One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer - wikipedia One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer `` One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer '' Single by Amos Milburn B - side `` What Can I Do ? '' Released August 1953 ( 1953 - 08 ) Format 10 - inch 78 rpm Recorded June 6, 1953 Studio Audio - Video Recording, New York City Genre Blues Length 2 : 54 Label Aladdin ( no. 3197 ) Songwriter ( s ) Rudy Toombs Amos Milburn singles chronology `` Let Me Go Home Whiskey '' ( 1953 ) `` One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer '' ( 1953 ) `` Good Good Whiskey '' ( 1953 ) `` Let Me Go Home Whiskey '' ( 1953 ) `` One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer '' ( 1953 ) `` Good Good Whiskey '' ( 1953 ) `` One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer '' ( or `` One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer '' ) is a blues song written by Rudy Toombs and recorded by Amos Milburn in 1953. It is one of several drinking songs recorded by Milburn in the early 1950s that placed in the top ten of the Billboard R&B chart. Other artists released popular recordings of the song, including John Lee Hooker in 1966 and George Thorogood in 1977. Contents 1 Original song 2 John Lee Hooker version 3 George Thorogood version 4 Renditions by other artists 5 References 6 External links Original song Amos Milburn 's `` One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer '' is a mid-tempo blues song, sometimes described as a jump blues, with pop - style chord changes. It tells the story of a man who is `` in a bar at closing time trying to get enough booze down his neck to forget that his girlfriend 's gone AWOL, harassing a tired, bored bartender who simply wants to close up and go home into serving just one more round ''. During the one break in the song, Milburn implores the bartender : One more nip and make it strong I got to find my baby if it takes all night long One scotch, one bourbon, one beer The song was a hit, reaching number two in the R&B chart during a fourteen - week stay in 1953. The single lists the performers as `` Amos Milburn and His Aladdin Chickenshackers '' after his first number one single `` Chicken Shack Boogie ''. Mickey Baker provided the guitar parts. Several of Milburn 's contemporaries commented on his indulgence ; for his part, Milburn added `` I practiced what I preached ''. John Lee Hooker version John Lee Hooker recorded the song as `` One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer '' in 1966. Hooker transformed Milburn 's song `` into a vehicle for himself ''. He used the storyline and chorus ( but altered the order ), but `` edited the verse down to its essentials, filled in the gaps with narrative and dialogue, and set the whole thing to a rocking cross between South Side shuffle and signature boogie ''. Part of Hooker 's narrative included : And then I sit there, drinkin ', gettin ' high, mellow, knocked out, feelin ' good About that time I looked on the wall, at the old clock on the wall About that time it was ten - thirty then, I looked down the bar at the bartender, he said ' What do you want, Johnny ? ', one bourbon, one scotch, and one beer Hooker 's version is notated as a medium tempo blues with an irregular number of bars in 4 / 4 time in the key of E. It was recorded in Chicago in 1966 with Hooker on vocal and guitar, pianist Lafayette Leake, guitarist Eddie `` Guitar '' Burns, drummer Fred Below, and an unknown bass player. The song was released on Hooker 's 1966 The Real Folk Blues album and he later recorded several live renditions of the song. A live version with Muddy Waters ' band recorded at the Cafe Au Go Go on August 30, 1966, has been described as `` dark, slow, swampy - deep, and the degree of emotional rapport between Hooker and the band ( particularly Otis Spann ) ( is ) nothing less than extraordinary ''. George Thorogood version `` One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer '' Song by George Thorogood from the album George Thorogood and the Destroyers Released 1977 ( 1977 ) Recorded 1977 Studio Dimension Sound, Jamaica Plain, Boston Genre Blues rock Length 8 : 27 Label Rounder Songwriter ( s ) Rudy Toombs Producer ( s ) Terry Manning and the Delaware Destroyers Audio sample file help George Thorogood recorded `` One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer '' for his 1977 debut album, George Thorogood and the Destroyers. His version is a medley of the song and another Hooker song, `` House Rent Boogie '', which serves as a backstory to explain the singer 's situation. According to Hooker, `` He ( Thorogood ) told me he was gon na do that ( and ) I said, ' Okay, go ahead ' ''. `` House Rent Boogie '' is written in the first person and details the events that transpire after the singer has lost his job. Unable to pay his rent and thrown out by his landlady, he tries and fails to obtain lodging at a friend 's house. Lying to his landlady that he has obtained a new job, he gets access to his room and removes all his belongings. He then goes down to a tavern and repeatedly orders the three title drinks to drown his sorrows, staying until last call at 3 : 00 a.m. Live recordings of the medley are included on Live ( 1986 ) and 30th Anniversary Tour : Live ( 2004 ). In the 1986 performance, as he is being evicted, he makes sure to pack up his `` John Lee Hooker