Movie Music Monday – I’m Ready

For Movie Music Monday this week, I bring you a song from a movie that I have never seen. I want to say that I was exposed to the soundtrack while walking through a Barnes and Noble or FYE and it was playing over the speakers. I heard this neat cover of a Fats Domino song and asked where I could get it. The employee told me that it was on the soundtrack of Little Big League.

I guess the premise of the film is that a 12 year old boy inherits the Minnesota Twins Baseball team when his grandfather dies. He plays little league baseball and thinks the manager is too hard on the players. After some words are exchanged, the boy fires the manager and names himself as the manager. Ok, whatever….

The soundtrack is ok. It has a few Booker T and the MG’s songs on it, Dion and Jeff Beck covering The Ventures Walk, Don’t Run. It was Taj Mahal’s version of I’m Ready that blew me away. The way it sounded coming through the sound system – it was so good.

I’m Ready originally appeared on Taj Mahal’s 1993 Dancing the Blues album before making it’s way to the 1994 soundtrack for the movie. Fats Domino released the original version in 1959. His version is good, but Taj Mahal’s version kicks it up about 10 notches. It has such a fuller sound to it. The bass line is not played on a stand up bass and it really drives the whole song. The piano line is as solid as Fats’ line. Of course, I love the little background horn stabs and a great saxophone solo! It’s hard not to want to jump around and dance to this one.