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The Sky Is Crying (song)

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Main page "The Sky Is Crying" is a blues standard written and initially recorded by Elmore James in 1959. Called "one of his most durable compositions",[2] "The Sky Is
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"The Sky Is Crying"
Crying" became a R&B record chart hit and has been interpreted and recorded by numerous artists.
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1 Composition and recording
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2 Release and recognition
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3 Renditions
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"The Sky Is Crying" is a slow-tempo twelve-bar blues notated in 12/8 time in the key of C.[3] It is an impromptu song inspired by a Chicago downpour during
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the recording session:[2] Single by Elmore James

Tools B-side "Held My Baby Last Night"

What links here The sky is crying, look at the tears roll down the street (2×) Released March 1960

Related changes I'm waiting in tears looking for my baby, and I wonder where can she be? Recorded Chicago, November 3 or 4,
Special pages 1959
Permanent link The songs features prominent slide guitar by James with his vocals, accompanied by his longtime backing band, the Broomdusters: J. T. Brown on Genre Blues
Page information Length 2:47
saxophone, Johnny Jones on piano, Odie Payne on drums, and Homesick James on bass. James' unique slide guitar sound on the recording has generated
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some debate; Homesick James attributed it to a recording studio technique, others have suggested a different amplifier or guitar setup, and Ry Cooder felt Label Fire
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that it was an altogether different guitar than James' usual Kay acoustic with an attached pickup.[4] Songwriter(s) Elmore James[1]
Print/export Producer(s) Bobby Robinson
Download as PDF Release and recognition [ edit ]
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The single, with the artist credit "Elmo James and His Broomdusters", reached number 15 on Billboard magazine's Hot R&B Sides chart in 1960,[5] making it James' last chart showing before his death in
Languages 1963. James recorded a variation of the song, "The Sun Is Shining", in April 1960,[6] five months after the recording date of "The Sky Is Crying" (although some places "Sun" as a precursor to "Sky",[7]
Deutsch possibly because the bulk of James' recordings for Fire/Fury/Enjoy took place after the Chess recordings).
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"The Sky Is Crying" is identified as a blues standard[8] and in 1991, James' original was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in the "Classics of Blues Recordings" category.[9] Record producer
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Edit links Bobby Robinson noted that the song is "a magnificent vehicle both for Elmore's emotion-packed blues vocal and his ringing slide guitar".[9]

Renditions [ edit ]

In 1969, Albert King recorded "The Sky Is Crying" for the album Years Gone By.[10] Unlike James' who played it with a slide, King used a fretted approach on guitar. Stevie Ray Vaughan later performed
the song regularly as an apparent tribute to King.[11] He and his backing band, Double Trouble, recorded versions during the sessions for their 1984 album Couldn't Stand the Weather and 1985's Soul to
Soul.[12] Neither was released until the posthumous compilations Blues at Sunrise (2000) and The Sky Is Crying (1991), respectively.[12][11] Critic Dan Forte noted, "Stevie tips his Clint Eastwood hat to
two of his idols: Elmore James, who wrote the tune, and Albert King, who also recorded it, and whose influence is evident in every lick and bend here [on the 1991 release]."[11]

References [ edit ]

1. ^ "Elmore James was given one hundred percent writer credit for 5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942–1988 . 9. ^ a b O'Neal, Jim (November 10, 2016). "1991 Hall of Fame
[the] song" on his original filing with BMI, however, over the years, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 216 . Inductees: The Sky is Crying – Elmore (Elmo) James (Fire,
several names have appeared alongside his on various reissues ISBN 0-89820-068-7. 1959)" . Blues.org. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
and covers of the song. Franz, Steve (2003). The Amazing Secret 6. ^ Chess Records 1756 10. ^ Koda, Cub. "Albert King: Years Gone By – Review" . AllMusic.
History of Elmore James . p. 108 . ISBN 978-0-9718038-1-7. 7. ^ Koda, Cub (1996). "Elmore James". In Erlewine, Michael (ed.). Retrieved June 27, 2021.
2. ^ a b Morris, Chris; Haig, Diana (1992). Elmore James: King of the All Music Guide to the Blues. San Francisco: Miller Freeman 11. ^ a b c Forte, Dan (1991). The Sky Is Crying (Album notes). Stevie
Slide Guitar (Box set booklet). Elmore James. Nashville, Books. pp. 132–33 . ISBN 0-87930-424-3. Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. New York City: Epic Records.
Tennessee: Capricorn Records. pp. 12–13. 9 42006-2. 8. ^ Herzhaft, Gerard (1992). "Sky Is Crying (The)". Encyclopedia of pp. 4–5. EK 47390.
3. ^ Hal Leonard (1995). "The Sky Is Crying". The Blues. Milwaukee, the Blues . Fayetteville, Arkansas: University of Arkansas Press. 12. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double
Wisconsin: Hal Leonard. p. 187. ISBN 0-79355-259-1. p. 471 . ISBN 1-55728-252-8. Trouble: Blues at Sunrise – Review" . AllMusic. Retrieved
4. ^ Franz (2003), pp. 100–101. June 27, 2021.

· · Elmore James [show]

· · Albert King [show]

· · Stevie Ray Vaughan [show]

Authority control MusicBrainz release group · MusicBrainz work

Categories: 1959 songs Elmore James songs 1959 singles Songs written by Elmore James Albert King songs Freddie King songs Stevie Ray Vaughan songs Blues songs

This page was last edited on 19 August 2021, at 16:51 (UTC).

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