ROCK Sex: "APACHE", HipHop's Sacred Secret Beat! - Bongo Band > Bambaataa > EVERYONE EVER

ROCK Sex is vibing tribal.

"Apache" is one of the most sampled songs in Rap history.

But the song has a crazy 50 year history that covers Surf, Psychedelia, Electronic, Funk, and especially HipHop.

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Geronimo

America was big on Westerns in the 1950s. Flush with wealth and power in the wake of WWII, it mythologized its roots in endless films and television series. The driving theme songs of these became staples in Rock'n'Roll guitar bands in the late '50s and early '60s.

"Apache" was written by brit Jerry Lordan, inspired by the 1954 film of the same name. It was first publicly performed on tour by BERT WEEDON.

BERT WEEDON -"Apache" (1960)



The UK guitar greats THE SHADOWS opened for Weedon on that tour and adapted the song to their style. The bold use of atmospheric echo and stocatto twang helped set the template for Surf music. This song is Dick Dale before Dick Dale.

THE SHADOWS -"Apache" (1960)



While that was a big splash in England, in America it was a big hit for a danish guitarist named Jorgen Ingmann. Listen to the amazing use of electronic effects throughout. Joe Meek must have been thunderstruck.

JORGEN INGMANN -"Apache" (1961)



The song was now a Rock standard; check out Los Pekenikes of Spain (1961), the inevitable response by The Ventures (1962), a vocal version by Sonny James (1962), and the fuzzrock biker-theme king Davie Allan And The Arrows (1965).


But what would happen if you crossed "Apache" with Captain Beefheart's "Dropout Boogie"? We've often wondered and now we'll know.

EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND -"Apache Dropout" (1970)



Or if you made an all-Moog electronic take?

HOT BUTTER -"Apache" (1972)



Enough people were doing variations of it that no one could have suspected the impossibly far-reaching impact of this particular Latin-Funk-Rock expansion on it.

INCREDIBLE BONGO BAND -"Apache" (1973)



But DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and other DJs in mid-'70s New York did. It was a secret weapon in their vinyl arsenal as they used its beats to pump up block parties and clubs in the dawning days of HipHop. Bambaataa would disguise the labels of his records so no one could swipe his sources. But eventually the word got out and the first Rap single to pave the path was...

SUGARHILL GANG -"Apache" (1981)


When Sugarhill Gang yells, "Hot butter popcorn", it is a shout-out to the Moog band, HOT BUTTER, (see above) and their hit "Popcorn". That toast has since become a running joke in Rap songs, from Funky Four Plus 1 to The Beastie Boys.

But nothing compared to the infinite reach of Incredible Bongo Band's "Apache" itself which has become the source of 78% of the songs for the past three decades. Okay, that's not strictly true, but a massive amount of them!

Like who? Samplers include West Street Mob, Full Force, LL Cool J, 2 Live Crew, Grandmaster Flash, Bomb the Bass, MC Hammer, Neneh Cherry, Run-DMC, Dan the Automator, Young MC, C+C Music Factory, The Blow Monkeys, Tone Loc, Blur, En Vogue, Boogie Down Productions, Mick Jagger, Stereo MC's, TLC, David Bowie, The Notorious B.I.G, Beastie Boys, The Future Sound of London, Faith Evans, The Prodigy, Luscious Jackson, Moby, David Arnold, Rage Against the Machine, Amy Winehouse, The Roots, Mike Patton and X-Ecutioners, M.I.A., Guru, Raekwon, Madonna, Jay-Z and Kanye West, Panteras Negras, Willy Moon, and your cousin. To name only a few.


But, you're asking, what if The Shadows, Jorgen Ingmann, Davie Allan, and The Incredible Bongo Band all jammed together on "Apache" at Sugar Hill studios? Well, here's two members of Portishead to answer that musical question.

THE JIMI ENTLY SOUND -"Apache" (2002)



The entire Incredible Bongo Band album was remade by Shawn Lee's Incredible Tabla Band, with Indian percussion and instruments.

