Don't Start Me Talkin'
{{Infobox song
| name = Don't Start Me Talkin'
| cover = Don't Start Me Talkin' single cover.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Sonny Boy Williamson II
| album =
| B-side = All My Love in Vain
| released = {{Start date|1955|09}}
{{cite magazine
| date = September 24, 1955
| title = Reviews of New R&B Records
| magazine = Billboard
| page = 43
| access-date = December 21, 2010
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DCMEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Sonny+Boy+Williamson%22+824&pg=PA43
}}
| recorded = Chicago, Illinois, United States, August 12, 1955{{cite AV media notes |title=Chess Blues 1947–1967 |others=Various artists |year=1992 |url=http://aln2.albumlinernotes.com/Chess_Blues_-_Disc_3.html |type=CD notes |publisher=Chess/MCA Records |id=CHD4-9340 |access-date=2010-12-22 |archive-date=2011-01-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105121421/http://aln2.albumlinernotes.com/Chess_Blues_-_Disc_3.html |url-status=dead }}
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Chicago blues
| length = {{Duration|m=2|s=36}}
| label = Checker (no. 824)
| writer = Sonny Boy Williamson
| producer = Leonard Chess, Phil Chess, Willie Dixon
| prev_title = Boppin' with Sonny
| prev_year = 1955
| next_title = Let Me Explain
| next_year = 1956
}}
"Don't Start Me Talkin'" (also called "Don't Start Me to Talkin'") is a blues song written and performed by Sonny Boy Williamson II. It was Williamson's first single recorded for Checker Records,{{cite book|title=Deep Blues|author=Robert Palmer|year=1981|author-link=Robert Palmer (American writer)|publisher=Penguin Books|page=[https://archive.org/details/deepblues00palm/page/215 215]|isbn=978-0-14-006223-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/deepblues00palm/page/215}} and reached number three in the US Billboard R&B chart in 1955.
Recording background
After Trumpet Records folded, on August 12, 1955, Sonny Boy Williamson II had his first recording session for Checker Records. "Don't Start Me Talkin'" was recorded at these sessions. Backing Williamson (vocals and harmonica) were Otis Spann on piano, Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Willie Dixon on bass, and Fred Below on drums.
Release and chart performance
"Don't Start Me Talkin'" was released as a single in September 1955, a month after its recording. The song reached number three on Billboard magazine's R&B Singles chart.{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sonny-boy-williamson-p138629/charts-awards/billboard-singles |title=Sonny Boy Williamson – Billboard Singles |work=AllMusic |access-date=December 21, 2010}}
Other releases
Both sides of the single appeared on Williamson's 1959 debut album, Down and Out Blues, which was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2007.[http://www.blues.org/halloffame/#ref=halloffame_inductees Past Hall of Fame Inductees] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822221230/http://www.blues.org/halloffame/#ref=halloffame_inductees |date=August 22, 2009 }} Blues Foundation. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
Other renditions
James Cotton, who was taught the harmonica by Williamson, recorded "Don't Start Me Talkin'", for the 1967 album, The James Cotton Blues Band.{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-james-cotton-blues-band-r88339 |title=Overview: The James Cotton Blues Band by James Cotton |first=Bill |last=Dahl |website=AllMusic |access-date=December 21, 2010}} The New York Dolls recorded it for their second studio album, Too Much Too Soon.{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/too-much-too-soon-r14004 |title=Overview: Too Much Too Soon by New York Dolls |author=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |website=AllMusic|access-date=December 21, 2010}}
Bob Dylan performed the song on The David Letterman Show in 1984. Other music artists that have recorded the song include John Hammond, Jr., the Doobie Brothers, Dion, the Yardbirds, Climax Blues Band, Champion Jack Dupree, Rory Gallagher, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Fenton Robinson, Good Rockin' Charles{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-devils-music-mw0000600487|title=The Devil's Music - Original TV Soundtrack | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic|access-date=October 27, 2020|website=AllMusic}} and Gary Moore, among others.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/search/all/don't+start+me+talkin'|title=Search for "Don't Start Me Talkin'"|website=AllMusic|access-date=May 14, 2024}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Sonny Boy Williamson II}}
{{Dion DiMucci}}
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Category:Sonny Boy Williamson II songs
Category:Checker Records singles