On This Day in 2019, We Said Goodbye to the Voice That Millions Heard Before Every Episode of ‘The Sopranos’

On this day (May 21) in 2019, Jake Black, also known as the Very Reverend D Wayne Love, died at the age of 59. He was a singer, songwriter, and founding member of the British band Alabama 3. Over the years, the loose collective of musicians built a cult following. Their biggest claim to fame, though, is that their song, “Woke Up This Morning,” became the theme song from The Sopranos.

Videos by American Songwriter

Black co-founded Alabama 3 in the mid-1990s with Rob Spragg. They built the group’s sound around their shared love of American country music and electronic music. According to their website, the band is not a trio or duo. Instead, it is a creative collective of revolving members, which can number as many as nine during a live performance.

[RELATED: 3 Rock Songs That Gained Steam When They Became TV Theme Songs]

“You could drop Jake anywhere. He was a perfect social chameleon,” harmonica player Nick Reynolds said of Black. “Other singers would jump up and down like Mick Jagger, trying to get the audience’s attention. Jake just stood there with one hand in his pocket, and it had the same effect as the guy doing the look at me routine.”

How Jake Black and His Bandmates Turned a True Crime Story Into an Iconic Theme Song

While “Woke Up This Morning” is irrevocably connected to The Sopranos, the song had been out for two years before the series premiered. The show’s creator, David Chase, picked up Alabama 3’s debut album because he’d heard and enjoyed another song on the tracklist. When he heard “Woke Up This Morning,” he knew he’d found the show’s theme song.

Alabama 3 released their debut album, Exile on Coldharbour Lane, in 1997. The LP contained “Woke Up This Morning,” written by Jake Black, Rob Spragg, Simon Edwards, and Piers Marsh. According to Songfacts, Spragg got the idea for the song when he heard about the case of Sara Thornton.

The British woman killed her abusive, alcoholic husband in 1989. Thornton didn’t wake up and get herself a gun, though. Instead, she stabbed her husband to death. She was sentenced to life in prison. Then, the conviction was overturned, and she was retried in 1996. She was convicted of manslaughter, sentenced to five years, and was released due to time served before the trial.

The song also contains samples from American blues legends. Alabama 3 used “Tell Me” by Howlin’ Wolf, “Standing at the Burial Ground” by Mississippi Fred McDowell, and “Mannish Boy” by Muddy Waters in the track.

Featured Image by Roberto Ricciuti/Redferns