Stick McGhee - Wiggle Waggle Woo (1953)

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Granville Henry "Sticks" McGhee (March 23, 1918 – August 15, 1961)was an American jump blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known for his blues song "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee", which he wrote with J. Mayo Williams.
McGhee was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee. He received his nickname when he was a child. He used a stick to push a wagon carrying his older brother Brownie McGhee, who had contracted polio. Granville began playing the guitar when he was thirteen years old. After his freshman year he dropped out of high school and worked with his father at the Eastman Kodak subsidiary, Tennessee Eastman Company in Kingsport. In 1940, Granville quit his job and moved to Portsmouth, Virginia, and then to New York City. He entered the military in 1942 and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After being discharged in 1946, he settled in New York.
In the military, McGhee often played his guitar. One of the songs he performed was "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee". The original lyrics of the song were as follows:

Drinkin’ that mess is our delight,
And when we get drunk, start fightin’ all night.
Knockin’ out windows and tearin’ down doors,
Drinkin’ half-gallons and callin’ for more.
Drinkin’ wine motherfucker, drinkin’ wine!
Goddam!
Drinkin’ wine motherfucker, drinkin’ wine!
Goddam!
Drinkin’ wine motherfucker, drinkin’ wine!
Goddam!
Pass that bottle to me!"

It was one of the earliest prototypical rock-and-roll songs. Cover versions were recorded by Wynonie Harris, Lionel Hampton, Big John Greer, Johnny Burnette, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Mike Bloomfield's Electric Flag (as "Wine"). The song lent its name to the alcoholic fruit drink spodi. In 1946 Granville and Brownie McGhee wrote a version of the song that didn't use profanity. Harlem Records released the new version in January 1947. It sold for 49 cents. It did not get much airplay until two years later, when Stick re-created the song for Atlantic Records. It was on the Billboard R&B chart for almost half a year, rising to number 2, where it stayed for four weeks.

Numerous cover versions of his songs were recorded over the years. The first cover was by Lionel Hampton, featuring Sonny Parker; next was a cover by Wynonie Harris, followed by a hillbilly-bop version by Loy Gordon & His Pleasant Valley Boys. "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee" continued to be popular throughout the 1950s in cover versions by various artists, including Malcolm Yelvington in 1954, Johnny Burnette in 1957, and Jerry Lee Lewis in 1959.

McGhee died of lung cancer in The Bronx, New York, on August 15, 1961, at the age of forty-three. He left his old guitar to Brownie's son before he died.

Stick McGhee, auch Sticks McGhee (* 23. März 1917 in Knoxville (Tennessee) als Granville Henry McGhee; † 15. August 1961 in der Bronx, New York City) war ein US-amerikanischer Blues und Rhythm-and-Blues-Gitarrist und Sänger. Er war der jüngere Bruder von Brownie McGhee.

McGhee begann mit dreizehn Jahren Gitarre zu spielen. Nachdem er von der Highschool geflogen war, arbeitete er mit seinem Vater bei Eastman Kodak. 1940 verließ er diesen Job und zog nach Portsmouth, Virginia, danach nach New York. Dort leistete er 1942 seinen Militärdienst ab und war dann während des Zweiten Weltkriegs als Soldat in der Army. 1946 wurde er aus der Armee entlassen und ließ sich in New York nieder.

Bereits während seines Militärdienstes hatte er oft Gitarre gespielt. Schließlich hatte er mit dem Anfang 1949 aufgenommenen Rhythm and Blues-Song „Drinkin’ Wine Spoo-De-O-Dee“ Erfolg. Der Song wurde auch der erste Hit des jungen Labels Atlantic Records in den R&B-Charts. In McGhees Band spielten Wilbert „Big Chief“ Ellis (Piano), Brownie McGhee (Gitarre) und Gene Ramey (Bass).

Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee brachte „das neue Lebensgefühl auf den Punkt: Trinken und Schlägereien sind alles, worum es im Leben geht, und wenn jemand Streit sucht, dann gib ihm ’nen Drink aus oder hau ihm eins auf’s Maul,“ beschrieb Greil Marcus die Stimmung dieses Songs, den seine Nachahmer u. a. zu Baby, Let’s Play House (Elvis Presley, 1955) anregte. Die ersten Zeilen lauteten:

Drinkin’ that mess is our delight,
And when we get drunk, start fightin’ all night.
Knockin’ out windows and learnin’ down doors,
Drinkin’ half-gallons and callin’ for more.
Sein Song wurde zu einem der frühesten prototypischen Rock and Roll Songs; er erlebte zahlreiche Coverversionen, etwa durch Jerry Lee Lewis und Mike Bloomfields Electric Flag (als „Wine“). Der Songtitel gab auch einem alkoholischen Fruchtgetränk (spodi) seinen Namen.Zunächst hatten Granville und Brownie McGhee gemeinsam den Song überarbeitet und für Harlem Records eingespielt, wo er im Januar 1947 erschienen war und anschließend in den Radios lief.