"Baby Scratch My Back" is a 1965

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

song by

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

singer Slim Harpo. It is mostly an instrumental piece with occasional monologue and harmonica fills by Harpo. Although it had some success with rock audiences (reaching number 16 on ''Billboard's''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart), "Baby Scratch My Back" was a number one hit in 1966 on the magazine's

Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart. It was Harpo's most commercially successful single and was subsequently recorded by several musicians.

Background

The backing has been described as "a laconic, loping beat with tremolo laden guitar, wood block maracas, and snapping snare drum sound". The "chicken scratch" guitar was played by James Johnson.John Wirt, "James Johnson, Slim Harpo guitarist and 'chicken scratch' creator, dies at 82", ''The Advocate'', April 18, 2022
Retrieved April 18, 2022 Harpo referred to it as "an attempt at rock and roll for me". Several rock groups had recorded some of his songs, including

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

(" I'm a King Bee") and the Kinks ("Got Love If You Want It"). Music writer Todd Everett noted "Harpo evidently figured that he had a future in rock and roll".

Influences

*In 1966, juke joint blues musician Frank Frost recorded an adaptation of "Baby Scratch My Back" titled "My Back Scratcher". The session was produced by former

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

guitarist Scotty Moore for the Louisiana record label Jewel. Released as a single, it reached number 43 on the R&B chart, marking Frost's only appearance in the record charts.

References

{{authority control Songs written by Slim Harpo 1965 songs Slim Harpo songs 1965 singles Blues songs 1960s instrumentals