“Born Under A Bad Sign” by Albert King

"Born Under a Bad Sign" is the title song of Albert King's 1967 album, and it was written to order at Stax: William Bell, the label's R&B singer, wrote the words, and Booker T. Jones, the Stax bandleader from Booker T. & the M.G.'s, wrote the music. Bell said they needed a blues for King, so he handed over an idea he had been saving for himself, figuring astrology was all the rage.

It's a litany of hard luck and trouble, eased by wine and women, with some wordplay in the chorus, and its bad-luck sentiment echoes older songs such as Cousin Joe's "Bad Luck Blues" from 1947. Bass and guitar move in lockstep under that stargazing hook, which won over rock fans too; it landed on the R&B chart and has long since settled in as a standard.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.