Mess Around
| "Mess Around" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Ray Charles | ||||
| Released | June 19, 1953 | |||
| Format | 7" 45rpm | |||
| Recorded | May 17, 1953 | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll, rhythm and blues | |||
| Label | Atlantic Records 999 | |||
| Writer(s) | Ahmet Ertegün | |||
| Ray Charles singles chronology | ||||
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"Mess Around", written by Atlantic Records president and founder Ahmet Ertegün under the pseudonym of A. Nugetre,[1] or "Nuggy"[2] was one of Ray Charles’ first hits. Ertegün claims his inspiration for writing "Mess Around" was Pete Johnson. Earlier versions of the tune, a New Orleans boogie piano riff, can be heard throughout the early 30s and 40s the earliest of all being "Cow Cow Blues" from Charles "Cow Cow" Davenport in 1928. Dr John has spoken of the origination of this tune on his "Dr John Teaches New Orleans Piano" series of DVDs.
The lyrics urge listeners to dance ("mess around"), along with a few other key phrases, notably the "girl with the red dress on", harkening back to "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie", the early boogie woogie classic. "Mess Around" became a big R&B charted hit when released as a single in early 1953.
Cover versions and cultural references
- It was covered by The Animals in 1965.
- The song was featured in the film Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, during a scene in which John Candy's character dances to it while driving a car.
- It was featured in the 2004 biopic Ray.
- Dr. John included it in his collection of New Orleans classics Dr. John's Gumbo.
- Professor Longhair covered the song on several of his albums, including Rock'n'Roll Gumbo (1976).
- It was covered by New York City "psycho swing" and ska band Tri-State Conspiracy in 2008 on their 2nd album Nuisance.
- A small portion of the song was featured in the 2011 Family Guy parody of Return of the Jedi entitled "It's a Trap!", in an homage to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.
