I Just Want to Make Love to You
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Released May 1954
Format 10-inch 78 rpm, 7-inch 45 rpm
Recorded Chicago, April 13, 1954
Genre Chicago blues
Length 2:49
Label Chess (no. 1571)
Writer(s) Willie Dixon
Producer(s) Leonard Chess, Phil Chess
“I Just Want to Make Love to You” is a 1954 blues song written by Willie Dixon, first recorded by Muddy Waters, and released as “Just Make Love to Me” (Chess 1571). The song reached number four on Billboard magazine’s R&B Best Sellers chart.
Backing Waters on vocals are Little Walter on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Otis Spann on piano, Willie Dixon on bass, and Fred Below on drums. Waters recorded the song again for the album Electric Mud (1968).
In 1961, Etta James recorded the song for her début album At Last! Her rendition also served as the B-side to her hit of that name. In 1996, it was released as a single in the UK after being featured in a Diet Coke advertising campaign. James’ version uses somewhat different lyrics than Muddy Waters’ original. For example, “I don’t want you to make my bed” becomes “I just want to make your bed”. Instead of forgoing the traditionally female domestic chores eschewed in the original, James clearly states that she wants to perform all of those duties as well as “make love to you”, whereas in the original, the male singer is essentially saying that his lover need not perform any of the traditional domestic duties—love making is all he needs.
The CD single also included James’ “Tell Mama” and “Stormy Weather”. In 1996, it reached number five on the UK Singles chart,[as well as number 27 on the Dutch singles chart.[5] In 1998, the single also reached the records charts in Belgium: number 31 on the Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[6] and number 15 on the Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart.
CD single
“I Just Want to Make Love to You”
“Tell Mama”
“Stormy Weather”