Pop Song 585 of 1000 'Born under a bad sign' Albert King 1967

Pop Song 585 of 1000 'Born under a bad sign' Albert King 1967

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The lyrics to "Born Under a Bad Sign" were written by Stax Records rhythm and blues singer William Bell with music by Stax bandleader Booker T. Jones (of Booker T. & the M.G.'s). Bell recalled, "We needed a blues song for Albert King ... I had this idea in the back of my mind that I was gonna do myself. Astrology and all that stuff was pretty big then. I got this idea that [it] might work."

The lyrics describe "hard luck and trouble" tempered by "wine and women", with wordplay in the chorus in the turnaround:

Born under a bad sign, been down since I began to crawl

If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all

Similar verses appear in earlier songs. In 1947, pianist and singer Cousin Joe recorded "Bad Luck Blues" with the Sam Price Trio, which contains the lyrics "If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all".[5] Lightnin' Slim's 1954 swamp blues recording of "Bad Luck Blues" contains the same lines and also includes "Cause bad luck's been followin' po' Lightnin', ever since I began to crawl