The AKA
Blues Connection
Documenting Rock 'n'
Roll's Roots in the Blues
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Featuring
Blues Connection
Copyright © 2002-2004 |
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The Rock 'n' Roll Connections Of
Slim Harpo
Slim Harpo's blues were simple, understated, very relaxed, and absolutely huge on atmosphere!!! It must have had something to do with his being from Louisiana--bayou swamp water, floating green slime, gator logs, voodoo mist, and eerie nights filled with the sound of frogs croakin' so loud that you'd swear they covered every square inch of the ground that you are stepping on----that's right--ATMOSPHERE! During the 50s and 60s, Harpo recorded some real blues gems including R&B charters such as "Got Love If You Want It", "I'm a King Bee", and "Rainin' in My Heart". He had a broader appeal than most blues musicians, and in 1966 he even cracked the pop charts for a Top 20 hit with "Baby Scratch My Back". Here's how Slim delivered his irresistible and easy-going brand of blues: he sang in a nasal, laid-back voice, played sparse guitar lines, and with a harmonica attached to a neckrack, he blew harp licks as tasty as a gastronomical fieldtrip to New Orleans. Slim Harpo died of a heart attack in 1970 at the age of 46, but his spirit lives on through his music and the thousands of musicians and bands that still play it. Slim was an especially important influence on English 60's rock bands including The Yardbirds and The Rolling Stones. Read the connections below for plenty of good info on Mr. Harpo's impact on the world of rock and roll. More of Slim's rock 'n' roll connections: The Kinks: The Kinks' first album, You Really Got Me, includes a cover of Slim Harpo's "Got Love If You Want It". And while we be talkin' about the Kinks, here's somethin' from the Ol' Moondog's not-so-trivial trivia files. The Kinks' great single "You Really Got Me" is virtually the birthplace of the hard rock style guitar-playing. And guess where they copped that powerful you-real-ly-got-me riff from???--the BLUUUES!!! brothers and sisters, sho' 'nuff, da blues! The Pretty Things: Slim Harpo's "Got Love If You Want It", "I'm a King Bee", and "Raining In My Heart" were all recorded by the UK rockers The Pretty Things. This heavily R&B-influenced band was part of the British Invasion of the sixties but it was not nearly as successful as bands such as The Stones, The Beatles, and The Animals. Rolling Stones: The Stones covered Slim's "I'm a King Bee" on their very first album. Also, a version of Harpo's "Hip Shake" (aka "Shake Your Hips") appears on the Stones' great Exile on Main Street album. If you listen to the song closely, you can hear Jagger sing "there's Slim Harpo". Slim's music was also the inspiration for the title of a Stones live album--they took the title of his tune "Got Love If You Want It" and changed the word "love" to "live", resulting in the title Got Live If You Want It. Them: A cover version of Slim Harpo's "Don't Start Crying Now" was recorded by Them, an early Van Morrison band. This Irish band also recorded other blues tunes including Bobby Blue Bland's "Turn On Your Lovelight", John Lee Hooker's "Don't Look Back", and Jimmy Reed's "Bright Lights, Big City". The Troggs: Here's one from the believe it or not files for ya. Slim Harpo's tune "Got Love If You Want It" was recorded by The Troggs, a band best known for that monster we-got-no-swing oldie "Wild Thing". The Yardbirds: The Yardbirds did a great cover of Slim's "Got Love If You Want It". These English rockers were heavily influenced by the blues and were sometimes referred to as the "blueswailing" Yardbirds. Neil Young: Neil Young does a rendition of Slim Harpo's "Raining In My Heart" on the Everybody's Rockin' album. Everybody's Rockin' contains roots-rock type music--blues and rockabilly, to be specific--including covers of Little Junior Parker's "Mystery Train" and Jimmy Reed's "Bright Lights, Big City". The AKA Blues Connection Hip Shake Rock Roll RRRRAMBLE! to the Musicians Index
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