"Gin House Blues" is the title of two different blues songs, which have become confused over the years. Both songs were first recorded by

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the " Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock a ...

. The song originally titled "Gin House Blues" was

written Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...

in 1925 by Fletcher Henderson with lyrics by Henry Troy, and recorded by Bessie Smith with Henderson on 18 March 1926. It has the opening lines "I've got a sad sad story today / I'm goin' to the gin house when the whistle blows..." However, the song now most usually called "Gin House" or "Gin House Blues" – with the opening lines "Stay away from me 'cause I'm in my sin / If this place gets raided, it's just me and my gin..." – is an entirely different song. It was originally entitled "Me and My Gin", and was recorded by Bessie Smith on 25 August 1928 and released on Columbia 14384-D. It was written by "Harry Burke", which may be a pseudonym of the pianist and songwriter James C. Johnson. It is this song which has been recorded by many musicians over the years under the title "Gin House Blues" (see listing below), with authorship usually credited to Henderson and Troy, apparently in error.

Recorded versions of "Me and My Gin" under the title "Gin House Blues"

– first recorded under the title "Me and My Gin" on 25 August 1928, in New York City and issued as Columbia 14384-D; she also recorded a different song called 'Gin House Blues', with Fletcher Henderson, on 18 March 1926. *

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blu ...

– different versions appear on her

albums An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records col ...

Forbidden Fruit Forbidden fruit is a name given to the fruit growing in the Garden of Eden which God commands mankind not to eat. In the biblical story, Adam and Eve eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and are exiled from Eden. As a ...

'' and '' 'Nuff Said!'' plus in a live recording format on her '' The Great Show Live in Paris'' collection. * The Boston Crabs – as "Gin House", the B-side of their 1966 UK single "You Didn't Have To Be So Nice". * Amen Corner – released the song as a single in 1967; it reached Number 12 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Andy Fairweather Low Andrew Fairweather Low (born 2 August 1948) is a Welsh guitarist and singer. He was a founding member and lead singer of 1960s pop band Amen Corner, and in recent years has toured extensively with Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman's R ...

, the band's lead singer, has continued to perform the song live after going solo. *

The Animals The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and ...

– it appeared on their albums '' Animalisms'' (UK release) and the corresponding ''

Animalization ''Animalization'' is the fourth American album by British rock group The Animals, and was released in August 1966 on MGM Records. It has a track listing somewhat similar to the British album '' Animalisms''. The album, which reached #20 on th ...

'' (US release) in 1966. *

Buster Bailey William C. "Buster" Bailey (July 19, 1902 – April 12, 1967) was an American jazz clarinetist. Career history Early career Buster Bailey was taught clarinet by classical teacher Franz Schoepp, who also taught Benny Goodman. Bailey gained his s ...

(on ''Buster Bailey Story, 1926-1945'') *

Cuby & the Blizzards Cuby + Blizzards, also known as Cuby & the Blizzards, were a Dutch blues group, founded in 1964 by vocalist Harry Muskee and guitarist Eelco Gelling.Larkin C ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'' (Muze UK Ltd, 1997) p 137 During the 1960s, ...

– released on their debut album ''Desolation'' in 1966; the band received an

Edison Award The Edison Award is an annual Dutch music prize awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is comparable to the American Grammy Award. The Edison award itself is a bronze replica of a statuette of Thomas Edison, designed b ...

for the album. *

Little Brother Montgomery Eurreal Wilford "Little Brother" Montgomery (April 18, 1906 – September 6, 1985) was an American jazz, boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communi ...

Duffy Power Duffy Power (born Raymond Leslie Howard; 9 September 1941 – 19 February 2014) was an English blues and rock and roll singer, who achieved some success in the 1960s and continued to perform and record intermittently later. Career Ray Howard w ...

References

External links

Amen Corner's single data at Discogs.com
{{Authority control 1925 songs 1967 singles Bessie Smith songs The Animals songs Blues songs Rock ballads Songs about alcohol Deram Records singles Amen Corner (band) songs