Driving Wheel


"Driving Wheel", also called "Drivin' Wheel" or "Driving Wheel Blues", is blues song recorded by Roosevelt Sykes in 1936. It became a standard of the blues and has been recorded by numerous artists, including Junior Parker and Al Green, who had Billboard magazine charts successes with the song.

Original song

Roosevelt Sykes' "Driving Wheel Blues" is a solo twelve-bar blues, with Sykes providing piano accompaniment to his vocal. The song is performed at a medium tempo with the opening lyrics:
Some time later - exactly when is unclear - Sykes reversed the gender of this verse:
Sykes' recorded the song on February 18, 1936 for Decca Records. It was released before Billboard magazine or a similar service began tracking such singles, but "Driving Wheel" became an early blues standard. He later recorded additional studio and live versions of the song.

Junior Parker/Al Green versions

Junior Parker, as "Little Junior Parker", recorded "Driving Wheel" for Duke Records in 1960 or 1961. Although Parker's vocal line and lyrics follow Sykes' version, the song uses a group arrangement with a horn section and adds a break in the middle of the song. Most subsequent versions of "Driving Wheel" show Parker's influence, including the distinctive bass line. When the song was released in 1961, it spent eleven weeks in the US Billboard R&B chart, where it reached number five; it also reached number 85 in the pop chart.
In 1971, soul/gospel singer Al Green recorded the song in Memphis for Hi Records. His song peaked at number 46 in the R&B chart and reached number 115 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles pop chart. The song is included on the 1971 Al Green Gets Next to You album as well as various compilation albums. Green's version uses a different arrangement, in keeping with his soul music approach.

Recordings by other artists

"Driving Wheel" has been recorded by a variety of artists, including B.B. King ; Paul Butterfield Blues Band ; Junior Wells ; Albert King ; Luther Allison ; and Etta James.