3 O'Clock Blues

Original song

Lowell Fulson recorded "Three O'Clock Blues" during his first recording session for Oakland, California-based record producer Bob Geddins in 1946. Fulson, who sang and played guitar, was accompanied by his brother Martin on second guitar. The duo produced several country blues-style songs after World War II.

According to music historian Ted Gioia, the song lyrics start out "as an insomniac's lament, but end up with a weepy farewell more suited to a suicide note": Well now it's three o'clock in the morning, and I can't even close my eyes ... Goodbye everybody, I believe this is the end}} By the time of the record's release two years later in 1948, Fulson's style had already evolved into a West Coast blues style typified by his hit recordings for Downbeat and Swing Time Records, such as "Every Day I Have the Blues" and "Blue Shadows". Nonetheless, "Three O'Clock Blues", became a hit and reached number six in the R&B chart. | author-link = Joel Whitburn

B.B. King rendition

| B-side = That Ain't the Way to Do It

Recording and composition

B.B. King recorded "3 O'Clock Blues" for RPM Records around September 1951. The recording took place at an improvised studio in a room at the Memphis YMCA and the resulting audio quality was lower than recordings by Sam Phillips, | author-link = Ted Gioia

King's version is a slow (65 beats per minute) twelve-bar blues notated in time in the key of C. | author-link = Robert Palmer (American writer) | author-link = Richard Kostelanetz

Charts and recognition

"3 O'Clock Blues" was released by RPM Records in December 1951, and by December 29 it had entered Billboard magazine's Rhythm and Blues charts. The single spent a total of 17 weeks on the charts, including five weeks at number one.

"3 O'Clock Blues" launched B.B. King's career and gave him his first opportunity to perform in front of a national audience. Due to the song's success, he began performing in the big theaters, such as the Howard Theater in Washington and the Apollo in New York, with a significant increase in his weekly earnings, from about $85 to $2,500. It sparked a touring schedule that continued throughout King's career.

In 2014, the 1951 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

In 2020, the Blues Foundation inducted "3 O’Clock Blues" into the Blues Hall of Fame as a "Classic of Blues Recording". | access-date = March 15, 2020

References

References

1. Sometimes referred to as "Three O'Clock in the Morning" after the opening lyrics, although that is the title of a different song.
2. In 1938 [[Monkey Joe]] recorded a different "Three O'Clock Blues" (Vocalion 04294).
3. (December 1, 1951). "Rhythm & Blues Record Releases".
4. Used duration from the 2002 box set; the original single and ''[[Singin' the Blues]]'' do not list times. Escott, Colin (2002). Disc 1, back cover.
5. McGee, David. (2005). "B.B. King: There is Always One More Time". Backbeat Books.
6. Kostelanetz 1997, p. 146.
7. "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame | Hall of Fame Artists".