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Watermelon Man (composition)
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Wikipedia article
"'Watermelon Man'" is a jazz standard written by Herbie Hancock for his debut album, 'Takin' Off' (1962).
Hancock's first version was released as a grooving hard bop record, and featured improvisations by Freddie Hubbard and Dexter Gordon. A single reached the Top 100 of the pop chart. Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamara released the tune as a Latin pop single and it became a surprise hit, reaching No. 10 on the pop chart.Strong, Martin Charles (2004). 'The Great Rock Discography: Complete Discographies Listing Every Track'. Canongate. pp. 652653. Santamara's recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. Hancock radically re-worked the tune, combining elements of funk, for the album 'Head Hunters' (1973).Brackett, Nathan (2004). 'The New Rolling Stone Album Guide'. Simon & Schuster. p. 361.
'Takin' Off'
Hancock wrote the piece to help sell his debut album as a leader, 'Takin' Off' (1962), on Blue Note Records; it was the first piece of music he had ever composed with a commercial goal in mind. The popularity of the piece, due primarily to Mongo Santamara, paid Hancock's bills for five or six years. Hancock did not feel the composition was a sellout however, describing that structurally, it was one of his strongest pieces due to its almost mathematical balance.Lyons, Len (1989). 'The Great Jazz Pianists: Speaking of Their Lives and Music'. Da Capo Press. p. 275.
The form is a sixteen bar blues. Recalling the piece, Hancock said, "I remember the cry of the watermelon man making the rounds through the back streets and alleys of Chicago. The wheels of his wagon beat out the rhythm on the cobblestones." The tune, based on a bluesy piano riff, drew on elements of R&B, soul jazz and bebop, all combined into a pop hook. Hancock joined bassist Butch Warren and drummer Billy Higgins in the rhythm section, with Freddie Hubbard on trumpet and Dexter Gordon on tenor saxophone.Creswell, Toby (2006). '1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories and Secrets Behind Them'. Thunder's Mouth Press. p. 333. Hancock's chordal work draws from the gospel tradition, while he builds his solo on repeated riffs and trilled figures.Doerschuk, Robert L.; & Doerschuk, Bob (2001). '88: The Giants of Jazz Piano'. Backbeat Books. p. 139.
Mongo Santamara
Hancock filled in for pianist Chick Corea in Mongo Santamara's band one weekend at a nightclub in The Bronx when Corea gave notice that he was leaving. Hancock played the tune for Santamara at friend Donald Byrd's urging. Santamara started accompanying him on his congas, then his band joined in, and the small audience slowly got up from their tables and started dancing, laughing and having a great time. Santamara later asked Hancock if he could record the tune. On December 17, 1962, Mongo Santamara recorded a three-minute version, suitable for radio, where he joined timbalero Francisco "Kako" Baster in a cha-cha beat, while drummer Ray Lucas performed a backbeat.Gerard, Charley (2001). 'Music from Cuba: Mongo Santamaria, Chocolate Armenteros, and Cuban Musicians'. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 54-55. Santamara included the track on his album 'Watermelon Man' (1962). Santamara's recording is sometimes considered the beginning of Latin boogaloo, a fusion of Afro-Cuban rhythms with those of R&B.Flores, Juan (2000). 'From Bomba to Hip-Hop: Puerto Rican Culture and Latino Identity'. Columbia University Press. p. 93. With the enthusiasm of record producer Orrin Keepnews, the band re-recorded the song and released it as a single under Battle Records (record label). The single reached number10 on 'Billboard' in 1963.
Chart performance
'Head Hunters'
Hancock re-recorded the tune for 'Head Hunters' (1973), combining synthesizers with a Sly Stone and James Brown funk influence,Vincent, Rickey (1996). 'Funk: The Music, The People, and The Rhythm of The One'. St. Martin's Press. adding an eight-bar section. Hancock described his composition "Chameleon", also from 'Head Hunters', to 'Down Beat' magazine in 1979: "In the popular forms of funk, which I've been trying to get into, the attention is on the rhythmic interplay between different instruments. The part the Clavinet plays has to fit with the part the drums play and the line the bass plays and the line that the guitar plays. It's almost like African drummers where seven drummers play different parts"; "Watermelon Man" shares a similar construction.Kernfeld, Barry Dean (1995). 'The Blackwell Guide to Recorded Jazz'. Blackwell Publishing. p. 488. A live version was released on the double LP 'Flood' (1975), recorded in Japan.
On the intro and outro of the tune, percussionist Bill Summers blows into beer bottles imitating hindewhu, a style of singing/whistle-playing found in Pygmy music of Central Africa. Hancock and Summers were struck by the sound, which they heard on the ethnomusicology album 'The Music of the Ba-Benzl Pygmies' (1966) by Simha Arom and Genevive Taurelle.Feld, Steven (1996). "Pygmy POP. A Genealogy of Schizophonic Mimesis.' Yearbook for Traditional Music 28. p. 4-5.
This version was often featured on The Weather Channel's Local on the 8s segments. It was also played in the 2018 movie 'mid90s'.
Other versions
The tune is a jazz standard and has been recorded over two hundred times:
*In 2003, pianist David Benoit covered the song from his album 'Right Here, Right Now'.
*A live and funky performance at the 1999 Montreux Jazz Festival Casino Lights '99 featured Fourplay, George Duke, Boney James and Kirk Whalum trading choruses, and Rick Braun.
Samples
Hancock's recording has been sampled in:
*"1-900-LL-Cool-J" from 'Walking with a Panther' (1989) by LL Cool J
*"Open Your Eyes" from 'Organized Konfusion' (1991) by Organized Konfusion
*"Smoke Some Kill" from 'Smoke Some Kill' (1988) by Schoolly D,
*"Pocket Full of Furl" from 'Uptown 4 Life' (1996) by U.N.L.V.
*"Sanctuary" from 'Bedtime Stories' (1994) by Madonna
*"Dolly My Baby" from 'Don Dada' (1992) by Super Cat
Personnel
'Takin' Off' version':
*Herbie Hancock piano
*Dexter Gordon tenor saxophone
*Billy Higgins drums, percussion
*Freddie Hubbard trumpet
*Butch Warren double bass
'Head Hunters' version':
*Herbie Hancock Fender Rhodes, clavinet, synthesizer
*Bennie Maupin soprano saxophone
*Bill Summers percussion, beer bottle, hindewhu
*Harvey Mason drums
*Paul Jackson bass guitar
References
Category:1962 songs
Category:1963 debut singles
Category:1960s jazz standards
Category:Hard bop jazz standards
Category:Bill Haley songs
Category:The J.B.'s songs
Category:1960s instrumentals
Category:Jazz compositions
Category:Songs written by Herbie Hancock
Category:Jazz compositions in F major
Category:Jazz standards
Category:Herbie Hancock songs
Category:Herbie Hancock
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