SONG OF THE DAY Babe Ruth – The Mexican

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So, as planned, I sat down last night and watched The Sunshine Makers (see yesterday’s post for all the details) and thoroughly enjoyed it.  If, like me, you are interested in the music and drug counterculture of the 1960’s, you should watch this and discover just what Nicholas Sand and Tim Scully did when they set out on their “utopian mission to save the planet.”

Not only was the film a fascinating and interesting watch, the whole soundtrack (see yesterday’s song) was fantastic and has introduced me to today’s song!

The Mexican was written by musician, composer and producer, Alan Shacklock and performed by British band, Babe Ruth.  Originally recorded in the summer of 1972 at Abbey Road Studios, this track featured on the band’s debut album, First Base and is considered to be one of the most influential songs in hip hop music.  It has been covered by artists such as Gza and mixed numerous times, as well as being sampled by artists such as, Afrika Aambaataa, Doug E. Fresh, Jungle Brothers, Grandmaster Flash, Liam Holwett (Prodigy),  N.E.R.D and many more!

The Mexican intergrates a section of Ennio Morricone’s, Per qualche dollaro in più, from the film For a Few Dollars More, which I have to say sounds very lovely played alongside the funky gets-in-your-head bass, punchy beats and powerful vocals of Jenny Haan!  Lyrically, Shacklock wrote this song as a retort to John Wayne’s The Alamo, which is full of historical inaccuracies, painting a false picture of the Mexican troops as villains…..and what song could be more perfect but one that has been performed by a band called Babe Ruth (I’m a Ruth), with a title The Mexican (I’m a little bit Mexican!)..fantastic song! Listen above.