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| "Mess Around" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Ray Charles | ||||
| Released | June 19, 1953 | |||
| Recorded | May 17, 1953 | |||
| Genre | R&B, stride, blues | |||
| Label | Atlantic 999 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ahmet Ertegun | |||
| Ray Charles singles chronology | ||||
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"Mess Around" is a song written by Ahmet Ertegun, co-founder and then-vice-president of Atlantic Records, [1] under the pseudonym of A. Nugetre, [2] or "Nuggy". [3] It was performed by Ray Charles, and was one of Charles's first hits.
Ertegun claimed his inspiration for writing "Mess Around" was stride pianist Pete Johnson.[ citation needed ] Earlier versions of the tune's New Orleans boogie piano riff can be heard in songs from the early 1930s and 1940s, with perhaps the earliest example being Charles "Cow Cow" Davenport's "Cow Cow Blues" from 1928. Dr. John also spoke about the origin of this tune on his Dr John Teaches New Orleans Piano series of DVDs.[ citation needed ]
The song's lyrics urge listeners to dance ("everybody do the Mess Around"), along with a few other key phrases, notably "see that girl with the red dress on", harkening back to "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie", Pinetop Smith's early boogie-woogie classic.
"Mess Around" became a big R&B charted hit when released as a single in early 1953. It was later included on Charles's 1957 compilation album Ray Charles .
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"Pinetop's Boogie Woogie" is a song initially recorded on December 29, 1928 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It was released on March 1, 1929 by Clarence "Pinetop" Smith on Vocalion Records, a piano rag that cemented boogie-woogie as the name of its entire genre, which eventually evolved into rock and roll. Along with "Crazy About My Baby", "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie" is sometimes cited as "the first rock and roll song", being an early instance of a danceable 12 bar blues with backbeat.
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