"Messin' with the Kid" is a

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

-influenced

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 originally recorded by

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'' ...

in 1960.

Chief Records Chief Records, together with its Profile and Age subsidiaries, was an independent record label that operated from 1957 to 1964. Best known for its recordings of Chicago blues artists Elmore James, Junior Wells, Magic Sam, and Earl Hooker, the lab ...

owner/songwriter/producer

Mel London Mel London (April 9, 1932 – May 16, 1975) was an American songwriter, record producer, and record label owner. He was active in the Chicago blues and R&B scenes in the 1950s and 1960s. London is best known for his compositions for Chicago ...

is credited as the songwriter. Considered a blues standard, it is Junior Wells's best-known song. "Messin' with the Kid" was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and has been recorded by a variety of blues and other artists.

Background and composition

"Messin' with the Kid" is an up-tempo twelve-bar blues which alternates between

Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans or Black Cubans are Cubans of West African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community and the combining of native African and other cultural ele ...

- and

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

-style rhythmic accompaniment. According to Junior Wells, the title was inspired by his young daughter Gina. Mel London arrived early at Wells' home to pick him up for a scheduled recording session: "'Where's you Daddy at? Get him up'. 'No, you said you were goin' to be here at nine o'clock. It's not nine o'clock... You're not goin' to be messin' with the kid'". "The Kid" was a nickname for Wells. Later in the studio, they needed another song for the session: "one thing led to another and... it took us five minutes, maybe ten minutes and we had it".

Recording and releases

Wells recorded "Messin' with the Kid" in Chicago in 1960. He sings the song, but unlike most of his early singles, Wells does not play harmonica. The backup is provided by

Earl Hooker Earl Zebedee Hooker (January 15, 1930 – April 21, 1970) was a Chicago blues guitarist known for his slide guitar playing. Considered a "musician's musician", he performed with blues artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Junior Wells, and ...

on guitar,

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, Jack Myers on bass,

Fred Below Frederick Below, Jr. (September 6, 1926 – August 13, 1988) was an American blues drummer, best known for his work with Little Walter and Chess Records in the 1950s. According to Tony Russell, Below was a creator of much of the rhythmic stru ...

on drums, Jarrett Gibson on tenor saxophone, and Donald Hankins on baritone saxophone.

(owned by the song's writer Mel London) released the song on a single in 1961. In 1966, Wells recorded a second version of "Messin' with the Kid". It features a different rhythm arrangement and includes a harmonica solo by Wells with backup by

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 ...

on guitar along with Myers and Below. The song was released on the 1966 blues compilation ''

Chicago/The Blues/Today! ''Chicago/The Blues/Today!'' is a series of three blues albums by various artists. It was recorded in late 1965 and released in 1966. It was remastered and released as a three-disc album in 1999. In 1965 Samuel Charters at Vanguard Records ask ...

Vol. 1''. Wells and Guy used a similar arrangement for "Snatch It Back and Hold It" on their influential ''

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 ...

'' album (1965). The duo later recorded several live versions of the song, including in 1977 for ''Live in Montreux''.

Recognition and legacy

In 1998, 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 ...

inducted "Messin' with the Kid" into the Blues Hall of Fame as a "Classic of Blues Recordings – Singles or Album Tracks". In a 1998 press release, the Foundation noted:

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respective ...

recorded a live performance of "Messin' with the Kid", which was included on their first album ''

Briefcase Full of Blues ''Briefcase Full of Blues'' is the debut album by The Blues Brothers, released on November 28, 1978, by Atlantic Records. It was recorded live on September 9, 1978, at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, when the band opened for comedian S ...

'' (1978). In a song review for

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 databas ...

, Richard Gilliam notes that while the album "seems so little influenced by Chicago-style blues the band did find room for this Junior Wells classic, adding the sort of rich instrumental backing that Wells himself would adopt for the song". Wells later recorded a reworked version of the tune with a full backing band including horns for his 1993 album ''Better Off with the Blues''. "Messin' with the Kid" inspired later songs. Soon after the Chief single,

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 ...

recorded an answer song titled "Messin' with the Man" for

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

in 1961. In 1977, blues singer

Eddie C. Campbell Eddie C. Campbell (May 6, 1939 – November 20, 2018) was an American blues guitarist and singer in the Chicago blues scene. Biography Campbell was born in Duncan, Mississippi. He moved to Chicago at the age of ten, and by age 12 was lear ...

recorded a Christmas novelty song, titled "Santa's Messin' With the Kid" (on ''King of the Jungle''), in which Santa is "messing with" the wife of the Kid, until "The Kid ran him out o' town":

References

{{authority control 1960 songs Junior Wells songs 1960 singles Blues songs Songs written by Mel London The Blues Brothers songs