Jump to content

Got My Mojo Working: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
Jgm (talk | contribs)
Undid revision 243200535 by 213.122.17.103 (talk)
Q8-falcon (talk | contribs)
No edit summary
Line 39: Line 39:
| Next single =
| Next single =
}}
}}
"'''Got My Mojo Working'''" is a [[1956 in music|1956]] song written by Preston Foster and first recorded by [[Ann Cole]], but popularized by [[Muddy Waters]] in [[1957 in music|1957]]. Waters' rendition of the song was featured on the ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|500 Greatest Songs of All Time]], [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/muddywaters/articles/story/6596204/got_my_mojo_working] and was inducted in the [[List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients E-I|Grammy Hall of Fame]] in [[2000]]. It was also included in the list of ''[[Songs of the Century]]'', by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.
"'''Got My Mojo Working'''" is a [[1956 in music|1956]] song written by Preston Foster and first recorded by [[Ann Cole]], but popularized by [[Muddy Waters]] in [[1957 in music|1957]]. Waters' rendition of the song was featured on the ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|500 Greatest Songs of All Time]] at #359, [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/muddywaters/articles/story/6596204/got_my_mojo_working] and was inducted in the [[List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients E-I|Grammy Hall of Fame]] in [[2000]]. It was also included in the list of ''[[Songs of the Century]]'', by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.


The song has been covered by many artists, including [[Louis Jordan]] (1956), [[Conway Twitty]] (1964), [[Alexis Korner]] (1964), [[Manfred Mann]] (1964), [[The Zombies]] (1964), [[Jimmy Smith (musician)|Jimmy Smith]] (1965), [[Paul Butterfield|The Paul Butterfield Blues Band]] (1965), [[Art Blakey]] (1966), [[Carla Thomas]] (1967), [[Canned Heat]] (1969), [[Elvis Presley]] (1970), [[Rory Gallagher]] (1971), [[J. J. Cale]] (1972), [[B. B. King]] (1977), [[Buddy Guy]] (1977), [[Otis Rush]] (1986), [[Asylum Street Spankers]] (2004), Eric Clapton and [[Bobby Darin]] (Unknown if recorded, but performed live). Still covered by many artists today, it most recently has become an encore song for the soul/funk/R&B band [[JJ Grey & MOFRO]], frequently showing up on the set list for their live shows beginning the end of 2007 and continuing in early 2008.<ref>{{cite website
The song has been covered by many artists, including [[Louis Jordan]] (1956), [[Conway Twitty]] (1964), [[Alexis Korner]] (1964), [[Manfred Mann]] (1964), [[The Zombies]] (1964), [[Jimmy Smith (musician)|Jimmy Smith]] (1965), [[Paul Butterfield|The Paul Butterfield Blues Band]] (1965), [[Art Blakey]] (1966), [[Carla Thomas]] (1967), [[Canned Heat]] (1969), [[Elvis Presley]] (1970), [[Rory Gallagher]] (1971), [[J. J. Cale]] (1972), [[B. B. King]] (1977), [[Buddy Guy]] (1977), [[Otis Rush]] (1986), [[Asylum Street Spankers]] (2004), Eric Clapton and [[Bobby Darin]] (Unknown if recorded, but performed live). Still covered by many artists today, it most recently has become an encore song for the soul/funk/R&B band [[JJ Grey & MOFRO]], frequently showing up on the set list for their live shows beginning the end of 2007 and continuing in early 2008.<ref>{{cite website

Revision as of 23:33, 11 November 2008

"Got My Mojo Working"
Song
"Got My Mojo Working"
Song

"Got My Mojo Working" is a 1956 song written by Preston Foster and first recorded by Ann Cole, but popularized by Muddy Waters in 1957. Waters' rendition of the song was featured on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at #359, [1] and was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000. It was also included in the list of Songs of the Century, by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The song has been covered by many artists, including Louis Jordan (1956), Conway Twitty (1964), Alexis Korner (1964), Manfred Mann (1964), The Zombies (1964), Jimmy Smith (1965), The Paul Butterfield Blues Band (1965), Art Blakey (1966), Carla Thomas (1967), Canned Heat (1969), Elvis Presley (1970), Rory Gallagher (1971), J. J. Cale (1972), B. B. King (1977), Buddy Guy (1977), Otis Rush (1986), Asylum Street Spankers (2004), Eric Clapton and Bobby Darin (Unknown if recorded, but performed live). Still covered by many artists today, it most recently has become an encore song for the soul/funk/R&B band JJ Grey & MOFRO, frequently showing up on the set list for their live shows beginning the end of 2007 and continuing in early 2008.[1]

This song has been the topic of copyright litigation. McKinley Morganfield, a.k.a. Muddy Waters, heard Ann Cole perform this song while on tour in 1956. He modified the words, and attempted to copyright his own version. Dare Records, holder of the Preston copyright, and Arc Records, holder of the Morganfield copyright, settled out of court, with Arc deferring to Dare's copyright. This agreement did not affect the actual copyright status: the two versions are still separately copyrighted. Nonetheless, MCA/Chess has credited the song to Foster in more recent years (for example, in the liner notes to the Chess Blues box set in 1991). Other songs exist that are sufficiently similar to have provoked litigation. In Strachborneo v. Arc Music 357 F. Supp 1393 (S.D. N.Y. 1973), Ruth Stratchborneo sued Arc Music, rights holder to the Preston Foster work, for infringement against her song "Mojo Workout". The court held that the concept of "mojo" was public domain, and that the existence of references to mojo was not sufficient to justify a finding of infringement.[2]

Foster lyrics excerpt

 Got my Mojo working but it just won't work on you
 Got my Mojo working but it just won't work on you
 I want to love you so till I don't know what to do
 I got my black cat bones all pure and dry
 I got my 4 leaf clovers all hanging high
 I got my Mojo working but it just won't work on you
 I want to love you so till I don't know what to do
<repeat format, with varied spells: hoodoo ashes,
 black snake boots, red hot tips, etc. > [2]

Excerpt from Morganfield lyrics

Got my mojo working but it just won't work on you
Got my mojo working but it just won't work on you
I want to love you so bad I don't know what to do
Going down to Louisiana to get me a mojo hand
Going down to Louisiana to get me a mojo hand
I'm going to have all you women, getcha under my command
Got my mojo working, ...[2]

Excerpt from Stratchborneo lyrics

I got my mojo working
Well my mojo working
Well my mojo working
Well my mojo working
My mojo working but it just won't work on you.
You grab your little girl and spin her around
You grab both hands and holler out loud
You turn and turn till you're back to back
You move your feet and you don't look back.
You do the mojo workout
Well the mojo workout
You do the mojo workout
 <dance step instructions>
I got my mojo working
Well my mojo working
My mojo working.[2]

References

  1. ^ Schoeps (February 22, 2008). "JJ Grey & Mofro, Live, Skipper's Smokehouse, Feb 22, 08". Archive.org.
  2. ^ a b c d Strachborneo v. Arc Music