"A Shot of Rhythm and Blues" is a song written by Terry Thompson[1] and first recorded by US soul singer Arthur Alexander.

It begins as a twelve-bar blues, but then diverges from that standard structure into a more distinctive composition.

The song, along with "Some Other Guy", became a standard on the 1960s Mersey scene, particularly at the Cavern Club, and was covered by Cilla Black, Sam "T-Bird" Jensen, the Beatles, and Gerry and the Pacemakers.

[4] In the TV series Cilla, "A Shot of Rhythm and Blues" was one of the songs sung by Sheridan Smith.

Van Morrison and Linda Gail Lewis performed the song on their 2000 album You Win Again.