Riot in Cell Block Number 9

"Riot in Cell Block #9" is a classic and pervasive R&B song composed by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1954. The song was first recorded by The Robins the same year.[1] That recording was one of the first R&B hits to use sound effects and employed a Muddy Waters stop-time riff as the instrumental backing.[1]

"Riot in Cell Block #9"
Single by The Robins
B-side"Wrap It Up"
Released1954
GenreR&B
Length3:02
LabelSpark
Songwriter(s)Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
The Robins singles chronology
"Key to My Heart"
(1954)		 "Riot in Cell Block #9"
(1954)		 "Loop De Loop Mambo"
(1954)

Lyrics

The song's setting takes place at a correctional facility. A man is serving his prison sentence for armed robbery. At 4:00 AM on July 2, 1953, he wakes up to a very alarming disturbance; a jail riot. It started in cell block #4 and continued through the prison hall from cell to cell. The jailhouse warden, armed with a Thompson sub machine gun, threatens to execute all the prisoners if the riot doesn't stop soon, but one of them, Scarface Jones, retaliates by carrying dynamite. Forty-seven hours later, 3:00 AM on July 4, 1953, the prison security let loose tear gas on the inmates and they return to their cells.

Cover versions

The song has been covered by many cross-genre artists such as The Grateful Dead, Wanda Jackson, Vicki Young, Johnny Winter, Dr. Feelgood, The Blues Brothers, Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen, Johnny Cash, and Flat Duo Jets.

The Beach Boys reworked the song as "Student Demonstration Time" for the 1971 album Surf's Up. The Beach Boys originally covered the song for their 1965 album Beach Boys' Party! but it was never released until they put a version on their 2011 album Live & Alternative Songs.

It was also translated and performed in French by Michel Pagliaro as "Émeute dans la Prison" (Riot in the Prison). In his version it was July 13, 1968, at 4:00 am and originated in cell block #3. It was later covered by Eric Lapointe.

See also

References
  1. Robert Palmer. Deep Blues. Penguin Books. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-14-006223-6.


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