Woke Up This Morning

"Woke Up This Morning" became famous as the theme song for the HBO TV series The Sopranos, but it was around long before the show. The song first appeared on Alabama 3's 1997 debut album, Exile on Coldharbour Lane, but remained an obscurity until David Chase, who created The Sopranos, decided to use it as the theme song when the series debuted in 1999. Chase originally wanted to use a different song for each episode of the show, but HBO insisted on one song for the sake of branding and consistency. Chase says the first time he heard "Woke Up This Morning," he knew it was the one (he bought the CD after hearing a different song by the group on the radio). A3 received $40,000 for the use of the song; it was an offer they couldn't refuse.

With the refrain "Woke up this morning, got myself a gun," the song does sound very gangster, but it's actually about a case in which a wife finally shot her abusive husband after 20 years. The song is about female empowerment, not the mob. The woman in question is Sara Thornton, who killed her husband in 1989. The case made headlines in England, where Alabama 3 founder Rob Spragg heard about it and got the idea for the song. He wrote the song with his bandmates Jake Black, Simon Edwards and Piers Marsh.

Alabama 3 are neither a trio nor from Alabama. Formed by Rob Spragg and Jake Black, they are from South London, but have an affinity for American country music, which they sometimes combine with house music. Like Chumbawamba, they are a collective with rotating members, often performing songs with political leanings. Each member has an unusual stage name, like "Rock Freebase" and "L.B. Dope." Spragg and Black started out playing raves around England under the name Larry Love and the Reverend D Wayne Love, speaking in American accents. Their first album in 1997 was adored by some music critics, but left no impression on the charts, as their fusion of Americana with Eurodance proved a little too niche. That niche turned out to be perfect for The Sopranos, however, as it provided an appropriate song that was unheard to all but a tiny sliver of the show's viewers. When the show became a huge hit, Alabama 3 brought their act to America, where they played a series of shows.