Soul Finger
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| “Soul Finger” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Single by The Bar-Kays | ||
| B-side | "Knucklehead" | |
| Released | April 14, 1967 | |
| Recorded | 1967 | |
| Length | 2:18 | |
| Label | Stax Records | |
| Writer(s) | Jimmy King Phalon Jones Carl Cunningham Ben Cauley Ronnie Caldwell James Alexander |
|
"Soul Finger" was the first single released by R&B group The Bar-Kays. It was issued on Stax Records on April 14, 1967.
The song was written by the Bar-Kays while they were rehearsing with Norman West, doing a cover of J.J. Jackson's "But It's Alright".[1] It begins with the melody to the popular children's song "Mary Had a Little Lamb", and then cuts into the main riff, punctuated with a high trumpet vibrato. It features a chorus of neighborhood children who had been loitering outside the recording studio; they were instructed to shout the words "Soul Finger!" and were paid with Coca-Colas.[1] The idea for the title and the shouts had come from Stax songwriters Isaac Hayes and David Porter.[1]
"Soul Finger" was a hit in the United States, and peaked at #3 on the U.S. Billboard Black Singles chart and #17 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2] The B-side to the single was "Knucklehead", written by Booker T. Jones and Steve Cropper. "Knucklehead" charted at #28 on the Black Singles chart and #76 on the Hot 100.[2] "Soul Finger" and "Knucklehead" were the first two tracks of the Bar-Kays' first LP, Soul Finger.[3]
The song was featured prominently in a scene from the 2007 film Superbad, as well as the 1985 film Spies Like Us during a scene in which Soviet missile control personnel hold a party.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Liner notes to The Complete Stax/Volt Singles, 1959-1968. Atlantic, 1991, p. 31.
- ^ a b Billboard Singles, All Music Guide
- ^ Review of Soul Finger, All Music Guide
