Stormy Monday (Lou Rawls album)

Stormy Monday, also known as I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water, is the debut album of R&B singer Lou Rawls, released in 1962 on Capitol Records. Recorded in two sessions in February 1962, the album features a number of blues and jazz standards chosen by Rawls and backed by the Les McCann Trio.^[2] Stormy Monday was reissued in 1990 by Blue Note records.

Stormy Monday
Studio album by Lou Rawls
Released	1962
Recorded	February 5–12, 1962
Studio	Capitol (Los Angeles)
Genre	R&B, vocal jazz
Length	40:49 (Original LP) 45:34 (CD reissue)
Label	Capitol 1714
Producer	Nick Venet
Lou Rawls chronology
Stormy Monday (1962) Black and Blue (1963)
Reissue cover
Blue Note reissue cover

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]

History

Excerpt from the album liner notes:

In 1962, when this album was made and when he turned 26, Lou Rawls' rich baritone was unknown, except to a few gospel music fans and Hollywood hipsters who caught his act at local night clubs like P.J.'s, The Troubador, Shelly Manne's Manne-Hole or Brother's on Santa Monica and Vine. A year earlier, Capitol A&R man Nick Venet had heard Rawls at Pandora's Box Coffee Shop, where Rawls was playing there for $10 a night plus pizza in late 1959, and signed him to the label.^[3] One stillborn single emerged before Lou had the brainstorm to do an album of blues and jazz standards, backed by then up-and-comer Les McCann and his trio, who were performing nearby at The Bit on Sunset Boulevard. Before his Grammy-winning album Love Is a Hurtin' Thing, Stormy Monday was the first of more than 20 other albums Rawls would record on that label in only a decade.^[4]

Track listing

Side One

1. "(They Call It) Stormy Monday" (T-Bone Walker) – 3:45
2. "God Bless the Child" (Arthur Herzog, Billie Holiday) – 4:30
3. "See See Rider" (Ma Rainey) – 3:11
4. "Willow Weep for Me" (Ann Ronell) – 5:57
5. "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town" (Andy Razaf, "Casey Bill" Weldon) – 4:00

Side Two

1. "In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down)" (Leroy Carr, Don Raye) – 3:28
2. "'Tain't Nobody's Biz-Ness If I Do" (Percy Grainger, Robert Prince, Clarence Williams) – 2:45
3. "Lost and Lookin'" (James Alexander, Lowell Jordan) – 3:12
4. "I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water" (Eddie Miller) – 3:55
5. "Sweet Lover" (John Leslie McFarland, Sid Wyche) – 3:08

Reissue Tracks

1. "Blues Is a Woman" (Rawls) - 2:58
2. "A Little Les of Lou's Blues" (Rawls) - 2:23
3. "(They Call It) Stormy Monday (Alternate Take)" (Walker) - 2:58

Personnel

Musicians

• Lou Rawls - vocals

Les McCann Trio

• Les McCann - piano
• Leroy Vinnegar - bass
• Ron Jefferson - drums

Additional personnel

• Nick Venet - producer
• Malcolm Addley - remixing
• Billy Vera - liner notes

Notes

1. AllMusic review
2. Stormy Monday > Overview
3. Lou Rawls' Official Website includes his biography, discography, itinerary, photo album, contacts, acting credits, Seasons 4 U sales and much more.
4. Lou Rawls at All About Jazz

References

• Stormy Monday album liner notes by Billy Vera. Capitol Records Inc.