"Next Time You See Me" is a blues song written by

Earl Forest Earl Forest (December 1, 1926 – February 26, 2003) was an American musician and a member of the Memphis-based R&B coalition called the Beale Streeters, which included Johnny Ace, Bobby Bland, Junior Parker, B.B. King, and Roscoe Gordon. Fore ...

and Bill Harvey, originally recorded in 1956 by

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

(as "Little Junior Parker" as he was then known). The song was Parker's first record chart appearance after joining

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 ...

and one of his most successful singles in both the R&B and pop charts. "Next Time You See Me" has been performed and recorded by various artists, such as

the Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

Composition and recording

"Next Time You See Me" is a mid-tempo

twelve-bar blues The 12-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on ...

shuffle with breaks. It features Parker's smooth vocal propelled by a horn-driven rhythm section. As with most of Junior Parker's songs, it is "more melodic than the average blues". Singer and music writer

Billy Vera Billy Vera (born William Patrick McCord; May 28, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, and music historian. He has been a singer and songwriter since the 1960s, his most successful record being " At This Moment", a US number 1 ...

described Parker's approach: The horn section includes band leader Bill Harvey on tenor sax, Harvey Joe Scott on trumpet, Pluma Davis on trombone, along with Connie McBooker on piano,

Pat Hare Auburn "Pat" Hare was a Memphis electric blues guitarist and singer. His heavily distortion (music), distorted, power chord–driven electric guitar performances in the early 1950s is considered an important precursor of heavy metal music.Robert P ...

on guitar, Hamp Simmons on bass, and Sonny Freeman on drums. The song begins with a chorus:

Releases and charts

In 1957,

released "Next Time You See Me" as a single, backed with "My Dolly Bee". It reached number five on ''Billboard'''s

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

as well as reaching number 74 on its broader

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

. The song is included on several Parker compilations, such as ''Junior's Blues: The Duke Recordings, Vol. 1'' (1992).

Versions by other artists

"Next Time You See Me" was one of the blues and R&B songs that

Ron "Pigpen" McKernan Ronald Charles McKernan (September 8, 1945 – March 8, 1973), known as Pigpen, was an American musician. He was a founding member of the San Francisco band the Grateful Dead and played in the group from 1965 to 1972. McKernan grew up he ...

brought to the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

during their formation. The song, with McKernan on vocals and harmonica, became part of their concert repertoire by 1967. According to group biographer Oliver Trager, they performed two different versions: he describes one as "a driving, uptempo rendition" and the other as "a somewhat rarer and moodier take sung as a duet with erry Garcia". The group often played the song in the early 1970s and live recordings are included on several albums, such as '' Hundred Year Hall'' (recorded April 26, 1972), ''

Europe '72 Volume 2 ''Europe '72 Volume 2'' is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It is a two-CD set which features 20 tracks from the band's Spring 1972 tour of Europe. As such, it represents a belated sequel to the band's original three-LP 1972 releas ...

'' (recorded April 14, 1972), and '' Rockin' the Rhein with the Grateful Dead'' (recorded April 24, 1972).

References

External links

Partial list of recorded versions of "Next Time You See Me" at Secondhandsongs
{{authority control 1956 songs 1957 singles Blues songs Junior Parker songs Grateful Dead songs Duke Records singles