Jo Jo Gunne (song)

Last updated

"Jo Jo Gunne" is a rock song by Chuck Berry.

Narrative

The song's narrative focuses on a monkey who tricks a lion and an elephant into fighting each other, to the entertainment of the rest of the animals in the jungle. This story is inspired by an African American folktale called The Signifying Monkey, which is itself derived from trickster figure in Yoruban mythology. [1]

Contents

Reception

The American hard rock band Jo Jo Gunne and their self-titled album are named after the song. [1]

Rock guitarist Keith Richards gave his second son Tara "Jo Jo Gunne" as a middle name. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rolling Stones</span> English rock band

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active across seven decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pioneered the gritty, rhythmically driven sound that came to define hard rock. Their first stable line-up consisted of vocalist Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards, multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones, bassist Bill Wyman, and drummer Charlie Watts. During their early years, Jones was the primary leader. Andrew Loog Oldham became their manager in 1963 and encouraged them to write their own songs. The Jagger–Richards partnership became the band's primary songwriting and creative force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Richards</span> British musician, guitarist of The Rolling Stones (born 1943)

Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership with the band's lead vocalist Mick Jagger is one of the most successful in history. His career spans over six decades, and his guitar playing style has been a trademark of the Rolling Stones throughout the band's career. Richards gained press notoriety for his romantic involvements and illicit drug use, and he was often portrayed as a countercultural figure. First professionally known as Keith Richard, by the early 1970s he had fully asserted his family name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jumpin' Jack Flash</span> 1968 single by the Rolling Stones

"Jumpin' Jack Flash" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released as a non-album single in 1968. Called "supernatural Delta blues by way of Swinging London" by Rolling Stone magazine, the song was seen as the band's return to their blues roots after the baroque pop and psychedelia heard on their preceding albums Aftermath (1966), Between the Buttons (1967) and especially Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967). One of the group's most popular and recognisable songs, it has been featured in films and covered by numerous performers, notably Thelma Houston, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Peter Frampton, Johnny Winter, Leon Russell and Alex Chilton. To date, it is the band's most-performed song; they have played it over 1,100 times in concert.

Anita Pallenberg was an Italian-German film actress, artist, and model. A style icon and "It Girl" of the 1960s and 1970s, Pallenberg was credited as the muse of the Rolling Stones: she was the romantic partner of the Rolling Stones founder, multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones, and later, from 1967 to 1980, the partner of Stones guitarist Keith Richards, with whom she had three children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Bruce (musician)</span> American rock musician

Michael Owen Bruce is an American rock musician who was a founding member of the original Alice Cooper band.

Jo Jo Gunne was an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1971 by Jay Ferguson and Mark Andes after they had left the rock band Spirit. The band was named after the Chuck Berry song "Jo Jo Gunne". The band released their eponymous debut album in 1972 and had a top 10 hit song, "Run Run Run", in the UK. They released three further albums before disbanding in 1974. They reunited in 2005 for a time to record a fifth album, Big Chain.

John Arden "Jay" Ferguson is an American rock and pop musician known for his work with the bands Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne, and his 1978 solo hit "Thunder Island". His later career has been as a composer of music for television programs and films. Many people know Ferguson for composing the theme song for the American version of The Office on NBC.

<i>Feedback</i> (Spirit album) 1972 studio album by Spirit

Feedback is the fifth album by the rock band Spirit. Released in 1972, it was the first Spirit album without original members Jay Ferguson and Mark Andes, and it was also the only Spirit album that did not feature Randy California performing on it, as California had left the group to pursue a solo career (Kapt. Kopter and the Twirly Birds).

The Georgia Satellites are an American Southern rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. They achieved mainstream success with their 1986 self-titled debut album, featuring their best-known single "Keep Your Hands to Yourself", which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Two more albums followed – Open All Night (1988) and the band's last to feature original material In the Land of Salvation and Sin (1989) – before they went on hiatus in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Andes</span> American bassist

Mark Andes is an American musician, known for his work as a bassist with Canned Heat, Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne, Firefall, Heart, and Mirabal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Get Off of My Cloud</span> 1965 single by The Rolling Stones

"Get Off of My Cloud" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for a single to follow the successful "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". Recorded at RCA Studios in Hollywood, California, in early September 1965, the song was released in September in the United States and October in the United Kingdom. It topped the charts in the US, UK, Canada, and Germany and reached number two in several other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Last Time (Rolling Stones song)</span> 1965 single by the Rolling Stones

"The Last Time" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones featuring the Andrew Oldham Orchestra, and the band's first original song released as an A-single in the UK. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and recorded at RCA Studios in Hollywood, California in January 1965, "The Last Time" was the band's third UK single to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks at the top in March and early April 1965. It reached number two in the Irish Singles Chart in March 1965, and was released on the US version of the album Out of Our Heads on 30 July 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000 Light Years from Home</span> 1967 single by the Rolling Stones

"2000 Light Years from Home" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on their 1967 album Their Satanic Majesties Request. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it also appeared as the B-side to the American single "She's a Rainbow", and charted as a single in Germany.

"Monkey Man" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones, featured as the eighth track on their 1969 album Let It Bleed.

<i>Saints & Sinners</i> (Johnny Winter album) 1974 studio album by Johnny Winter

Saints & Sinners is the sixth studio album by Johnny Winter, released in 1974. It follows Winter's pattern of mixing original songs with cover versions. After covering two Jagger-Richards songs on his previous album and previously issuing a live version of "Jumpin' Jack Flash," he covers a further one in "Stray Cat Blues" on this release.

"It's All Over Now" is a song written by Bobby Womack and his sister-in-law Shirley Womack. It was first released by The Valentinos, featuring Bobby Womack, in 1964. The Rolling Stones heard it on its release and quickly recorded a cover version, which became their first number-one hit in the United Kingdom, in July 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagger–Richards</span> Songwriting, music production partnership

Jagger–Richards is the songwriting partnership between English musicians Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, founder members of rock band the Rolling Stones. They are one of the most successful songwriting partnerships in history. In addition to Jagger and Richards's songwriting partnership, they have also produced or co-produced numerous Rolling Stones albums under the pseudonym the Glimmer Twins.

The signifying monkey is a character of African-American folklore that derives from the trickster figure of Yoruba mythology, Esu Elegbara. This character was transported with Africans to the Americas under the names of Exu, Echu-Elegua, Papa Legba, and Papa Le Bas. Esu and his variants all serve as messengers who mediated between the gods and men by means of tricks. The signifying monkey is "distinctly Afro-American" but is thought to derive from Yoruban mythology, which depicts Echu-Elegua with a monkey at his side.

Jimmy Wachtel is an American photographer, art director and designer based in Los Angeles. He has designed album covers for big artists such as Joe Walsh, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Michael Stanley, Jo Jo Gunne, John Cougar, and Buckingham Nicks, among others.

<i>Jo Jo Gunne</i> (album) 1972 studio album by Jo Jo Gunne

Jo Jo Gunne is the eponymous debut album from rock/hard rock band Jo Jo Gunne, formed after keyboardist/vocalist Jay Ferguson and bassist/vocalist Mark Andes left Spirit. "Run Run Run", released as the album's first single, became a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom and received airplay on US AOR radio stations.

References

  1. 1 2 Wilson, Dave (2004). Rock Formations: Categorical Answers to how Band Names Were Formed. Cidermill Books. p. 56. ISBN   9780974848358.
  2. Bockris, Victor (1993). Keith Richards: The Biography. Poseidon Press. p. 242. ISBN   9780671875909.