Glasgow hardmen and crime families inspired iconic Sopranos hit song

dailyrecord.co.uk:

It’s one of the most memorable theme songs in the history of television. Woke Up This Morning by rock band Alabama 3 features at the start of each episode of The Sopranos, showing ruthless mafia boss Tony Soprano –played by James Gandoflini – smoking a cigar as he drives home in his Chevrolet SUV.

But on the show’s 25th anniversary, a band member has revealed how the iconic words and music were inspired more by the hardmen of Glasgow than the tough guys of New Jersey and New York, where the show is set.Rob Spragg wrote the song in 1997 with fellow Alabama 3 member Jake Black, who had grown up in the tough housing estate of Possilpark on the north side of the city.Then, the area had one of the highest crime rates in the country and drugs and violence was rife.It was also home to feared gangs like the Young Possil Fleet, of which Black was a member, and notorious crime families like the Daniels.Spragg said that much of the menace in Woke Up This Morning that first attracted Sopranos creator David Chase was inspired by Black’s upbringing.He said: “The song had been released as a single in the USA in 1997 and Chase heard it on the radio as he was driving from New York to New Jersey.“He thought it was perfect for the show.

The song really took off after that. It still sounds really fresh even now, which suggests we were ahead of our time, though we were seen as a bit of a novelty band at the time.”Black died in 2019 at the age of 59 after falling ill on stage at a concert in Lancashire and was later laid to rest following a church service in his native Possilpark.Spragg added: “Jake was proud of his upbringing and roots and that is reflected in the song.“I think Chase got that sense of menace coming all the way from Possil