"Woke Up This Morning"
Single by Alabama 3
from the album Exile on Coldharbour Lane
ReleasedJune 1997
Recorded1997
GenreAlternative dance, trip hop, acid house, acid jazz, blues rock
Length5:18 (album version)
4:05 (Chosen One Mix)
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Jake Black
  • Rob Spragg
Producer(s)Alabama 3
Alabama 3 singles chronology
"Ain't Going to Goa"
(1996) 		"Woke Up This Morning"
(1997) 		"Speed of the Sound of Loneliness"
(1997)

"Woke Up This Morning" is a song by British band Alabama 3 from their 1997 album Exile on Coldharbour Lane. The song is best known as the opening theme music for the American television series The Sopranos, which used a shortened version of the "Chosen One Mix" of the song.

Background and writing

Described as "a propulsive hip-hop song complete with Howlin' Wolf samples and a swelling gospel choir",[1] the song has been cited as a paradigmatic example of a "great theme song", which "generates anticipation, immediately puts the viewer in a focused frame of mind, and creates the kind of sonic familiarity that breeds audience loyalty."[2] Alabama 3 frontman Rob Spragg wrote the song after hearing about the 1996 Sara Thornton murder case,[3] who stabbed her husband after claiming to be the victim of two years of his abuse, mistreatment and neglect.[4] The song is co-written with Piers Marsh, Simon Edwards, and Jake Black.

"We started with a Howlin' Wolf loop, but a balls of blues lyrics are quite misogynist[ic]," Spragg explained. "So I turned it round to be about a woman who's had enough and gets a gun – it's quite ironic that it's become a New Jersey gangster anthem."[5] The track contains elements of "Tell Me" performed by Howlin' Wolf, a sample from "Standing at the Burying Ground" by Mississippi Fred McDowell and a sample from "Mannish Boy" by Muddy Waters. Howlin' Wolf himself recorded a song titled "Woke Up This Morning" for Chess Records that was released in 2009.

The cover art for the single is in the style of the cover art of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's 1970 album Déja Vu.

Use in other media

In film

In television

In sport

Charts

1997 chart performance for "Woke Up This Morning"
Chart (1997) Peak
position
Scotland (OCC)[7] 79
UK Singles (OCC)[8] 78
2000 chart performance for "Woke Up This Morning"
Chart (2000) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[9] 41
Scotland (OCC)[10] 60
UK Singles (OCC)[11] 79

References

  1. ^ Murray Smith, "Just What Is It That Makes Tony Soprano Such An Appealing, Attractive Murderer", in Ward E. Jones and Samantha Vice, eds., Ethics at the Cinema (Oxford University Press, 2010), ISBN 978-0199793167, p. 78. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  2. ^ Ron Sobel and Dick Weissman, Music Publishing: The Roadmap to Royalties (Routledge, 2008), ISBN 978-0203895689, p. 101. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  3. ^ Duncan Campbell, "Face off", The Guardian, September 27, 2007.
  4. ^ David Johannson, "Homeward Bound" Those Soprano Titles Come Heavy", in David Lavery, ed., Reading The Sopranos: Hit TV from HBO (I.B. Tauris, 2006), ISBN 978-1845111212, pp. 35-36. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  5. ^ a b Q (May 2001).
  6. ^ Gilbert, Gerard (June 14, 2011). "TV credit where credits are due". The Independent.
  7. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Alabama 3". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
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