SOUL FINGER
“Soul Finger” is the first single released by R&B group the Bar-Kays. It was issued by Stax Records on the Volt Records label on April 14, 1967. The song begins with the melody of the popular children’s song “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and then cuts into the main riff, punctuated with a high trumpet trill. It features a chorus of neighborhood children who had been loitering outside the recording studio; they were instructed to shout “Soul Finger!” and were paid with Coca-Cola. The idea for the title and the shouts came from the Stax songwriters Isaac Hayes and David Porter. “Soul Finger” was a hit in the United States, peaking at number 3 on the U.S. Billboard R&B singles chart and number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. (More from Wikipedia)
The Primitives followed up this record with a second #1 hit in Italy, “L’Incidente” b/w “Johnny No” (listed on the 45 cover as “Johnny Nooooo!!!”). The “A” side is a version of the mostly instrumental hit “Soul Finger” by the Bar-Kays but with lyrics in Italian.
(May 2015)
