Hoochie Coochie Man

Infobox Single
Name = Hoochie Coochie Man


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Artist = Muddy Waters
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B-side = She's So Pretty
Released = 1954
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Recorded = January 1954
Chicago
Genre = Blues
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Label = Chess (Cat. No. 1560)
Writer = Willie Dixon
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Misc ="Hoochie Coochie Man" (sometimes referred to as "(I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man") is a 1954 song (see 1954 in music) written by Willie Dixon and first performed by Muddy Waters. The song was a major hit upon its release, reaching number eight on "Billboard" magazine's Black Singles chart. Waters' rendition of the song was featured on the "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, as it was voted number 225 by representatives of the music industry and press.

Personnel

*Muddy Waters - vocals, guitar
*Little Walter - harmonica
*Otis Spann - piano
*Jimmy Rogers - guitar
*Willie Dixon - bass
*Fred Below - drums

Cover versions

The song has been covered by many artists, including Alexis Korner on "R&B from the Marquee" (1962), Jimmy Smith on "Got My Mojo Workin" (1962), Manfred Mann on "The Five Faces of Manfred Mann" (1964), Graham Bond Organisation on "The Sound of '65" (1965), Jimi Hendrix on " BBC Sessions" (recorded 1967, released 1989), Chuck Berry on "Live at the Fillmore Auditorium" (1967), Billy Preston on "Club Meeting" (1967), Steppenwolf on " Steppenwolf" (1968), Buddy Guy on "Buddy and the Juniors" (1970), The Allman Brothers Band on "Idlewild South" (1970), John Mayall on "Primal Solos" (1977), Supertramp (1988 and 2002), Eric Clapton (1994), B. B. King on "Original Blues Masters" (1997), Etta James (1998), Motörhead on "Another Perfect Day" [Bonus Tracks] (2001), Jon Lord & The Hoochie Coochie Men on "Live at the Basement" (2003), and Dixon recorded his own version of the song in 1969. The New York Dolls recorded a live version in Paris, available on "Seven Day Weekend" (1973) among others, with frontman David Johansen claiming to have in fact written the tune and given it to Dixon in exchange for a hot meal (Johansen would have only been 4 when the song was released in 1954). It was also recorded by Dion in 2007 on his CD "Son of Skip James".

Meaning of 'hoochie coochie'

The hoochie coochie was a sexually provocative dance that became wildly popular during and after the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. [http://www.logoi.com/notes/who-is-hoochie-coochie-man.html] Described by the New York Journal in 1893 as "Neither dancing of the head nor the feet" [http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=dXIZbIKMUesC&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=%22hoochie+coochie%22+%22New+York+Journal&source=web&ots=-LstkRCTwt&sig=u5OWTrU8-Z_ZdRYHLVqR3L8tuek&hl=en] , it was a belly dance performed by women of (or presented as having) an Eastern European gypsy heritage, often as part of travelling 'side shows'. "Cooch", "coochie" or "cootchie" was apparently already a Southern US term for a woman's private parts, and "hoochie coochie" has been suggested as referring directly to sex. The dance was still popular at the of 1904 but had all but disappeared by the Second World War, and so the Muddy Waters song was harking back to an earlier 'golden' era.

Since the dance was performed by women, a ‘hoochie coochie man’ either watched them or ran the show. Alternatively, from the directly sexual meaning of "hoochie coochie", he was successful with women.

Another suggestion is that the dance, and presumably the name, is derived from the temple dancers of Kutch in India. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19990202/ai_n14214482]

References

*" [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/muddywaters/articles/story/6596070/hoochie_coochie_man Hoochie Coochie Man] ". "Rolling Stone". December 9, 2004. Retrieved on February 17, 2008.