WXPN's 885 Greatest Songs From Movies And TV, #7: Alabama 3 - Woke Up This Morning (Theme From The Sopranos) (1997)

"Woke Up This Morning" has an unusual backstory. It was written and recorded by Alabama 3, a band from London, England. In the United States the group always uses the name A3 instead so they don't have to worry about any delicate or unfortunate legal entanglements with Alabama - the American country group -over the use of the name.

It's difficult to categorize Alabama 3 because they don't cling to a specific style. They easily blend jazz, R&B, hip-hop, rock and dance music into something unique.

The band wrote "Woke Up This Morning" after hearing about a highly publicized British murder case involving a woman, Sara Thornton, who stabbed her very abusive husband to death.

Primary songwriter and vocalist, Rob Spragg, told Q Magazine that "We started with a Howlin' Wolf loop, but a lot of blues lyrics are quite misogynistic. So, I turned it round to be about a woman who's had enough and gets a gun – it's quite ironic that it's become a New Jersey gangster anthem."  A3 also used samples from Muddy Waters and Mississippi Fred McDowell in the song. It originally appeared on the group's album, Exile on Coldharbour Lane.

I've never been a hip hop fan in the slightest, but this track avoids most of the elements I find distasteful about the genre, and Spragg's lead vocal is just so cool.

The single's picture sleeve appears to be influenced by Déjà Vu, the second Crosby, Stills and Nash album and the first one they released with new member Neil Young.

Below is the song as it's played over the opening credits to The Sopranos - one of the all-time great TV shows - followed by the original, longer album version.  


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