"Born in Chicago" 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 written by

Nick Gravenites Nicholas George Gravenites (; born October 2, 1938) is an American blues, rock and folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his work with Electric Flag (as their lead singer), Janis Joplin, Mike Bloomfield and several influential b ...

. It was the opening track on the self-titled debut album by the

Paul Butterfield Blues Band Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and band leader. After early training as a classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his n ...

in 1965 and has since become a

blues standard Blues standards are blues songs that have attained a high level of recognition due to having been widely performed and recorded. They represent the best known and most interpreted blues songs that are seen as standing the test of time. Blues s ...

. Gravenites, who was born in Chicago, first performed the song when in a duo with guitarist

Mike Bloomfield Michael Bernard Bloomfield (July 28, 1943 – February 15, 1981) was an American guitarist and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his ...

, playing in clubs in the city in the early 1960s. When Bloomfield joined the

, he insisted that the band record it. Although Butterfield was at first reluctant to sing the song, the initial recording took place in the Mastertone Studio in New York City in April 1965, produced by

Paul Rothchild Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

for

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

. David Dann, ''Guitar King: Michael Bloomfield's Life in the Blues'', University of Texas Press, 2019, pp.143, 208
/ref> The track was included on an Elektra Records

sampler album A sampler or promotional compilation is a type of compilation album generally offered at a reduced price to showcase an artist or a selection of artists signed to a particular record label. The format became popular in the late 1960s as record labe ...

, ''Folksong '65''. The popularity of the track led to Rothchild requiring a revised version, for inclusion on the band's debut album. The second recording, with additional organ by

Mark Naftalin Mark Naftalin (born August 2, 1944) is an American blues keyboardist, recording artist, composer, and record producer. He appears on the first five albums by Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the mid 1960s as a band member, and as such was inducted ...

, additional choruses and solos, and using better recording equipment, took place in September 1965. The album was released in October 1965, and became successful as one of the first in the U.S. to present blues material to a predominantly white

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

audience. "Born in Chicago" was later recorded by a wide range of artists, including

Jesse Colin Young Perry Miller (born November 22, 1941), known professionally as Jesse Colin Young, is an American singer and songwriter. He was a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s group the The Youngbloods, Youngbloods. After their dissolution in 1972 ...

(1972),

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas arou ...

(1990),

George Thorogood George Lawrence Thorogood (born February 24, 1950) is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Wilmington, Delaware. His "high-energy boogie-blues" sound became a staple of 1980s rock radio, with hits like his original songs "Bad to the ...

(1991),

Joe Louis Walker Joe Louis Walker, also known as JLW (born December 25, 1949) is an American musician, best known as an electric blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. His knowledge of blues history is revealed by his use of older material and playi ...

(2003), and

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the lat ...

(2004). In 2016, critic Jay Gentile wrote of the song: "... tcould not be more relevant today. With lyrics that run though young friends who went down presumably to gun violence, the song could serve as a soundtrack to today’s gun violence debate." Jay Gentile, "The 15 Most 'Chicago' Songs Ever Recorded", ''Thrillist.com'', January 25, 2016
Retrieved May 1, 2020

References

{{authority control 1965 songs Blues songs