Eisenhower Blues

J.B. Lenoir was one of the few Chicago blues musicians willing to inject direct political commentary into his music. In 1954, he recorded "Eisenhower Blues" for Parrot Records, an upbeat, horn-driven shuffle that explicitly blamed the sitting president for the economic struggles of the Black working class. The record quickly stirred controversy, and label owner Al Benson soon had Lenoir remake it with modified lyrics, re-releasing it under the safer title "Tax Paying Blues." It remains one of the boldest examples of direct political protest in the postwar Chicago blues tradition.