"Don't You Lie to Me" (sometimes called "I Get Evil") is a song recorded by

Tampa Red Hudson Whittaker (born Hudson Woodbridge; January 8, 1903March 19, 1981), known as Tampa Red, was a Chicago blues musician. His distinctive single-string slide guitar style, songwriting and bottleneck technique influenced other Chicago blues gu ...

in 1940. It became popular with blues artists, leading it to 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 ...

. The song was also interpreted by rock and roll pioneers

Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...

and

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

Original song

"Don't You Lie to Me" was recorded by Tampa Red approximately midpoint in his prolific recording career, representing the transition from his earlier

hokum Hokum is a particular song type of American blues music—a humorous song which uses extended analogies or euphemistic terms to make sexual innuendos. This trope goes back to early blues recordings and is used from time to time in modern Ameri ...

recordings to his later early Chicago-blues combo style. This was the same period when he began playing the electric guitar and recorded his best-known blues classics, including "

It Hurts Me Too "It Hurts Me Too" is a blues standard that is "one of the most interpreted blues ongs. First recorded in 1940 by American blues musician Tampa Red, the song is a mid-tempo eight-bar blues that features slide guitar. It borrows from earlier blue ...

", "

Love with a Feeling "You've Got to Love Her with a Feeling", or "Love with a Feeling" as it was originally titled, is a blues song first recorded by Tampa Red in 1938. Numerous blues artists have interpreted and recorded the song, making it a blues standard. Whe ...

", and "Anna Lou Blues", the B-side of "Don't You Lie to Me". The song is a mid-tempo twelve-bar blues that features Tampa Red playing jazz-inflected single-note guitar fills behind his vocals.

Blind John Davis Blind John Davis (December 7, 1913 – October 12, 1985) was an American blues and boogie-woogie pianist and singer. He is best remembered for his recordings, including "A Little Every Day" and "Everybody's Boogie". Biography Davis was born in ...

provided the piano accompaniment with an unidentified bass player and, as a throwback to his earlier days, Red added a twelve-bar kazoo solo. Although many later versions are credited to other artists, they usually use some, if not most, of Tampa Red's lyrics:

Recordings by other artists

recorded "Don't You Lie to Me" early in his career in 1951 (Imperial 5123). He used most of Tampa Red's lyrics and, although there is a full backing band, his trademark piano accompaniment dominates the recording. Domino received sole credit for the song, as did

when he recorded a rock and roll version for his 1961 album '' New Juke-Box Hits''. In 1962,

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps b ...

recorded "Don't You Lie to Me" as "I Get Evil" (Bobbin 135), which was included on his first album '' The Big Blues''. King's version uses an Afro-Cuban style rhythm, which he would later use for his 1967 hit " Crosscut Saw". Later, King with Stevie Ray Vaughan recorded it live for television in 1983, which is included on '' Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan in Session''. In 1977,

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 the opening track on his '' King Size'' album. An

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

album review noted its "nice, rolling groove that King rides real easy".

Notes

{{authority control 1940 songs Tampa Red songs 1951 singles Fats Domino songs Chuck Berry songs Albert King songs Pretty Things songs Blues songs