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Mississippi Queen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Mississippi Queen (disambiguation).
"Mississippi Queen"
West German picture sleeve
Single by Mountain
from the album Climbing!
B-side"The Laird"
ReleasedFebruary 1970 (February 1970)
Recorded1969–1970
Genre
Length2:30
LabelWindfall
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Felix Pappalardi
Mountain singles chronology
"Mississippi Queen"
(1970) 		"For Yasgur's Farm"
(1970)

"Mississippi Queen" is a song by the American rock band Mountain. Considered a rock classic,[5] it was their most successful single, reaching number 21 in the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970.[6] The song is included on the group's debut album and several live recordings have been issued.[5]

Composition and recording

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Drummer Corky Laing explained that he had developed some of the lyrics and the drum part prior to his joining the band.[7] Later, when guitarist Leslie West was looking for lyrics for a guitar part he had written, Laing pulled out "The Queen" and the two worked out the song together;[7] bassist/producer Felix Pappalardi and lyricist David Rea also received songwriting credits.

"Mississippi Queen" was recorded during the sessions for Mountain's 1970 debut album Climbing!, but without keyboard player Steve Knight. Pappalardi provided the piano part and during the recording, he insisted on numerous takes.[7] Growing weary, Laing started using the cowbell to count off the song; Pappalardi liked it so much he left it in the mix, creating the song's recognizable intro.[7] However this story is disputed with guitarist Leslie West stating

“There’s this story on Wikipedia that we did all these takes,” West says. “What a load of crap. We did maybe two takes. And the story goes that Corky got bored, so he started playing the cowbell. Also crap. The cowbell was always in there.

"The first time we played it, Felix said, ‘Count the fuckin’ song off!’ Corky had a cowbell on his kit, and that’s what he used to count it off. After that, we were in. "[8]

West stated in a Guitar Player magazine interview about the gear and production of the song that, “It’s only one guitar track on the rhythm – a [Gibson] Les Paul TV Jr. into a 50-watt Marshall that went into a Sunn 12-inch cabinet." The guitar leads were later overdubbed.[9]

Legacy

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"Mississippi Queen" appears at number 10 on a 1995 chronological list of the "50 Heaviest Riffs of All Time" by Guitar magazine editorial staff.[10] Author Scott R. Benarde describes the song as "an enduring anthem" with a "guitar riff that sounded like a carnivore choking on dinner".[1] The song is ranked 230th in The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time by biographer Martin Popoff;[2] it also appears at number 10 on the Ultimate Classic Rock 2011 list of the "Top 10 Southern Rock Songs".[4] Spin magazine described it as "the cowbell jam to end all cowbell jams. Mountain are to the cowbell what Dostoevsky is to the Russian novel" in naming it number one on its 2004 list of the "Fifteen Greatest Cowbell Songs of All Time".[11]

Ozzy Osbourne recorded "Mississippi Queen" for his 2005 album Under Cover, with a guest appearance by West on guitar.[12] The song reached number 10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b Benarde, Scott R. (2003). Stars of David: Rock 'n' Roll's Jewish Stories. Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England. p. 170. ISBN 1-58465-303-5.
  2. ^ a b Popoff, Martin (2003). The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time. ECW Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-1-55022-530-3.
  3. ^ "Ten Great Blues-Rock Songs by Guitar Rockers". Guitar Player. December 16, 2015. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Laney, Karen 'Gilly' (November 3, 2011). "Top 10 Southern Rock Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Greenwald, Matthew. "Mountain: 'Mississippi Queen' – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  6. ^ Eder, Bruce; Huey, Steve. "Mountain – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  7. ^ a b c d Laing, Corky (2002). Climbing! (CD reissue notes). Mountain. New York City: Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings. pp. 8–9. CK 86577.
  8. ^ Bosso, Joe (22 December 2022). "Leslie West: Composition and recording techniques used for Mississippi Queen". Guitar Player. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  9. ^ Bosso, Joe (22 December 2022). "Leslie West: Composition and recording techniques used for Mississippi Queen". Guitar Player. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  10. ^ Cawthorne, Nigel (2016). Amazing Guitar: Facts & Trivia. Chartwell Books. p. 121.
  11. ^ "MOO: Fifteen Greatest Cowbell Songs of All Time". Spin. Vol. 20, no. 5. May 2004. p. 75. ISSN 0886-3032.
  12. ^ Monger, James Christopher. "Ozzy Osbourne: Under Cover – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  13. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). "Osbourne, Ozzy". Rock Tracks 1981–2008. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-89820-174-1.
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