Jimi Hendrix & Curtis Knight and The Squires - I'm A Man [Live] (1964)

Curtis Knight, born in 1929, is often credited with the aid of helping “discover” Jimi Hendrix. It was Knight who acquainted Hendrix with record producer Ed Chalpin, whom Hendrix signed his first contract with. Unfortunately for Chalpin, Hendrix soon forgot that he had signed it and left for England to form The Jimi Hendrix Experience. After The Experience hit it big, Chalpin sued Hendrix and his management/record companies to no avail. But as the legal action was playing out, Chalpin released jam session material that he claimed Hendrix had been a part of, using Knight as his main witness. After Hendrix’s death in 1974, Knight would use his connection with Hendrix to write a book, Jimi: An Intimate Biography of Jimi Hendrix, and to keep his musical career alive for many years.

Inspired by Muddy Waters' 1954 song “Hoochie Coochie Man,” Bo Diddley wrote and released the original version of this song in 1955. This rare cover version featuring Hendrix and Knight was recorded in Hackensack, New Jersey, at Club 20 on December 26th, 1964. It's worth noting that Hendrix strays from the original lyrics and that some sources claim the recording took place in 1965 rather than '64.



Jimi Hendrix & Curtis Knight and The Squires - I'm A Man [Live] (1964)

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Lyrics:

Yeah!
Down in Louisiana a way, baby
Yeah, I’m gonna tell you somethin’
I’m gonna tell you how big and bad I am

Hey
When I was a little boy
At the age of five
I had somethin’ in my pocket, baby, woo
Keep a whole lot of folks alive

Now I’m a man
Age twenty-one
You know, baby
We can have us a whole lot of fun

‘cause I’m a man
Spelt with a capital “m”
“a,” child
“n,” boy
Mannish boy
What’d I say, baby?

Woo! I feel so suspicious
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah
Oh, aw!

All you big healthy women
Stand in line
I’m gonna make love to ya, baby
In an hour’s time

The line I shoot
Will never miss
The way I make love to ya, baby
Aw, you just can’t resist

Goin’ down south
To Kansas, do
Bring back my second cousin
Little Willie John the conqueroo

‘cause I’m a man
Spelled with a capital “a”
“n”
Man

A’like a rollin’ stone
Ain’t gonna gather no cannon moss
Oh, oh, oh, yeah!
Look out, baby
Woo! Woo!

All you pretty women
Like I said before
Stand in line
I’m gonna make love to ya, baby
In about an hour’s time

Goin’ down South
To Caroline
I’ve got a big ol’ fat pig down there
She’s lookin’ almost fine
Woah, hey, woah, yeah!

I got a girl
Named ‘Louise’
She’s out of sight, mama
She was goin’ to please

I got a little booga-bear
Her name is ‘Sue’
She ain’t all that handsome, but, uh
She know just what to do

There was two old maids
Layin’ in a bed
One say to the other one, brother
He looked up and said
“Wake up, old maid
You’ll just sleep so damn sound
You know whatcha promised
When you first laid down”

‘cause I’m a man
Spelled “m”
“a,” child
“n,” boy
What I’m sayin?

Mannish boy
Oh, oh, oh, stop! Oh
It’s alright, baby
To do it tonight
The snow is comin’ down
Still had no reason for bein’ around

What I say?