Mustang Sally (song)
| "Mustang Sally" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Wilson Pickett | ||||
| from the album The Wicked Pickett | ||||
| B-side | "Three Time Loser" | |||
| Released | 1966 | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 3:08 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Writer(s) | Mack Rice | |||
| Wilson Pickett singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Mustang Sally" is an R&B song written and first recorded by Mack Rice in 1965.[1] It was released on the Blue Rock label (4014) in May 1965 with "Sir Mack Rice" as the artist.[2] The song uses an AAB layout with a 24 bar structure.[3]
It gained greater popularity when Wilson Pickett covered it the following year on a single, a version that was also released on the 1966 album, The Wicked Pickett.[4] Also in 1966, John Lee Hooker recorded an entirely different song with a similar title - "Mustang Sally & GTO".
History
According to music historian Tom Shannon the song started as a joke when singer Della Reese wanted a new Ford Mustang. Rice called the early version "Mustang Mama" but changed the title after Aretha Franklin suggested "Mustang Sally".[5]
On The Rascals Anthology booklet, Felix Cavaliere claims the Young Rascals actually recorded "Mustang Sally" and "Land of 1000 Dances" before Pickett. He says Atlantic Records "copped those two songs from them and gave them to Pickett" to record.
Popular versions
Rice's version made it to #15 on the U.S. R&B charts in 1965. Pickett's version climbed to #6 on the R&B charts and #23 on the Pop charts in 1966, #4 in Canada on the (RPM) charts, and #28[6] in the UK Singles Chart on its original release and #62, when it was re-released in 1987.
In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Wilson Pickett's recording of the song at #434 on a list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[7] The song dropped seven spots to #441, when the magazine published its 2010 update of the list.[8]
Popular culture and covers
The Young Rascals covered the song in 1966, changing the year of the "brand new Mustang" from 1965 to 1966.
The chorus of the song includes the lyrics "ride, Sally, ride"—a phrase which became fodder for newspaper headlines in 1983, when astronaut Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. The Lou Reed song "Ride Sally Ride", which quotes these lyrics throughout, is the first track on his 1974 album Sally Can't Dance. The same lyric is found in "Dance to the Music" by Sly and the Family Stone in 1968 and in the children's song "Sally the Camel".
The song featured prominently in the 1991 film The Commitments and appears on the film's soundtrack album, sung by Andrew Strong.[9] It was released as a single from the album and reached #63 in the UK Singles Chart, #43 on the Australian charts and #17 on the New Zealand charts.[10] Also in 1991 Chicago blues legend Buddy Guy teamed with English guitarist Jeff Beck for a version of the song on Guy’s album "Damn Right I’ve Got The Blues".
As the song primarily mentions the car, it became synonymous with the Ford Mustang.
References
- ↑ Sir Mack Rice Discography at melingo.com
- ↑ Singles reviews Spotlights. Billboard Mar 27, 1965 page 65
- ↑ SongStuff http://www.songstuff.com/song-writing/article/aab-song-form/ retrieved 01/06.2016
- ↑ The Wicked Pickett track listing at iTunes Store
- ↑ "'Mustang Sally' by Wilson Pickett". songfacts.com.
- ↑ Chart Stats for Mustang Sally Retrieved February 15, 2012.
- ↑ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2004-12-09. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
- ↑ "'Rolling Stone' Updates '500 Greatest Songs' List". (June, 2010). CBS. Retrieved 2010-5-29
- ↑ "The Commitments: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" Retrieved February 15, 2012.
- ↑ "australian-charts.com - The Commitments - Mustang Sally". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 26 August 2015.