"Low Rider" | ||||
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Single by War | ||||
from the album Why Can't We Be Friends? | ||||
B-side | "So" | |||
Released | May 14, 1975 | |||
Recorded | 1974 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:11 | |||
Label | United Artists | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | ||||
War singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
Low Rider on YouTube |
"Low Rider" is a song written by American funk band War and producer Jerry Goldstein, which appeared on their album Why Can't We Be Friends? , released in 1975. It reached number one on the Billboard R&B singles chart, peaked at number seven on the Hot 100 singles chart, and number six in Canada (number 69 in the Canadian year-end chart [6] ).
AllMusic says of the song: "the lyric takes the cool, laidback image of the lowrider—the Chicano culture practice of hydraulically hot-rodding classic cars—and using innuendo, extends the image to a lifestyle". A driving bass line by B. B. Dickerson is present almost throughout, along with an alto saxophone and harmonica riff by Charles Miller, who also provides lead vocals and a saxophone solo towards the end that includes a siren-like sound. Lee Oskar doubles the alto sax line on harmonica. [7]
Beginning in 1996, "Low Rider" featured for several years on British television in adverts for Marmite, as part of their 'Love it or hate it' campaign. [8] [9] The song was covered by nu metal band Korn on their 1996 studio album Life Is Peachy . [10] A decade earlier, Beastie Boys sampled "Low Rider" on their song "Slow Ride", from 1986's Licensed to Ill . [11] In 1999, Barry White recorded a version on his album Staying Power . "Low Rider" was later used as the theme song for the George Lopez self-titled ABC sitcom, which ran from 2002 to 2007. [12] The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014. [13]
Chart (1975–1976) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [14] | 6 |
UK Singles (OCC) [15] | 12 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [16] | 7 |
US Hot Soul Singles ( Billboard ) [17] | 1 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [18] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [19] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
War is an American R&B and progressive soul band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1969.
Why Can't We Be Friends? is the seventh studio album by American band War, released on June 16, 1975 by United Artists Records. Two singles from the album were released: the title track backed with "In Mazatlan", and "Low Rider" backed with "So". Both A-sides were nominated for the Grammy Awards of 1976.
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...The "Conspiracy" song in that tradition is "Original Prankster", which features a sample of War's Latin-rock standard "Low Rider" and an appearance by rapper Redman.