Shawn Lee's INCREDIBLE TABLA BAND -"Apache" (2011)



Point out the samples when they blast out at your next party (and they will), and impress your friends!



© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• "AMEN Break" - How 6 Seconds From 1969 Propels All Modern Music


• "Soul Makossa" - Manu Dibango > Trovaioli > Michael Jackson

• ROCK Orgy: "Genius of Love"

• "Scorpio" - Dennis Coffey > Grandmaster Flash > Public Enemy> Moby

• "Good Times!" - Chic > SugarHill Gang > Queen > Defunkt > Ting Tings


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: A Music Player Checklist

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ROCK Sex: "I Want You!" - The Troggs, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Marvin Gaye, Cheap Trick, Elvis Costello +

ROCK Sex tells you what it wants what it really really wants.

Today's relay is that universal desire, "I Want You". Here's a lot of ranting and raving about the craving.

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Let's let Liverpool's unsung Beat group, Jeannie And The Big Guys, kick us off.

JEANNIE AND THE BIG GUYS -"I Want You" (1964)



Bringing some of that Garage lust, via the "Louie Louie"/"Wild Thing" riff, is The Troggs.

THE TROGGS -"I Want You" (1966)



Bob Dylan mixes scorn, ache, and surreality in his plea.

BOB DYLAN -"I Want You" (1966)



The Beatles make an epic Grunge grind out of it that hypnotizes you into submission.

THE BEATLES -"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" (1969)



Marvin Gaye seduces us into sin with angelic grace.

MARVIN GAYE -"I Want You" (1976)



Cheap Trick make sure it's mutual.

CHEAP TRICK -"I Want You To Want Me" (live, 1978)



Fleetwood Mac's most restless member pays tribute to Prince with this number.

LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM -"I Want You" (1984)



After the intro, a minute in, listen to how Elvis Costello rechannels The Beatles' groove and Dylan's edge from the songs above.

ELVIS COSTELLO -"I Want You" (1986)



Bringing us round trip, here's Canada's Fefe Dobson making her feelings known.

FEFE DOBSON -"I Want You" (2009)





© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• Love and Let Love! -Bessie Smith, Rita Chao, Nancy Sit, Tina Turner

• LADIES FIRST: "Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" - Kim Weston > The Doobie Brothers

• Chuck Berry > Bob Dylan > Ultravox > Elvis Costello

• "Way of the World" - Cheap Trick > R.E.M.

• BEATLESQUE Songs: 1969-esque, with Music Player!


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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ROCK Orgy: "American Pie"

ROCK Sex posts are about how everybody has a part to offer to the whole.

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Sometimes a song is a bit of an orgy of pop celebration. Meaning that it celebrates and refers to many other songs and artists in One Big Shout-Out!

Folk singer Don McLean's "American Pie" is a classic example. It's an emotional narrative spanning Rock'n'Roll from 1955 to 1970. Though the song was a full 8 minutes+, it was a huge hit because it chronicled the arc of the counterculture generation. It was also a lyrical mystery that pop fans loved to decipher.

The song's chronological narrative refers in symbolist terms to many great songs and events in the formation and arc of Rock'n'Roll.

Being a broad narrative it's open to interpretation. McLean seems to be contrasting innocent beginnings with hedonistic endings, more partial to early Rock'n'Roll and Folk, but less so to Psychedelia and lifestyle excesses. Conservatives can fold it into that shopworn narrative of dismissing the '60s generation using Altamont as an arbitrary capstone. Progressives can revel in the anarchic currents that ebb and flow amongst its creative players. Music fans can dig it for its metatext, its melody, and its sheer celebration.

Slice your own interpretation...

DON McLEAN -"American Pie" (1971)




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The Roots of
American Pie


Here are songs that "American Pie" is referring to (specifically or generally) in its lyrical journey.

• "Singin', 'This'll be the day that I die...'"

n 1959, Buddy Holly was killed in a plane crash, along with rockers Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. This event had a profound effect on Don McLean as a youth.

