A Hundred and Ten in the Shade

Background

“A Hundred and Ten in the Shade” is the fourth track on Fogerty’s 1997 album Blue Moon Swamp. Inspired in part by his pilgrimages to Mississippi, the tune has a trudging, bluesy feel with first-person lyrics that convey the toil and misery of a rural farm laborer. As with so many of his great songs, Fogerty dipped into his mythical inkwell of Southern life to create “A Hundred and Ten in the Shade.”

Fogerty wrote in his autobiography Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music: “’A Hundred and Ten in the Shade’ took a long time to write. I had the title since the seventies. I made a couple different attempts but never quite got it. It finally came together on one of my writing trips out to Newhall, California. I’d take this beat up route they called ‘the old road,’ which took you to the first commercially successful oil well in the state. I’d sit out there all day and never see a soul….” He worked on ‘Rambunctious Boy’ and ‘Southern Streamline,’ also on Blue Moon Swamp, at this same place which is in Pico Canyon.

Personnel

Backing Vocals: The Fairfield Four, consisting of James Hill, Isaac Freeman, Wilson Waters, Jr., -Robert Hamlett, Joe Rice

Drums: Eddie Bayers

Bass: John Clayton

Electric Guitar, Dobro: John Fogerty

Percussion: Luis Conte

Production notes

This is the only track for which Eddie Bayers played drums. John states in his autobiography that Bayers understood the feel of the song well, but a perfect, complete take was difficult, so John spliced several different drum takes together.

John also states in his autobiography that he wanted a stand-up bass player to play on the song. At the recommendation of famed producer Quincy Jones, John hired John Clayton who Fogerty said “played wonderfully!”

Next, Fogerty searched for a gospel group to provide backing vocals. He was looking for a sound that was “old as the dirt” in his words. Famous dobro player and friend, Jerry Douglas, suggested the Fairfield Four. At that time, there actually were five members of the group. During the recording of their track, the Fairfield Four did not use headphones.

John recorded the guitar part for this tune several times. He arrived at what he thought would be a master take and it was this take that played while the Fairfield Four recorded their part. The singers were recorded in a room with live speakers of John’s guitar as a guide. The sound of John’s guitar actually bled into the microphones of the Fairfield Four. Later, John abandoned this guitar take and thus when he created the new master take, he had to match the sound of the guitar that bled into the Fairfield Four’s track.

Live versions

The song was played regularly on the Blue Moon Swamp Tour (1997) and during the Déjà vu All Over Again Tour (2004-2005). He also played the song during a live taping for Austin City Limits in 2004.

Fogerty played the song live with the Fairfield Four on two occasions:

• The Fillmore in 1997

• The HBO Special Premonition in 1997

Critical reception

"Indeed, "A Hundred and Ten in the Shade" may be the single best song Fogerty has offered since CCR fell apart. It's a slow, shuffling blues, and Fogerty's vocals have the tense, resigned, keening sadness of vintage Bobbie Gentry (remember "Ode to Billie Joe"?)".  --Grant Alden, The Rolling Stone, June 12th, 1997.

"--- a bluesy ballad on which Fogerty demonstrates incredibly light vocals, beautifully offset by the low gospel backing of the Fairfield Four. If only the rest of the songs were that good." -Bob Remstein, The Wall of Sound, 1999. 

"One of the best tracks on the record, “A Hundred and Ten in the Shade” is a Blues-based tune permeated by Fogerty’s patented Swamp Rock sound.  The addition of The Fairfield Four on vocals gives a fitting Spiritual quality to the “fingers-to-the-bone” work depicted in Fogerty’s lyrical lamentations."  -Cole Powell, Southern Senses, September 14th, 2015. 

Fans' views

"The imagery in this song is outstanding. Like JF, I've always had this mythical obsession with the South. This song really captures that spirit. The background vocals really give this tune an "authentic feel"."

"Superb, keeps me warm in the middle of below zero temperatures."

Essay written by Nick Linville 

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