Mississippi Queen

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Mississippi Queen (disambiguation).
"Mississippi Queen"
West German picture sleeve
Single by Mountain
from the album Climbing!
B-side"The Laird"
ReleasedFebruary 1970 (February 1970)
Recorded1969–1970
Genre
Length2:30
LabelWindfall
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Felix Pappalardi
Mountain singles chronology
"Mississippi Queen"
(1970) 		"For Yasgur's Farm"
(1970)

"Mississippi Queen" is a song by the American rock band Mountain. Considered a rock classic,[5] it was their most successful single, reaching number 21 in the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970.[6] The song is included on the group's debut album and several live recordings have been issued.[5]

Composition and recording

Drummer Corky Laing explained that he had developed some of the lyrics and the drum part prior to his joining the band.[7] Later, when guitarist Leslie West was looking for lyrics for a guitar part he had written, Laing pulled out "The Queen" and the two worked out the song together;[7] bassist/producer Felix Pappalardi and lyricist David Rea also received songwriting credits.

"Mississippi Queen" was recorded during the sessions for Mountain's 1970 debut album Climbing!, but without keyboard player Steve Knight. Pappalardi provided the piano part and during the recording, he insisted on numerous takes.[7] Growing weary, Laing started using the cowbell to count off the song; Pappalardi liked it so much he left it in the mix, creating the song's recognizable intro.[7]

West stated in a Guitar Player magazine interview about the gear and production of the song that, “It’s only one guitar track on the rhythm – a [Gibson] Les Paul TV Jr. into a 50-watt Marshall that went into a Sunn 12-inch cabinet." The guitar leads were later overdubbed.[8]

Legacy

"Mississippi Queen" appears at number 10 on a 1995 chronological list of the "50 Heaviest Riffs of All Time" by

Dostoevsky is to the Russian novel" in naming it number one on its 2004 list of the "Fifteen Greatest Cowbell Songs of All Time".[10]

Ozzy Osbourne recorded "Mississippi Queen" for his 2005 album Under Cover, with a guest appearance by West on guitar.[11] The song reached number 10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.[12]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 1-58465-303-5
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-1-55022-530-3
    .
  3. ^ "Ten Great Blues-Rock Songs by Guitar Rockers". Guitar Player. December 16, 2015. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  4. ^
    Ultimate Classic Rock
    . Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Greenwald, Matthew. "Mountain: 'Mississippi Queen' – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  6. ^ Eder, Bruce; Huey, Steve. "Mountain – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  7. ^ a b c d Laing, Corky (2002). Climbing! (CD reissue notes). Mountain. New York City: Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings. pp. 8–9. CK 86577.
  8. ^ Bosso, Joe (22 December 2022). "Leslie West: Composition and recording techniques used for Mississippi Queen". Guitar Player. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  9. ^ Cawthorne, Nigel (2016). Amazing Guitar: Facts & Trivia.
    Chartwell Books
    . p. 121.
  10. ISSN 0886-3032
    .
  11. ^ Monger, James Christopher. "Ozzy Osbourne: Under Cover – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  12. ISBN 978-0-89820-174-1
    .

External links
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