BUDDY HOLLY And The Crickets -"That'll Be the Day" (1957)


• "Them good ol' boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye..."

Country legend Tex Ritter was the father of actor John Ritter, and grandfather to actors Jason and Tyler Ritter.

TEX RITTER -"Rye Whiskey" (1948)


• "Did you write the book of love?"

THE MONOTONES -"The Book of Love" (1958)


• "With a pink carnation and a pickup truck..."

MARTY ROBBINS -"A White Sports Coat and a Pink Carnation" (1957)


• "And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone..."

Blues giant Muddy Waters interpolated the 1920s classic "Catfish Blues" as "Rollin' Stone (Catfish Blues)", which then inspired the name for The Rolling Stones.

MUDDY WATERS -"Rollin' Stone (Catfish Blues)" (1950)


• "Helter skelter in a summer swelter"

Helter Skelter is a name used for spiraling British fairground slides. The Beatles' roaring song became a template for Heavy Metal, and was misunderstood by Charles Manson as a rallying cry when orchestrating his murder campaign.

THE BEATLES -"Helter Skelter" (1968)


• "With the jester on the sidelines in a cast..."

With his outsider pespective and barbed lyrics, Bob Dylan was the court Jester of the counterculture. In 1966, he had a motorcycle crash that laid him up and change his perspectives on how to go forward. An insightful overview of this can be seen in Martin Scorsese's documentary, "No Direction Home" (2005).

BOB DYLAN -"Highway 61 Revisited" (1966)


• "The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast..."

The Byrds combined Bob Dylan with The Beatles to create the Folk Rock movement.

THE BYRDS -"Eight Miles High" (1967)


"While sergeants played a marching tune..."

Stepping beyond formula, The Beatles opened up the full range of sonic possibility of Rock with their 1967 masterpiece.

THE BEATLES -"SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND" (1967)


• "Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space..."

The counterculture, ridiculed as a fad by the scared mainstream media (still), had the ultimate coming out party with the 1969 Woodstock Festival, with half-a-million people of all persuasions declaring their undeniable presence and unleashing a spiritual nation that continues unabated (still).

CROSBY STILLS NASH And Young -"WOODSTOCK" (1970)


• "Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the Devil's only friend..."

In the spirit of the recent Woodstock, The Rolling Stones held a 1970 concert at Altamont Speedway in California. The naive mistake of choosing the Hells Angels motorcycle gang as security led to the stabbing death of a fan.

In its eternal zealosy to dismiss the progress and impact of the counterculture, the corporate media consistently sells the false narrative that this incident was its end. No.

THE ROLLING STONES -"Jumping Jack Flash" (1968)


• "I met a girl who sang the blues..."

JANIS JOPLIN -"Kozmic Blues" (1969)


• "The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast..."

The counterculture embraced varying forms of spirituality, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity. The latter led to Gospel hits like "Oh Happy Day" and "Spirit In The Dark"; and Gospel-inspired anthems of the turn of the decade, such as "Let It Be", "Bridge Over Troubled Water"; and "Loves Me Like A Rock", and musicals like "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Godspell".

THE BYRDS -"Jesus Is Just Alright" (1969)


NORMAN GREENBAUM -"Spirit In The Sky" (1969)


PACIFIC GAS And ELECTRIC -"Are You Ready" (1970)


MELANIE -"Candles In The Rain" (1970)



"And they were singin'..."


© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• Revolution 1950s: The Big Damn Bang of Rock'n'Roll! -Buddy Holly

1950s Rock, B: The '70s Disciples https://tymstevens.blogspot.com/2015/04/1950s-rock-b-70s-disciples.html • 1950s Rock, B: The '70s Disciples, with Music Player!


• "Killing Me Softly": Don McLean > Lori Lieberman > Roberta Flack > The Fugees

• Cool Ethereal Folk: VASHTI BUNYAN


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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