"Big Boss Man" is a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

song first recorded by

Jimmy Reed Mathis James Reed (September 6, 1925 – August 29, 1976) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His particular style of electric blues was popular with blues as well as non-blues audiences. Reed's songs such as "Honest I Do" (1957), " ...

in 1960. It became one of his most popular songs, although the songwriting is credited to

Luther Dixon Luther Dixon (August 7, 1931 – October 22, 2009) was an American songwriter, record producer, and singer. Dixon's songs achieved their greatest success in the 1950s and 1960s, and were recorded by Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Jackson 5, B.B ...

and Al Smith. It one of Reed's last appearances on the record charts and other artists have also had chart successes with the song.

Original song

"Big Boss Man" is an uptempo twelve-bar blues shuffle that features "one of the most influential Reed grooves of all time". It is credited to Jimmy Reed's manager, Al Smith, and

Vee-Jay Records Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a h ...

staff writer Luther Dixon. The song is one of the few Reed hits that was written by someone other than Reed and his wife. Reed recorded the song in Chicago on March 29, 1960; backing Reed, who sang and played harmonica and guitar, are Mamma Reed on vocal, Lee Baker and

Lefty Bates Lefty Bates (March 9, 1920 – April 7, 2007)Doc Rock (2007) TheDeadRockStarsClub.com. Accessed October 13, 2011. was an American Chicago blues guitarist. He led the Lefty Bates Combo and worked with the El Dorados, the Flamingos, Jimmy Reed, Joh ...

on guitars,

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

on bass, and Earl Phillips on drums. "Big Boss Man" was originally released on Jimmy Reed's 1960 album ''Found Love''. In 1961,

released it as a single, which reached number 13 on ''Billboard''s R&B Hot Sides chart and number 78 on its

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart.

Legacy

In 1990, the song was inducted into the

Blues Foundation The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 175 blues organizations from various parts of the world. Founded in 1980, a 25-person board of directors governs the ...

Hall of Fame. In its induction statement, blues historian

Jim O'Neal Jim O'Neal (born November 25, 1948, Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States) is an American blues expert, writer, record producer, and record company executive. He co-founded America's first blues magazine, ''Living Blues'', in Chicago in 1970, and w ...

noted that the song's appeal went beyond blues musicians and: The

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

included it in its 1995 list of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". As one of Reed's best-known songs, "Big Boss Man" has been recorded by numerous artists. In 1967, a version by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

that reached number 38 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart. He performed the song as part of a medley during the '' Elvis 1968 Comeback Special''. In their early days, "Big Boss Man" was part of the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

's concert repertoire. It was usually sung by

Ron "Pigpen" McKernan Ronald Charles McKernan (September 8, 1945 – March 8, 1973), known as Pigpen, was an American musician. He was a founding member of the San Francisco band the Grateful Dead and played in the group from 1965 to 1972. McKernan grew up he ...

, who also provided blues-style harmonica accompaniment. According to group chronicler David Malvinni, McKernan's "powerful voice" was well-suited to deliver convincing renditions of older blues songs, compared to vocals by other blues revival bands. A live recording first appeared on their 1971 self-titled album.

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

recorded the song for his 1985 album ''

Six Silver Strings ''Six Silver Strings'' is the thirtieth studio blues album by B.B. King released in 1985. Promoted as a King's 50th album, the production is split between five David Crawford-produced tracks recorded in Miami with session musicians, and three t ...

''. Released on a single by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

, his rendition reached number 62 on ''Billboard''s Hot Black singles chart.

Hope Sandoval Hope Sandoval (born June 24, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter who is the lead singer of Mazzy Star and Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions. Sandoval has toured and collaborated with other artists, including Massive Attack, for whom she san ...

recorded the song for

Mercury Rev Mercury Rev is an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York.
Original personnel were Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited ''Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited'' is an album by American rock band Mercury Rev. The album, which is a re-imagining of Bobbie Gentry's 1968 album ''The Delta Sweete'', was released on February 8, 2019 through Partisan Records Partis ...

''. An album review noted: "Hope Sandoval takes 'Big Boss Man' in just the way you'd want and expect Hope Sandoval to take 'Big Boss Man'like it's an old

Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabri ...

ballad she's just heard."

References

{{authority control 1960 songs Blues songs Songs written by Luther Dixon 1961 singles Jimmy Reed songs 1967 singles Elvis Presley songs 1985 singles B.B. King songs Vee-Jay Records singles