"Steppin' Out" (or sometimes "Stepping Out") is a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

composition recorded by American blues musician

Memphis Slim John Len Chatman (September 3, 1915 – February 24, 1988), known professionally as Memphis Slim, was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxopho ...

in 1959. It was released by

Vee-Jay Records Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana, in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...

as a single and on Slim's ''At the Gate of the Horn'' album. Although both releases list L. C. Frazier (another of Memphis Slim/Peter Chatman's pseudonyms) as the writer, Vee-Jay owner James Bracken is often credited on versions by other performers. Memphis Slim's piano provides the opening harmony part, followed by a tenor sax solo and guitar solo by long-time Slim guitarist Matt Murphy.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

critic Bill Dahl calls Murphy's album contribution as "nothing short of spectacular throughout". A live version recorded in 1986 appears on the ''Steppin' Out: Live At Ronnie Scott's, London'' album and video.

Eric Clapton renditions

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

recorded several versions of "Steppin' Out" during his early career. In 1966, he recorded the song with three different bands: with Eric Clapton and the Powerhouse, recorded in March for the

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

compilation '' What's Shakin''';Credited to Memphis Slim. with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers in April for the album '' Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton'';Credited to L. C. Frazier. and with

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

in a live performance for broadcast on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

in November, eventually released on the '' BBC Sessions'' compilation in 2003.Credited to James Bracken. Cream recorded a second live performance of the song for BBC Radio in January 1968, which was also included on ''BBC Sessions'' though it was first released on Clapton's '' Crossroads'' box set in 1988. Clapton's early versions were relatively brief – ranging from under two minutes to little over three – but in live performances with Cream, "Steppin" Out" became an extended improvisational piece often lasting thirteen minutes or more. On occasion, the group's bassist Jack Bruce would drop out of the song after several minutes, leaving Clapton and drummer

Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and Music of Africa, Africa ...

to take the song in entirely new, less blues-oriented directions. An example of such can be heard on a live recording from the San Francisco Winterland Ballroom in March 1968, first released on the album '' Live Cream Volume II'' in 1972 and later on the Cream box set '' Those Were the Days'' in 1997. This version was used in the film Mean Streets (1973). Source IMDB Jesse Gress, writing for ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francis ...

'' magazine, noted that

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English lead guitarist. He was a founding member and the guitarist of Deep Purple, one of the pioneering bands of hard rock. After leaving Deep Purple in 1975, Blackmore formed the band Rainbow ...

's "bluesy head to ' Lazy' (from

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...

's '' Machine Head'') fondly paraphrases Slowhand’s lapton'sBluesbreaker-era showcase 'Steppin’ Out,' right down to the same style of third-position swing-sixteenth G blues riffing".

Notes

References

{{Cream 1959 songs Memphis Slim songs Blues songs 1950s instrumentals Songs written by Memphis Slim Eric Clapton songs Cream (band) songs James Bracken songs