Checkin' Up on My Baby
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| "Checkin' Up on My Baby" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Sonny Boy Williamson II | |
| from the album The Real Folk Blues | |
| Released | 1966 |
| Recorded | Chicago, April 14, 1960 |
| Genre | Blues |
| Length | 1:53 |
| Label | Chess |
| Songwriter(s) | Sonny Boy Williamson II |
| Producer(s) | Leonard Chess, Phil Chess, Willie Dixon |
"Checkin' Up on My Baby" (or sometimes "Checking On My Baby") is a song recorded by Sonny Boy Williamson II in 1960 that has become a classic of the blues.[1] The song was not released as a single, but was included on Williamson's The Real Folk Blues album released after his death in 1965. The song has been recorded by numerous blues and other artists, making it one of Williamson's most recorded songs.
Williamson's namesake Sonny Boy Williamson I, also known as John Lee Williamson, recorded an earlier song titled "Check Up on My Baby" in 1944.[2] It is a topical song, with references to World War II political figures (its flip side is titled "Win the War Blues").[2] Although it has a different melody and lyrics, the refrain includes the line "I've got to check up on my baby, I've got to see how my baby been getting along", similar to "I'm checkin' up on my baby, find out what she's puttin' down", which later appears in the Sonny Boy Williamson II song. In 1958, Otis Rush recorded a slow blues titled "Checking on My Baby" (Cobra 5027) with different lyrics, with Rush listed as the songwriter.[3]
