The Sky Is Crying

Producer Bobby Robinson caught Elmore James during a torrential Chicago downpour in November 1959. According to a widely told session legend, Robinson looked out the window and said, "Look at the sky, Elmore. It's crying." James took the phrase and built a masterpiece around it. Backed by his "Broomdusters" band, he slowed things down from his usual frantic pace, playing a weeping, devastating slide guitar figure on his electric slide guitar through a heavily distorted amplifier. The resulting track was an agonizing, emotionally draining performance that perfectly captured the misery of the storm outside, eventually becoming a staple for Stevie Ray Vaughan.