It Was 50 Years Ago Today: “Baby Scratch My Back” by Slim Harpo
March 8, 1966
“Baby Scratch My Back” by Slim Harpo
#1 on the Billboard Hot Rhythm and Blues Singles chart, February 26 – March 11, 1966
The mid ’60s was a golden age for soul music, with the R&B charts and radio packed with records that have since been celebrated as classics. Because of soul’s massive popularity, however, other forms of African-American pop music were put on the back burner. Bluesmen like Little Milton reaped the commercial fruits of updating their style with a strong dash of soul, while the legendary Chess Records (home of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Etta James) earned its biggest hit of the decade with the Aretha-meets-Motown sound of Fontella Bass’ “Rescue Me.” The blues wasn’t dead yet, though; there was still plenty of room on R&B radio for rootsier sounds to sneak on through.
In the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, a new style of the blues took root in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Swamp blues drew from country and Cajun music, with an easygoing, shuffling sound spiced with a hint of mystic echo. The leading proponent of the style was Slim Harpo, a part-time musician born James Moore, who earned his nickname from his prodigious skills on the harmonica. His nasal, reedy tenor was essentially the vocal equivalent of his beloved instrument. Like his songwriting style, Harpo’s voice casually but boldly crossed genres, with music journalist Peter Guralnick describing it as “if a black country & western singer or a white rhythm & blues singer were attempting to impersonate a member of the opposite genre.”
Harpo’s first single, 1957’s “I’m a King Bee,” brought him instant acclaim and quickly became a blues standard. He earned his first trip into the Top 40 with 1961’s “Rainin’ in My Heart” (#34 pop, #17 R&B), a laidback ballad soaked in the triplet-heavy rhythm of New Orleans R&B. Harpo’s approachable style made him a particular favorite of the blues lovers in the British Invasion, who recorded countless versions of “I’m a King Bee,” as well as “I Got Love If You Want It” (The Kinks), “Don’t Start Crying Now” (Them), and “Shake Your Hips” (The Rolling Stones), among others. Critic Cub Koda hypothesizes that Harpo was a favorite among white rock ‘n’ rollers because “nothing resembling the emotional investment of a Howlin’ Wolf or a Muddy Waters was required; it all came natural and easy.”
While “I’m a King Bee” is Harpo’s signature song, his greatest commercial success came with 1966’s “Baby Scratch My Back.” Described by the man himself as “an attempt at rock ‘n’ roll,” its loose-limbed groove, tremolo guitar, and melodic lead harmonica stood in stark contrast to the heady Southern soul and poppy Motown sound that dominated the era’s R&B radio. On “Baby Scratch My Back,” Harpo sounds so relaxed that he barely even bothers to sing, instead lazily unspooling lines like “awwwwwww, I’m itchy / and I don’t know where to scratch” in his distinctive twang. “Baby Scratch My Back” follows in the same tradition of double-entendre as “I’m a King Bee,” but it feels more breezy than smutty — which is probably why it ended up crossing over to mainstream audiences.
“Baby Scratch My Back” gave Harpo his second pop hit, climbing to #16 in the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the R&B charts. As with “I’m a King Bee” and “Rainin’ in My Heart” before it, the song’s success led to Harpo repeating its sound over and over, scoring R&B hits with soundalikes “Tip On In” and “Te-Ni-Nee-Ni-Nu.” Harpo’s own star power in the blues and R&B scenes, combined with his increased profile among rock audiences, made the mid-to-late ’60s the most popular era of his career. Unfortunately, Harpo died suddenly in early 1970 on the cusp of his first European tour. The eternally relaxed bluesman was felled by an unlikely heart attack at only 46 years old. Despite his relatively short recording career, however, Harpo introduced the world to a new genre of music, influenced the British Invasion, and proved that the blues could co-exist in a world gone mad for soul.
It Was 50 Years Ago Today examines a song, album, movie, or book that was #1 on the charts exactly half a century ago.
