Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)
| "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Marvin Gaye | ||||||||||
| from the album What's Going On | ||||||||||
| B-side | "Wholy Holy" | |||||||||
| Released | September 16, 1971 | |||||||||
| Format | vinyl record (7", 45 RPM) | |||||||||
| Recorded | Hitsville USA (Studio A); March 1971 | |||||||||
| Genre | Soul, funk | |||||||||
| Length | 5:28 (album version) 2:58 (single edit) |
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| Label | Tamla T 54209 |
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| Writer(s) | Marvin Gaye & James Nyx, Jr. | |||||||||
| Producer | Marvin Gaye | |||||||||
| Marvin Gaye singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", often shortened to "Inner City Blues", is a song by Marvin Gaye, released as the third and final single from and the climactic song of his 1971 landmark album, What's Going On. Written by Gaye and James Nyx, the song depicted the ghettos of inner-city America as it discussed how the bleak economic situation would lead to someone wanting to holler and throw ones hands up. The song was recorded in a mellow funk style with Gaye playing piano. Several of the Funk Brothers also contributed, including Eddie "Bongo" Brown, and bassist Bob Babbitt.
The song helped Gaye make history by being one of the few artists to have three or more Top 10 songs off Billboard's Pop Singles chart peaking at #9 and one of the first to have three consecutive #1 hits on Billboard's R&B Singles chart where it stayed for two weeks.[1] Although not certified by the RIAA at that time, all three releases from the What's Going On album gained Gold status by selling over 1,000,000 copies in the United States.
In its unedited version as it appears on the album, the final minute of the song (and of the LP) is a reprise to the theme of "What's Going On", the album's first song, then segues into a dark ending. This final minute was cut off of the single version, as well as other sections of the song so the single edit runs under three minutes--this edit appears on subsequent reissues of the LP.
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[edit] Cover versions
The song was first covered by Grover Washington, Jr. in 1972 from the album named "Inner City Blues."[2] Also in 1972, on her album A Time In My Life, Sarah Vaughan covered "Inner City Blues" with David Axelrod on the drums. The same year the song was recorded by The Chi-Lites on the album A Lonely Man, and by The Impressions for their album Times Have Changed. Christian alternative band Adam Again did a soulful rendition of the song on 1990's Homeboys. In 1993, guitarist Larry Coryell covered the song from his album "Fallen Angel."[3][4] In 1994, Angela Winbush covered the song and released it as a single and abbreviated the name simply to "Inner City Blues". In 1998, the Mayfield Four released a cover of "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" under its original title on their debut album Fallout. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band also did a cover of this song on their album, What's Goin' On (2006) (Shout Factory). It was also covered by Joe Cocker on his album titled "Cocker".
It was also covered by the hard-rock band Sevendust in 2003, and can be found on the DVD included with some versions of their album Seasons, and then was included on their compilation album Best of (Chapter One 1997-2004) which was released in late 2005. In 2004, John Mayer performed the song live and later released on his compilation live album As/Is. The version includes a turntable solo by New York jazz turntable player DJ Logic.
In 1997 the Grover Washington Jr. version was re-released on the compilation Funky Jazz Classics & Original Breaks from the Tough Side, the first of the Pulp Fusion series. In 2007 the Sarah Vaughan cover was also re-released on the compilation Bustin' Loose, the tenth of the Pulp Fusion series.
The original version of the song also was used in the soundtrack of the 2007 film Zodiac, directed by David Fincher.
- Grover Washington, Jr. (1972)
- Sarah Vaughan (A Time In My Life from 1972)
- The Chi-Lites (A Lonely Man from 1972)
- The Impressions (Times Have Changed from 1972)
- Reuben Wilson (Sweet Life from 1972)
- Gil Scott-Heron (1981)
- Working Week (Working Nights from 1985)
- Joe Cocker (1986)
- Nona Gaye (Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye from 1994)
- Angela Winbush (Angela Winbush from 1994)
- The Chi-Lites (1995)
- Ideal (Original Gangstas (soundtrack) from 1996)
- Maceo Parker (1998)
- Mayfield Four (Fallout from 1998)
- Carla Cook (It's All About Love from 1999)
- Sevendust (Seasons from 2003 & Best of (Chapter One 1997-2004) from 2005)
- James Last (Inner City Blues from 2003)
- John Mayer (As/Is from 2004)
- Marc Broussard (S.O.S.: Save Our Soul from 2007)
- Brian Auger's Oblivion Express (Closer To It from 1973)
- The Asteroids Galaxy Tour (Fruit from 2009)
- Sly Dunbar with Robbie Shakespeare (Sly-Go-Ville from 1982)
[edit] Samples
- Angela Winbush - "Inner City Blues"
- A Tribe Called Quest - "Youthful Expression"
- Big Daddy Kane - "W.G.O.N.R.S."
- Black Rock & Ron - "True Feelings"
- Coolio - "In the Closet"
- The D.O.C. - "The Formula"
- Ice Cube - "When I Get to Heaven"
- Janet Jackson - "Can't Be Stopped"[5]
- Joe Budden - "Who"
- K-Solo - "King of the Mountain"
- Killa Kyleon - Money Takers [2011]
- Makeba & Skratch - "Mental Fitness"
- Masta Ace - "Go Where I Send Thee"
- MC Solaar - "Armand est Mort"
- Poison Clan - "Fugitive"
- Roxanne - "If I Can't Have You"
- Scarface - "A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die"
- Spice 1 - "Welcome to the Ghetto"
- Theo Parrish - Major Moments Of Instant Insanity
- Together Brothers - "Too Much Racism"
- Too Poetic - "God Made Me Funky (Remix)"
- Marc Moulin - "Jazz Bizniz! (CD, Comp) Inner City Blues" counterpoint Records 1999
[edit] Trivia
- The song is also featured in the movie Doing Hard Time.
- The song is featured in videogame Grand Theft Auto IV on The Vibe radio station
- The song is also featured in the John Singleton movie, Four Brothers.
- It is also featured in the David Fincher movie, Zodiac.
- The song is also featured in the film Knockaround Guys.
- The song is featured in the HBO Sports Documentary A City on Fire: The Story of the '68 Detroit Tigers as the background music to footage of the 1967 Detroit riot.
- The song is featured in the documentary film Tupac Resurrection.
[edit] Personnel
- Lead and background vocals by Marvin Gaye
- Written by Marvin Gaye & James Nyx
- Piano by Marvin Gaye
- Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra including:
- Bobbye Hall – bongos[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 226.
- ^ "Inner City Blues overview". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r149743.
- ^ "Fallen Angel overview". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r193718.
- ^ "Email Jazz News". All About Jazz. http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news_email.php?id=13423.
- ^ [1] Retrieved February 23, 2009
- ^ Sounes, Howard (2006). Seventies: the sights, sounds and ideas of a brilliant decade. Simon & Schuster. p. 134. ISBN 0743268598. "...such as Bobbye Hall whose insistent bongos can be heard..."
| Preceded by "Trapped By A Thing Called Love" by Denise LaSalle |
Billboard Best Selling Soul Singles number-one single November 6–13, 1971 |
Succeeded by "Have You Seen Her" by The Chi-Lites |
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