Steppin' Out (James Bracken song)
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| “Steppin' Out” | |||||
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| Song by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers | |||||
| Album | Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton | ||||
| Released | July 1966 | ||||
| Length | 2:30 | ||||
| Writer | James Bracken | ||||
| Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton track listing | |||||
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"Steppin' Out" is a blues instrumental written by James Bracken. It opens with a guitar riff based on the blues-scale, and continues with improvisation. It is an up-tempo 12-bar blues in the key of G.
Eric Clapton's covers provided most of the popularity owed to the song. In 1966, he covered "Steppin' Out" together with John Mayall and his Bluesbreakers. The three minute guitar extravaganza appeared on the album Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton. In his next band, Cream, it became his signature piece performed at nearly every concert, with improvisations often going for 13 minutes or more. Often Jack Bruce, the group's bassist, would drop out of the song a few minutes in, leaving Ginger Baker, the group's drummer, and Clapton to take the song in entirely new, non-blues oriented directions. Upon ending the song, it would segue into the signature pieces of Jack and Ginger, respectively. The most accessible recording can be found on the live album Live Cream Volume II.
