Jealous Again

Album: Shake Your Money Maker (1990)
Charted: 76 75
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Songfacts®:

  • "Jealous Again" was the first single from The Black Crowes, released in 1990 after the band had been around in some form for six years. It was written by Rich and Chris Robinson, the brothers who lead the band. Rich is the guitarist and Chris the lead singer, but they collaborate on both music and lyrics.

    The song reflects their time on the road, pushing forward as they pursue their rock and roll dream ("Singing songs, ain't got no regrets"). They seem to be addressing a girl, letting her know there's a lot they had to sacrifice, and acknowledging that life with an aspiring rock star isn't always easy.

    "When you're a kid and you're in a rock band, that's your life, and there are a lot of walls put up for you to bust through," Chris Robinson told Songfacts. "We really weren't an angst-driven band, but on the early Black Crowes records you feel our youthful exuberance."
  • The Black Crowes were often compared to The Rolling Stones, and this song is a big reason why. The Robinson brothers admit that it's inspired by the 1972 Stones song "Tumbling Dice."

    "We stepped into a new place on 'Jealous Again,'" Rich told Guitar Player magazine. "We were going for a 'Tumbling Dice' thing. I remember writing the intro, putting the song together with Chris, and bringing it to rehearsal, where everyone got it. The first time we played it live was opening for Drivin' N Cryin' in Nashville."
  • The song got The Black Crowes off to a flying start. Rock stations were quick to add it to their playlists, excited to have some new blood in a genre that was still dominated by acts that were big in the '70s like Aerosmith, Rush and ZZ Top. And this was Southern rock (the band is from Atlanta), more boogie than grunge, which was making a big push.

    The band followed it with "Twice As Hard" and their cover of "Hard To Handle," then with the touching ballad "She Talks To Angels." All of these songs were part of their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, which went on to sell over 5 million copies in America.
  • The band released a no-frills video for this song, directed by Pete Angelus, who worked on many of those Van Halen and David Lee Roth videos that were all over MTV in the early years. The Black Crowes had a distinctive look, with flowing shirts on their surprisingly skinny frames. Like their sound, this was also reminiscent of '70s rockers like The Rolling Stones.
  • Another "black" band beat them to the title: Jealous Again is the name of a 1980 EP by Black Flag.

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