"Look on Yonder Wall", or "Get Ready to Meet Your Man" as it was first named, 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 in 1945 by James "Beale Street" Clark. Clark, also known as "Memphis Jimmy", was a blues pianist from Memphis, Tennessee. During the 1940s, he appeared on recordings by

Jazz Gillum William McKinley "Jazz" Gillum (September 11, 1902 or 1904 – March 29, 1966) was an American blues harmonica player. Biography Gillum was born in Indianola, Mississippi. He ran away from home at age seven and for the next few years lived in ...

, Red Nelson (also known as Dirty Red), and an early

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

session, as well as several singles in his own name. In 1961,

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam ...

adapted the song, titled "Look on Yonder Wall", which was issued as single. Most subsequent renditions show James's influence.

Origins

"Look on Yonder Wall" was performed as a mid-tempo twelve-bar blues, with a recurrent post-World War II theme. It tells of a "man who is somewhat disabled and has not been drafted and takes advantage of that to entertain lonely married women". When the husband is discharged, the narrator ponders his fate: Jazz Gillum, with whom the song is often associated, recorded a version on February 18, 1946, four months after Clark. Although the release was retitled, it credits "James Clark" as the composer. Other early versions include

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup Arthur William "Big Boy" Crudup (August 24, 1905 – March 28, 1974) was an American Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known, outside blues circles, for his songs "That's All Right" (1946), " My Baby Left Me" and "So Gl ...

as "Hand Me Down My Walking Cane" and

Boyd Gilmore Boyd Gilmore (June 1, 1905 or June 12, 1910 – December 23, 1976) was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. Among the songs he wrote were "All in My Dreams", "Believe I'll Settle Down", "I Love My Little Woman" and "If ...

as "Just an Army Boy".

Elmore James version

In 1961,

recorded his version as "Look on Yonder Wall" for Bobby Robinson's

Fire Records Fire Records was an American independent record label, set up in 1959 by Bobby Robinson. Amongst others, it released records by Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James, Buster Brown and Arthur Crudup. At one point it was thought Fire had issued the las ...

. The session took place at Cosimo Matassa's J&M Studios in New Orleans, Louisiana; backing James on vocal and guitar are Sammy Myers on harmonica,

Johnny "Big Moose" Walker Johnny "Big Moose" Walker (June 27, 1927 November 27, 1999) was an American Chicago blues and electric blues pianist and organist. He worked with many blues musicians, including Ike Turner, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Lowell Fulson, Choker Campbell ...

on piano, Sammy Lee Bully on bass, and King Mose on drums. The song is one of the few Elmore James songs to feature harmonica, as he typically used saxophone. Myers' harp playing on the song and other 1961 recordings for Fire has been described as "exemplary". Fire released the song as the flip side of " Shake Your Moneymaker" in 1961. It was one of the last singles of new material released before James's death in 1963.

Other renditions

Most artists who recorded "Look on Yonder Wall" after James follow his arrangement, but the songwriter credits vary. In 1962 or 1963,

Junior Parker Herman "Junior" Parker (March 27, 1932November 18, 1971) Li ...

recorded the song with the title "Yonder's Wall".

Duke Records Duke Records was an American record label, started in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1952 by David James Mattis (WDIA program director and DJ) and Bill Fitzgerald, owners of Tri-State Recording Company. Their first release was Roscoe Gordon singing "Hey ...

issued it as a single and listed the songwriter as "Eddie James".

Junior Wells Junior Wells (born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., December 9, 1934January 15, 1998) was an American singer, harmonica player, and recording artist. He is best known for his signature song "Messin' with the Kid" and his 1965 album ''Hoodoo Man Blues'' ...

with

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray V ...

recorded it for their influential 1965 album ''

Hoodoo Man Blues ''Hoodoo Man Blues'' is the debut album of blues vocalist and harmonica player Junior Wells, performing with the Junior Wells' Chicago Blues Band, an early collaboration with guitarist Buddy Guy. Released on LP by Delmark Records in November 1965 ...

''. With the shorter title "Yonder Wall", the credit reads "Trad.-P.D." An album review noted Wells' vocals "were delivered with an equally powerful twist of individuality. isgrunts, moans and sighs were potent with sexual suggestion." Also in 1965, 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 ...

recorded the song as "Look Over Yonders Wall". It was included as the final track on their self-titled debut, with the writer listed as "J. Clark". Their version, which features

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

and soloing by

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 ...

, is listed at number 27 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time". A related song is "Boot Hill", of which relatively little is known.

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer and guitarist. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also produced three Grammy Award-win ...

and

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, ...

each recorded versions for their respective albums '' Guitar Slinger'' (1984) and '' The Sky Is Crying'' (1989, released 1991). The lyrics for "Boot Hill" are more ominous than the earlier variations: "Look on yonder wall, hand me down my walkin' cane" is rendered "Look up on the wall baby, hand me down my shootin' iron".

References

{{authority control 1945 songs 1961 singles Elmore James songs Junior Parker songs Junior Wells songs Freddie King songs Blues songs