Big Boss Man - Jimmy Reed

Jimmy Reed is not to be confused with Jerry Reed who wrote Guitar Man and US Male although Jerry Reed did play on Elvis's version of Jimmy Reed's Big Boss Man - they are two different musicians.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Boss_Man_(song)
"Big Boss Man" is a blues song written by Luther Dixon and Al Smith in 1960 and first recorded by Jimmy Reed. The song was a hit for Reed and has been interpreted and recorded by a variety of artists. "Big Boss Man" has been acknowledged by the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

Big Boss Man is a uptempo twelve-bar blues shuffle that features "one of the most influential Reed grooves of all time". It was written by Jimmy Reed's manager, Al Smith, and Vee-Jay Records staff writer, Luther Dixon. The song is one of the few Reed hits that was written by someone other than Reed and his wife. Backing Reed (Lvocal, harmonica, and guitar) are Mamma Reed (vocal), Lee Baker aka Lonnie Brooks and Lefty Bates (guitars), Willie Dixon (bass), and Earl Phillips (drums).
"Big Boss Man" was originally released on Jimmy Reed's 1960 album Found Love. In 1961, it was released as a single and reached #13 in the Billboard R&B chart and #78 in the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.[2] The song was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1990."

R & B Single version 1967

"On September 10, 1967, Elvis Presley recorded a version of "Big Boss Man". It was released as a single the same month and reached #38 on the pop chart. He performed the song as part of a medley during the Elvis 1968 Comeback Special, which also appears in the award winning mini-series Elvis. During the 1970s, Presley often performed the song in concert."

From the Come Back Special 1968

Live version 1974

Jimmy Reed

" There's simply no sound in the blues as easily digestible, accessible, instantly recognizable and as easy to play and sing as the music of Jimmy Reed. His best-known songs -- "Baby, What You Want Me to Do," "Bright Lights, Big City," "Honest I Do," "You Don't Have to Go," "Going to New York," "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby" and "Big Boss Man" -- have become such an integral part of the standard blues repertoire, it's almost as if they have existed forever. Because his style was simple and easily imitated, his songs were accessible to just about everyone from high school garage bands having a go at it to Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Lou Rawls, Hank Williams, Jr., and the Rolling Stones, making him -- in the long run -- perhaps the most influential bluesman of all...."

Read more here -http://www.bluesharp.ca/legends/jreed.html

The Writers - Luther Dixon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_Dixon


" Was responsible for dozens of pop classics covered by Elvis, Beatles, BB King, Dusty Springfield, Jackson 5."Dixon was born in Jacksonville, Florida, but settled in New York. He learned to sing in church, joining a rhythm and blues quartet, the Four Buddies, in 1954. He enjoyed songwriting more than performing, so he teamed up with the Buddies' lead vocalist, Larry Harrison, and the duo hawked songs around New York publishers, producers and record labels." Read More Here - http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/nov/11/luther-dixon-obituary


Additional info - According to this interesting site http://davidneale.eu/elvis/originals/list1.html - Big Boss Man was a revamp of Stack o' Dollars by Charley Jordan - 1930 - (maybe not so much lyrically!)  - here's a Youtube of it -