Born in Chicago

Paul Butterfield's iconic "Born in Chicago," the first cut on his first album, was written by Nick Gravenites (who was in fact born in 1938; but that didn't rhyme with "gun"). Along with Butterfield, Gravenites began hanging out in South Side blues clubs in the late 1950s, listening to Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, and others. Unlike Butterfield, Gravenites did not become nationally well known, although he did have a moment with Mike Bloomfield in the Electric Flag. He also produced for Janis Joplin and other West Coast acts. He outlived Butterfield by 37 years, passing away in September 2024.

Here is Gravenites performing with some other Chicago blues musicians, including Harvey Mandel, Barry Goldberg, Sam Lay, and Corky Siegel:

This live clip of Butterfield does not begin with the song's usual opening riff, which kicks in at :16

The sound on this audio clip is pretty disappointing, but you can hear the Chicago crowd go nuts when they recognize the opening notes of "Born in Chicago" 

Tribute band:

Of course, this is what they played at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction:

At Newport in 1965, shortly before they backed Bob Dylan on his famous electric set:

More Butterfield:

Vocalist changes the lyrics to 1951, maybe that's when he was actually born (Butterfield was born in 1942):

 

Comments

[cory]

You should definitely tell the Mike Bloomfield story - one of the best rock and roll stories.

[Hank Reichman]

Re The Nighthawks, that is when he was born (I think). He's Mark Wenner, my college roommate for two years. The band is still chuggin'

[RegtheVeg]

On AMC I Just saw the documentary “Festival” (1967) filmed at four Newport Folk Festivals (1963-66) with the Butterfield Blues Band performance of “Born in Chicago” plus an instrumental and an interview with Mike Bloomfield. “If he was a plantaria, a tuna fish sandwich, Butterfield would be into the Blues.”

Also performances by Son House and Howlin’ Wolf and some guy who sounds just like Timothée Chalamet.

Here’s a clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jrv3CI0iJxI