Song:It Hurts Me Too
Album:Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order Volume 11 (1939-1940)
Blues pioneer Tampa Red was known as The Guitar Wizard. He is one of the all time greats of the slide guitar with a weakness for the kazoo. He was also a great songwriter and It Hurts Me Too is one of his most covered songs. He was born Hudson Woodbridge Jan. 8, 1904 in Smithville, GA. His parents died when he was a child and he was raised by his aunt and grandmother in Tampa. He adopted the surname Whitaker. His older brother Eddie played guitar and he learned from a street musician named Piccolo Pete. He moved to Chicago in the 1920s and named himself Tampa Red because of his light skin. He accompanied Ma Rainey and first recorded in 1928 in a bawdy and humourous style called "hokum". His partner was known as Georgia Tom but went on to be known as Thomas A. Dorsey the father of gospel music. They were called Tampa Red's Hokum Jug Band. He also developed his bottleneck guitar style and earned the name The Guitar Wizard. When he split with Dorsey in 1932, he played sessions and signed with RCA in 1934. He recorded for RCA for 20 years. Tampa Red played sessions with his band and also recorded his own songs. He was also a mentor to other musicians like Big Bill Broonzy and Big Joe Williams. At the time, Tampa Red was one of the pillars of the Chicago blues community. He first recorded It Hurts Me Too in 1940. It is based on Things 'Bout Comin' My Way which he recorded in 1931 and that was based on The Mississippi Sheiks classic Sittin' On Top Of The World. In 1949, Tampa Red recorded It Hurts Me Too with an updated arrangement and called it When Things Go Wrong With You. It reached #9 on the R & B Singles chart. I'm not sure why he changed the title. It's the same song. And in those days there was no song tracking to identify that. You can get the original 1940 recording on this CD from the British label Document Records. It Hurts Me Too has been covered frequently and is now a blues standard. Elmore James had the biggest hit with the song in 1965. You'll also notice the frequent use of the kazoo on Tampa Red's recordings. He may have been a guitar wizard but he sure enjoyed playing the kazoo. Tampa Red became an alcoholic after his wife died in 1953 and his life deteriorated considerably until his death on Mar. 19, 1981 at age 77. Here's a video of It Hurts Me Too by Tampa Red.
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