Eddie Boyd, a Chicago blues pianist, songwriter, and steel mill worker, came up with a true-to-life blues in 1952 that hit home with many a working man in “Five Long Years,” a No. 1 record on Billboard’s R&B jukebox chart for seven weeks. “If you ever been mistreated, well, you know what I’m talkin; about,” Boyd sang; “I worked five long years for one woman, then she had the nerve to put me out.” The song became a standard in the repertoire of countless blues bands and has been recorded by dozens of artists ranging from Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters to Eric Clapton and the Yardbirds. The single features L.C. McKinley on guitar and Ernest Cotton on sax.
