The Best of Slim Harpo
You’d have to be pretty much ignorant of r’n’r in its entirety to not know Slim’s classic, nasally- sung “I’m a King Bee”, if not from the original, at least from the Stones’ cover early in their career.
As a testament to his songwriting, a number of his other tunes have been covered over the years (by the Stones and many other bands), including “Got Love If You Want It”, “Rainin’ in my Heart”, “Baby, Scratch My Back”, and the rollicin’ “Shake Your Hips” (which I believe was also the inspiration for ZZ Top’s “La Grange” besides being included on Exile on Main Street). The oddly titled “Te Ni Nee Ni Nu” has a fun, swingin’ groove in his Louisiana “swamp blues” style, giving a nod to the local zydeco genre.
His slinky, sliding grooves are credited for the inspiration for the funk pioneered by the likes of James Brown, but he will always be known as another of the blues greats that inspired the birth of r'n'r!
As a testament to his songwriting, a number of his other tunes have been covered over the years (by the Stones and many other bands), including “Got Love If You Want It”, “Rainin’ in my Heart”, “Baby, Scratch My Back”, and the rollicin’ “Shake Your Hips” (which I believe was also the inspiration for ZZ Top’s “La Grange” besides being included on Exile on Main Street). The oddly titled “Te Ni Nee Ni Nu” has a fun, swingin’ groove in his Louisiana “swamp blues” style, giving a nod to the local zydeco genre.
His slinky, sliding grooves are credited for the inspiration for the funk pioneered by the likes of James Brown, but he will always be known as another of the blues greats that inspired the birth of r'n'r!
posted by rich @ 4:12 PM
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