Called "a timeless staple of the blues",[2] the song also had strong crossover appeal to the rock audience with its synchronous bass and guitar lines and topical astrology reference.

The album's cover depicts images of "bad luck signs" or common superstitions, including a black cat, a Friday the 13th calendar page, skull and crossbones, ace of spades, and snake eyes.

[8] Albert King recorded an updated version of "Born Under a Bad Sign" with producer Allen Toussaint for his 1978 New Orleans Heat album.

Cream's rendition follows Albert King's, except for bassist and singer Jack Bruce combining two verses into "I've been down ever since I was ten" and an extended guitar solo by Clapton.

Writing for the Foundation, Jim O'Neal called it "one of the signature hits of Albert King that started to win the left-handed string-bender a crossover following in 1967, as he began to break out of the chittlin circuit to invade rock venues like the Fillmore".

[14] Music writer Charles Shaar Murray commented "tunes like 'Crosscut Saw', 'Oh Pretty Woman' and, most of all, 'Born Under a Bad Sign' rapidly became blues standards" and showed King's influence among blues-oriented artists.