
B-side	"I Got a Break, Baby"
Released	1942 (1942)
Format	10" 78 rpm record
Recorded	Hollywood July 20, 1942 (1942-07-20)
Genre	Blues
Length	2:56
Label	Capitol (Cat. no. 10033)
T-Bone Walker singles chronology
"T-Bone Blues" (1940) "Mean Old World" (1942) "Sail on Boogie"/ "I'm Still in Love with You" (1945)

"Mean Old World" is a blues song recorded by T-Bone Walker in 1942.^[1] It has been described (along with the single's B-side) as "the first important blues recordings on the electric guitar".^[2] Over the years it has been interpreted and recorded by numerous blues and other artists.

Original song

T-Bone Walker began performing "Mean Old World" when he was with Les Hite and His Orchestra from 1939 to 1940.^[3] After leaving Hite's band, Walker continued to develop and refine his style on the Los Angeles club circuit. In 1942, he recorded "Mean Old World" for Capitol Records. The song was performed in the West Coast blues style, with a small combo of Freddie Slack (piano), Jud DeNaut (bass), and Dave Coleman (drums) accompanying Walker (vocal and guitar). "Mean Old World" "showcased T-Bones's new, and already developed, style, in which he answered his smoky, soulful vocal phrases with deft, stinging, jazz-inflected lead lines on his electric guitar".^[2]

Because of a recording ban, T-Bone Walker did not record again until 1945, when a second version of "Mean Old World" was completed for the Rhumboogie label. This version, titled "Mean Old World Blues", did not feature Walker's guitar as prominently (the backing Marl Young's Orchestra had a five-piece horn section) and some new lyrics were substituted. However, the opening verses remained the same:

This is a mean old world, baby to live in by yourself

This is a mean old world, babe to live in by yourself

When you can't get the woman you love, you know she's loving someone else

This anticipated future versions, in which new lyrics would be added to the familiar opening lines.

Little Walter version

In October 1952,^[4] Little Walter recorded his version of "Mean Old World" (Checker 764). It was recast as a Chicago blues, with Walter's amplified harmonica prominently featured and several new lyrics substituted. The song was a hit, reaching #6 on the Billboard R&B chart, where it remained for six weeks in 1953.^[5] Backing Little Walter are The Aces (guitarists Louis and Dave Myers and drummer Fred Below).^[4] T-Bone Walker's Capitol version was released before Billboard magazine or a similar service began tracking such releases, so it is difficult to gauge which version was more popular. Little Walter received the sole credit for his recording.

Other versions

Many blues and other artists have recorded "Mean Old World", including Walter Brown (1947 single); Snooks Eaglin (from his 1959 album New Orleans Street Singer); Sam Cooke (1963 Night Beat); James Cotton (1967 Late Night Blues); Chicken Shack (1969 O.K. Ken?); Ike & Tina Turner (1969 Outta Season); Eric Clapton & Duane Allman (1970 Crossroads); Bobby Bland & B.B. King (1976 Bobby Bland and B. B. King Together Again...Live); Otis Rush (1976 Cold Day in Hell); Chuck Berry (1972 The London Chuck Berry Sessions); George "Mojo" Buford (1979 Mojo Buford's Blues Summit); Luther Tucker (1990 Sad Hours); Lowell Fulson (1997 Blue Shadows); and Willie Cobbs (2000 Jukin').

References

1. ^ The opening verses appear in Bill Gaither's "Mean Old World to Live In" (1938 Decca 7606); Big Bill Broonzy's "Mean Old World" has different lyrics and arrangement (1937 ARC 7-07-64).
2. ^ ^{a b} Harper, Johnny. "T-Bone Walker: Blues Guitar Godfather". There Productions. http://www.there1.com/browse_articles.php?action=view_record&idnum=115. Retrieved August 15, 2010. 
3. ^ O'Neal, Jim; van Singel, Amy (2002). The Voice of the Blues: Classic Interviews from Living Blues Magazine. Routledge. ISBN 9780415936545. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Glover, Tony; Dirks, Scott; Gaines, Ward (2002). Blues with a Feeling: The Little Walter Story. Routledge. p. 288. ISBN 9780415937115. 
5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942-1988. Record Research, Inc. p. 261. ISBN 0898200687.