record collection '' before he heads off to the bar. Both the studio version and the live version of `` One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer '' have been included on several Thorogood compilations, which list the songwriter as Hooker. Renditions by other artists A variety of artists have recorded versions of the song, including : Snooks Eaglin, Prince Jazzbo, Thurston Harris, Champion Jack Dupree, John Lee Hooker Jr., Marcel Zanini, Alfred Brown, and Admiral Bailey and Chaka Demus. For the `` Blame It on the Alcohol '' episode of the television series Glee, characters Will Schuester ( played by Matthew Morrison ) and Shannon Beiste ( played by Dot - Marie Jones ) sang the song at a honky tonk bar. Bob Rivers recorded a parody version called `` One Turban, One Scot, One Queer ''. References ^ Jump up to : Whitburn, Joel ( 1988 ). Top R&B Singles 1942 -- 1988. Record Research. p. 290. ISBN 0 - 89820 - 068 - 7. ^ Jump up to : Murray, Charles Shaar ( 2002 ). Boogie Man : The Adventures of John Lee Hooker in the American Twentieth Century. St. Martin 's Griffin. pp. 312 -- 313. ISBN 978 - 0 - 312 - 27006 - 3. Jump up ^ Murray 2002, p. 312. `` He ( Milburn ) was a good man, stayed drunk a-a-a-a-l-l the time. Nice gentleman, though ''. Jump up ^ Laredo, Joseph F. ( 1993 ). The Best of Amos Milburn : Down the Road Apiece ( CD booklet ). Amos Milburn. EMI America. p. 3. 243 8 27229 2. Jump up ^ The Blues. Hal Leonard. 1995. pp. 162 -- 63. ISBN 0 - 7935 - 5259 - 1. Jump up ^ Murray 2002, p. 312 -- 322. Jump up ^ Poling, Dean ( March 19, 2010 ). `` Bad to the Funny Bone : A Strange Conversation with George Thorogood ''. Valdosta Daily Times. Retrieved April 2, 2010. Jump up ^ Murray 2002, p. 441. External links George Thorogood Live in Boston, 1982 version Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics John Lee Hooker Studio albums 1960 That 's My Story 1966 It Serves You Right to Suffer 1971 Hooker ' n Heat 1971 Endless Boogie 1972 Never Get Out of These Blues Alive The Healer 1991 Mr. Lucky 1995 Chill Out 1997 Do n't Look Back Compilations 1964 Original Folk Blues 1991 The Ultimate Collection 2005 Blues Is the Healer Soundtracks The Hot Spot Films Come See About Me Singles 1948 `` Boogie Chillen ' '' `` Crawling King Snake '' 1949 `` Jack o ' Diamonds '' `` Trouble in Mind '' 1951 `` Catfish '' 1952 `` Sugar Mama '' `` Worried Life Blues '' `` Baby, Please Do n't Go '' `` Key to the Highway '' 1956 `` I 'm Ready '' `` Dimples '' 1960 `` I Need Some Money '' 1961 `` Boom Boom '' `` Drifting Blues '' 1964 `` Do n't Look Back '' Songs 1960 `` How Long Blues '' `` Good Mornin ', Lil ' School Girl '' `` Smokestack Lightnin ' '' 1966 `` One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer '' `` Bottle Up & Go '' `` I Ca n't Quit You Baby '' 1971 `` Meet Me in the Bottom '' `` Roll and Tumble '' `` Will the Circle Be Unbroken ? '' `` Terraplane Blues '' 1991 `` I Cover the Waterfront '' 1997 `` The Healing Game '' `` Red House '' Related articles Talking blues Boogie Detroit blues Eddie Kirkland Eddie `` Guitar '' Burns Canned Heat The Blues Brothers George Thorogood and the Destroyers Studio albums 1977 : George Thorogood and the Destroyers 1978 : Move It On Over 1979 : Better Than the Rest 1980 : More George Thorogood and the Destroyers 1982 : Bad to the Bone 1985 : Maverick 1986 : Nadine 1988 : Born to Be Bad 1991 : Boogie People 1993 : Haircut 1997 : Rockin ' My Life Away 1999 : Half a Boy / Half a Man 2003 : Ride ' Til I Die 2006 : The Hard Stuff 2009 : The Dirty Dozen 2011 : 2120 South Michigan Ave. Live albums 1995 : Live : Let 's Work Together 2004 : 30th Anniversary Tour : Live Compilation albums 2004 : Greatest Hits : 30 Years of Rock Singles 1982 : `` Bad to the Bone '' 1985 : `` I Drink Alone '' `` Willie and the Hand Jive '' 1988 : `` Treat Her Right '' Songs 1977 : `` Madison Blues '' `` One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer '' `` Kind Hearted Woman '' `` John Hardy '' 1978 : `` Move It On Over '' `` Who Do You Love ? '' `` The Sky Is Crying '' `` Cocaine Blues '' 1979 : `` My Way '' `` I 'm Ready '' `` Nadine '' 1980 : `` Restless '' 1982 : `` Nobody but Me '' `` New Boogie Chillun '' `` As the Years Go Passing By '' `` No Particular Place to Go '' 1985 : `` Dixie Fried '' `` Crawlin ' King Snake '' `` Memphis '' 1988 : `` Shake Your Money Maker '' `` Smokestack Lightning '' `` I 'm Moving On '' 1991 : `` Six Days on the Road '' 1993 : `` Down in the Bottom '' 1995 : `` Bad Boy '' `` Let 's Work Together '' `` St. Louis Blues '' `` Johnny B. Goode '' 1997 : `` Trouble Every Day '' 1999 : `` Double Shot '' 2006 : `` Drifter 's Escape '' 2011 : `` Hi - Heel Sneakers '' `` Seventh Son '' `` Spoonful '' `` Let It Rock '' `` Two Trains Running ( Still a Fool ) '' `` Bo Diddley '' `` Help Me '' `` My Babe '' `` 2120 South Michigan Ave. '' Other articles Discography Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=One_Bourbon,_One_Scotch,_One_Beer&oldid=804690355 '' Categories : 1953 songs Blues songs 1953 singles Songs written by Rudy Toombs John Lee Hooker songs George Thorogood songs Songs about alcohol Aladdin Records singles Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Boarisch Deutsch Español Edit links This page was last edited on 10 October 2017, at 15 : 07. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: who sang one bourbon one scotch one beer
Answer: Amos Milburn