I Do The Jerk

After a record-free week spent at a trade show for work, I'm back with a few new 45s. While many collectors (records or otherwise) are completists, I, for the most part, am not. I do not need to own every release by a paricular artist or label. Why do I bring this up? Some funk collectors chase every James Brown-related record, and this happens to be one of them. From what I have been able to find out about this 45, it was recorded by the Original Drifters in December 1964, even though it is only credited to Bill Pinkney, who was the bassist.

The tune itself is a rough, early soul dancer, almost having a "frat" garage sound, perhaps due to the guitar having the lead. And when the guitar comes crashing in with the horns, it's plenty good. The backing group repeat the dance in a simple mantra: "Jerk, Jerk, (quick pause) Jerk, Jerk" while the singer screams the steps to the dance. It's the kind of tune that one could imagine would have been jaw-droppingly intense when performed live.