"Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl" is a dirty blues song first recorded in 1931 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 and ...

and released by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. It was written by Clarence Williams, J. Tim Brymn, and Dally Small. Owing to its sexually suggestive lyrics, it has been rated as one of the best

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

songs of all time. In 1967, Nina Simone released "I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl", which referenced lyrics from the original 1931 song.

Versions

Original

The song was first recorded by Bessie Smith in November 1931 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It was released by Columbia Records as disc 14634-D. It was written by Clarence Williams, J. Tim Brymn, and Dally Small. Williams also accompanied Smith on piano. The song was Smith's final recording under her contract with Columbia. The song initially employs

innuendo An innuendo is a hint, insinuation or intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion ...

and

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...

, but eventually becomes relatively overt in its sexual implications. The song has been re-issued on multiple vinyl and compact disc editions, including ''Bessie Smith: The Greatest Blues Singer'' (1970), ''The Complete Recordings, Vol. 5: The Final Chapter'' (1996), ''The Essential Bessie Smith'' (1997), ''Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: Bessie Smith'' (2003), ''Empress of the Blues, Vol, 2: 1926–1933'' (2008), and ''The Complete Columbia Recordings'' (2012).

Covers

Nina Simone released "I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl" on her 1967 album, ''

Nina Simone Sings the Blues ''Sings the Blues'' is an album by singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone. This was Simone's first album for RCA Records after previously recording for Colpix Records and Philips Records. The album was also reissued in 2006 with bonus tracks, and ...

''. While not a cover, it references some of the original lyrics, and has been described as "a first-person representation of empowered female sexuality." The song has been covered by many performers, including Christina Aguilera, Thelma Houston, Hadda Brooks,

Gaye Adegbalola Gaye Adegbalola (born Gaye Todd; March 21, 1944, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States)Gaye ...

, Helen Schneider, Rory Block, Sandra Reaves, and Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers. In 2010, the song was also included in a "nearly show-stealing performance" by E. Faye Butler as part of a ballet interpretation of '' The Great Gatsby'', staged at the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

. The song was also included in the stage production, ''The Devil's Music: The Life and Blues of Besse Smith''.

Lyrics

The song is often remembered for its sexually suggestive lyrics, in which Smith pleads with her "hard papa", saying that she needs "a little sugar, in my bowl, doggone it". Continuing the double entendre, the song also expresses the need for "a little hot dog between my rolls" and concludes, "Stop your foolin' and drop somethin' in my bowl." In an article published in the journal ''American Music'',

ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

Henrietta Yurchenco praised the song as an early example of a female performer speaking "in clear, plain language about the joys of sex."

References

{{authority control 1931 songs Hokum blues songs Blues songs