Woke Up This Morning

"Woke Up This Morning" is a song by British band Alabama 3 from their 1997 album Exile on Coldharbour Lane. The song is best known as the opening theme music for the American television series The Sopranos, which used a shortened version of the "Chosen One Mix" of the song.

For other uses, see Woke Up This Morning (disambiguation).
"Woke Up This Morning"
Single by Alabama 3
from the album Exile on Coldharbour Lane
ReleasedJune 1997
Recorded1997
GenreHip hop
Length5:18
4:05 (Chosen One Mix)
LabelOne Little Indian
Songwriter(s)
  • Jake Black
  • Rob Spragg
Producer(s)Alabama 3
Alabama 3 singles chronology
"Ain't Going to Goa"
(1996)		 "Woke Up This Morning"
(1997)		 "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness"
(1997)

Background and writing

Described as "a propulsive hip-hop song complete with Howlin' Wolf samples and a swelling gospel choir",[1] the song has been cited as a paradigmatic example of a "great theme song", which "generates anticipation, immediately puts the viewer in a focused frame of mind, and creates the kind of sonic familiarity that breeds audience loyalty."[2] Alabama 3 frontman Rob Spragg wrote the song after hearing about the 1996 Sara Thornton murder case,[3] who stabbed her husband after claiming to be the victim of two years of his abuse, mistreatment and neglect.[4] The song is co-written with Piers Marsh, Simon Edwards, and Jake Black.

"We started with a Howlin' Wolf loop, but a lot of blues lyrics are quite misogynist[ic]," Spragg explained. "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."[5]

Use in other media

In film

In television

  • A remixed version of "Woke Up This Morning" plays during an episode of MTV's music documentary series Biorhythm for Tommy Lee.
  • The remixed version was also used for the opening credits of the HBO television series The Sopranos. "Since it's been on The Sopranos," Spragg remarked, "we've met some nice men in Armani suits with fat hands and eaten some nice Italian food. But we're very happy to be associated with a programme of that calibre. While in no way endorsing the use of guns in any fetishistic manner, obviously."[5] (On the Region 4 DVD release of season 1 of The Sopranos, the music video to "Woke Up This Morning" is included as a special feature. It is incorrectly credited as being performed by "Alabama 5".)
  • Additionally, in The Sopranos season 1 episode "Boca", "Woke Up This Morning (Urban Takeover Mix)" can be heard in a tense scene as Tony Soprano ponders retaliation against his daughter's soccer coach for sexually abusing an underage player.
  • A shortened alternate version of "Woke Up This Morning" can be heard for nearly 50 seconds in The Simpsons episode "Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge", while Fat Tony and his gang are on a ride to the Simpsons' house. The sequence is a parody of the opening sequence of The Sopranos.[6] "Woke Up This Morning" is also heard in a later Simpsons episode "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer", which guest-starred Sopranos regulars Michael Imperioli and Joe Pantoliano.
  • "Woke Up This Morning" was used in an episode of the BBC series Top Gear, in which the trio was driving through Florida in cheap, old American cars.
  • "Woke Up This Morning" was used in the episode "Ghosts" (season 2, episode 8) of the Netflix series Lilyhammer, in which Frank Tagliano (Steven Van Zandt) and his Norwegian crew are driving through New York City.

Charts
1997 chart performance for "Woke Up This Morning"
Chart (1997) Peak
position
Scotland (OCC)[7] 79
UK Singles (OCC)[8] 78
2000 chart performance for "Woke Up This Morning"
Chart (2000) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[9] 41
Scotland (OCC)[10] 60
UK Singles (OCC)[11] 79

References
  1. Murray Smith, "Just What Is It That Makes Tony Soprano Such An Appealing, Attractive Murderer", in Ward E. Jones and Samantha Vice, eds., Ethics at the Cinema (Oxford University Press, 2010), ISBN 978-0199793167, p. 78. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  2. Ron Sobel and Dick Weissman, Music Publishing: The Roadmap to Royalties (Routledge, 2008), ISBN 978-0203895689, p. 101. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  3. Duncan Campbell, "Face off", The Guardian, September 27, 2007.
  4. David Johannson, "Homeward Bound" Those Soprano Titles Come Heavy", in David Lavery, ed., Reading The Sopranos: Hit TV from HBO (I.B. Tauris, 2006), ISBN 978-1845111212, pp. 35-36. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  5. Q (May 2001).
  6. Gilbert, Gerard (June 14, 2011). "TV credit where credits are due". The Independent.
  7. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  8. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  9. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Alabama 3". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  10. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  11. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
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