Sept 30 “Take Me To The River” free concert at Miller Outdoor Theatre, 6000 Hermann Park Drive, Houston, Texas at 8pm

By Bob Ruggiero/Houston Press

Written by singer William Bell and keyboardist Booker T. Jones specifically for their Stax Records labelmate Albert King to record, “Born Under a Bad Sign” has certainly become a blues standard.

King’s original 1967 version of the creeping, doom-laden tune about a man who “if it wasn’t for bad luck, wouldn’t have no luck at all” is arguably the best rendition. But it was also a huge hit for blues-rockers Cream and been covered by a wide range of acts including Jimi Hendrix, Koko Taylor, Paul Butterfield, Buddy Guy, Rita Coolidge and…Homer Simpson?

That’s right, animated America’s most dysfunctional father cut his own version of the song on 1990’s The Simpsons Sing the Blues album. And Bell couldn’t have been prouder.

“I loved it! I was a big fan of The Simpsons, and I knew that’s when I really made it, when Homer did my song!” enthuses Bell, whose Zodiac sign is Cancer. “It was the ‘60s, so all of that [astrology] was in vogue, so I had an interest. I had part of the song and had to complete it, so Booker T. and I sat up all night and finished it. Albert recorded it the very next day.” …

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