I'm Ready (blues song)

"I'm Ready"
Single by Muddy Waters
B-side "I Don't Know Why"
Format 7" 45 rpm & 10" 78 rpm record
Recorded Chicago
September 1, 1954
Genre Blues
Length 3:03
Label Chess (Cat. No. 1579)
Writer(s) Willie Dixon
Producer(s) Leonard Chess, Phil Chess
Muddy Waters singles chronology
"I Just Want to Make Love to You"
(1954)		 "I'm Ready"
(1954)		 "Natural Born Lover"/ "Loving Man"
(1954)

"I'm Ready" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Muddy Waters in 1954.[1] It was a hit, spending nine weeks on the Billboard R&B chart where it reached #4.[2] Since then, "I'm Ready" has been recorded by numerous blues and other artists.[3]

Original song

"I'm Ready" incorporates a stop-time sixteen-bar structure analogous to Dixon's earlier song written for Muddy Waters, "Hoochie Coochie Man". Backing Waters (vocal and guitar) are: Little Walter (chromatic harmonica), Jimmy Rogers (guitar), Otis Spann (piano), Willie Dixon (bass), and Fred Below (drums). The song is included on several Muddy Waters' compilation albums, first appearing in 1958 on The Best of Muddy Waters.

Muddy Waters later recorded the song for his albums Fathers and Sons (1969) and I'm Ready (1978), which was produced by Johnny Winter and earned Waters a Grammy in 1978.[4]

Cover versions

Over the years, "I'm Ready" has been recorded by a variety of blues and other artists, including: Humble Pie from the Humble Pie album (1970), Long John Baldry on his album It Ain't Easy (1971), Buddy Guy from the album Hold That Plane (1972), The Red Devils from King King (1992), Paul Rodgers with Brian May from Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters (1993), George Thorogood from Haircut (1993), Aerosmith from Honkin' on Bobo (2004), and Jeff Healey from Songs from the Road (2009).

References

  1. ↑ Herzhaft, Gerard (1992). Encyclopedia of the Blues. University of Arkansas Press. p. 454. ISBN 1-55728-252-8.
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Record Research, Inc. p. 435. ISBN 0-89820-068-7.
  3. ↑ "I'm Ready – albums". allmusic. Retrieved October 13, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Grammy Award Winners". The Recording Academy. 1978. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
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