I'm Ready (blues song)

"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 number four.^[2] Since then, "I'm Ready" has been recorded by numerous blues and other artists.^[3]

Composition and recording

"I'm Ready" was inspired by a comment by Muddy Waters prior to a gig, when harmonica player Willie Foster visited him at home. As Foster recalled,

I knocked on the door, and he was shaving. He said "You here? I told you to come tomorrow." I said, "Yeah, but I'm here today." While drinking, Waters ribbed Foster for bringing a suitcase for a weekend. He said, "I mean you ready!" And I said, "Ready as anybody can be!" He popped his finger and turned to Willie Dixon and said, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking? That's a record, man!"^[4]

Dixon proceeded to write a song and "I'm Ready" was completed within about three days.^[5] The lyrics continue the use of swagger and supernatural imagery found in Dixon's "Hoochie Coochie Man", which Waters recorded in January 1954:

I gotta ax handle pistol, on a graveyard frame
That shoots tombstone bullets, wearing balls and chain
I'm drinkin' TNT, smokin' dynamite
I hope some screwball, start a fight^[1]

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Janovitz was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

In addition to the lyrical theme, "I'm Ready" incorporates a stop-time sixteen-bar structure analogous to "Hoochie Coochie Man". The song was recorded September 1, 1954, by Waters on vocal and guitar, accompanied by Little Walter on chromatic harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Otis Spann on piano, Willie Dixon on bass, and Fred Below on drums.^[6]

Releases

Chess Records issued the song as single in late 1954, with "I Don't Know Why" as the B-side". In 1958, it was included on Muddy Waters' first album, The Best of Muddy Waters (1958).^[6]

Muddy Waters later re-recorded the song for his albums Fathers and Sons (1969) and The London Muddy Waters Sessions (1971).^[6] In 1978, he re-recorded it for the title track to his album I'm Ready. The album, which was produced by Johnny Winter, earned Waters a Grammy in 1978.^[7]

Renditions

Over the years, "I'm Ready" has been recorded by a variety of blues and other artists, including:^[3] 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