"Riot In Cell Block #9" is a classic and pervasive R&B song composed by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.
In this song, a man is serving his sentence in federal prison for armed robbery. At 4:00 AM on July 2, 1953, he wakes up to a rather alarming disturbance: a jail riot! It started in cell block #4 and continued through the prison hall from cell to cell. The jailhouse warden, armed with a gun, threatens to electrocute all the prisoners if the riot doesn't stop soon, but one of them, Scarface Jones, backfires by carrying dynamite. Forty-seven hours later, 3:00 AM on July 4, 1953, the prison security let loose tear gas on the inmates and they return to their cells.
The song has been covered by many cross-genre artists such as The Grateful Dead and The Beach Boys, Wanda Jackson, The Robins, Johnny Winter, Dr. Feelgood, The Blues Brothers, Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen, and Johnny Cash. The best known version is The Robins' song from 1954, which hit number one in the R & B charts.
It was also translated and performed in French by Michel Pagliaro as "Emeute dans la prison" (riot in the prison). In his version it was July 13, 1968 at 4:00am and and originated in cell block #3. It was later covered by Eric Lapointe.