Sweet Home Chicago

Sweet Home Chicago is a blues song that has been interpreted by numerous artists since the 1930s. Over time, the song also became Chicago's unofficial anthem .

The first recording (San Antonio, Texas, Monday November 23, 1936, published on Vocalion August 1937) was made by Robert Johnson and is also credited with the authorship. But it is a variation of Kokomo Blues by James Arnold , who changed his name to "Kokomo Arnold" due to its great success. There are disputes about the authorship, but the fact is that it was quite common in the blues and folk community of the 1920s and 1930s to adapt songs by other artists.

After the song became a tribute to Chicago, the original lyrics referring to California (“Back to the land of California”) changed to “Back to the same old place” on most covers , and the line “I'm going to California ”changed to “ I'm going back to Chicago ” . This version goes back to the pianist Roosevelt Sykes .

In 1983, the Robert Johnson version of the song was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame of the Blues Foundation.

Versions (selection)

The list of artists who recorded this song is very extensive.

Magic Sam Buddy guy Earl Hooker Freddie King Foghat Status quo Johnny Otis Fleetwood Mac Eric Clapton Stevie Ray Vaughan The Blues Band Louisiana Red

Sherman Robertson The Blues Brothers Robert Lockwood junior Keb Mo Corey Harris Mick Taylor Johnny Shines James Cotton John Mayer Roosevelt Sykes The Jukebox Rockabilly Trio (Sweden) David Honeyboy Edwards

Colin Dussault's Blues Project Taylor Hicks Mike Bloomfield Earl Hooker Hanson Electric flag Leon Russell Urban Knights Taj Mahal Little Willie Littlefield

Todd Rundgren Kenny Rogers Al Cook Lucky Peterson Houston Stackhouse Robert Johnson Alexis Korner

Web links

• Lyrics of the song
• Alternative text

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Knopper, Steve: Sweet Home Chicago leaves sour taste for some . Chicago Tribune , May 30, 2002.
2. ↑ Blues Hall of Fame ( Memento of the original from August 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ Selection after YouTube search: Sweet Home Chicago