Herbie Hancock Week: Watermelon Man (1962)

Herbie Hancock was 73 on the 12th April. The word 'legend' is all too frequently used to describe people who really aren't worthy of the description, but in Mr Hancock's case it's underselling the man. A true musical chameleon (pun intended) who can change his musical mood like you or I change underwear. Only The Dame himself, David Bowie can get anywhere near rivalling his musical versatility.
Lets take a look this week at some of the many ages of Hancock.

- FVS

The original version of Watermelon Man, released on Hancock's debut 1962 album, Takin' Off, was released as a hard bop composition and featured improvisations by Freddie Hubbard and Dexter Gordon. A single of the tune reached the Billboard Top 100 chart. Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaría released the song as a Latin pop single the next year on Battle Records, where it became a surprise hit, reaching no.10 on the pop charts; Santamaría's recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.
Hancock radically re-worked the song, combining elements of funk, for the 1973 album Head Hunters.