Bongo Rock (album)

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Bongo Rock
Incredible Bongo Band - Bongo Rock.png
Studio album by
Incredible Bongo Band
Released1973 (1973)
Studio Can Base (Vancouver, Canada)
Genre Funk [1]
Length33:17
Label Pride
Producer
Incredible Bongo Band chronology
Bongo Rock
(1973)		The Return of the Incredible Bongo Band
(1974)

Bongo Rock is the debut studio album by Incredible Bongo Band, released in 1973. [2] It peaked at number 197 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart. [3] It includes the band's version of the Jerry Lordan-written song "Apache", which is amongst the most famous breakbeats. [4]

Contents

Background

Michael Viner, who was an executive at MGM Records, started the project Incredible Bongo Band. [5] He was asked to provide music to the soundtrack for the blaxploitation film The Thing with Two Heads ; he and Perry Botkin Jr. recorded the songs "Bongo Rock" and "Bongolia". [5] After that, they decided to create the album Bongo Rock. [5]

Production

Bongo Rock was recorded at Can Base Studios in Vancouver, Canada. [6] It contains performances by percussionist King Errisson and drummer Jim Gordon, [7] as well as multiple musicians. [8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Tiny Mix Tapes Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Jeff Tamarkin of AllMusic stated, "Interesting as it is to hear how the bongo-centric beats were toyed with by the hip-hoppers, the original recordings stand up on their own as classically kitschy cheese-rock." [5] He added, "Bongos aren't the only sound heard, naturally, and fans of both lounge-rock and that crisp, reverby guitar sound prominent in old spy movies and Ventures records will dig what the IBB were all about." [5] Alan Ranta of Tiny Mix Tapes commented that "'Apache' may be the most recognizable, but there is still a rich field of extractable samples to be had for the next generation." [1]

Legacy

Bongo Rock was included in the book The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion . [8] It was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [9]

In 2006, Will Hermes of The New York Times called the album "one of the musical cornerstones of rap." [7] He added, "While it's hard to measure these things accurately, it is certainly one of the most sampled LP's in history, if not the most sampled." [7]

Dan Forrer's documentary film, Sample This, tells the story of Michael Viner and Incredible Bongo Band. [10]

Track listing

Bongo Rock track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Let There Be Drums"
2:41
2."Apache" Jerry Lordan 4:53
3."Bongolia" Perry Botkin Jr. 2:15
4."Last Bongo in Belgium"
6:55
5."Dueling Bongos"
  • Perry Botkin Jr.
  • Michael Viner
2:58
6."In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" Doug Ingle 7:43
7."Raunchy '73"
3:24
8."Bongo Rock '73"
2:39
Total length:33:17

Charts

Chart performance for Bongo Rock
Chart (1973)Peak
position
US Top LPs & Tape ( Billboard ) [3] 197
US Top Soul LPs ( Billboard ) [11] 58

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ranta, Alan. "Incredible Bongo Band - Bongo Rock". Tiny Mix Tapes . Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  2. ↑ Huey, Steve. "Incredible Bongo Band". AllMusic . Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Top LP's & Tape". Billboard . August 25, 1973. p. 64.
  4. ↑ Patrin, Nate (December 11, 2018). "Breaks With Tradition: "Apache"". Stereogum . Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tamarkin, Jeff. "Bongo Rock - Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band / Incredible Bongo Band". AllMusic . Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  6. ↑ Azpiri, Jon (March 25, 2013). "How Vancouver's Mushroom Studios Gave Birth To Apache, the "national anthem of hip-hop"". Vancouver Sun . Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 Hermes, Will (October 29, 2006). "All Rise for the National Anthem of Hip-Hop". The New York Times . Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  8. 1 2 The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion . Canongate Books. 2007. p. 299. ISBN   978-1-84195-973-3.
  9. ↑ Reece, Craig (2011). "Bongo Rock". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . Cassell. ISBN   978-1-84403-699-8.
  10. ↑ Henderson, Odie (September 13, 2013). "Sample This". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Soul LP's". Billboard . September 1, 1973. p. 23.
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