{"id":15927,"date":"2023-08-10T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-10T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/?p=15927"},"modified":"2023-07-25T19:54:24","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T18:54:24","slug":"when-did-jack-first-hit-the-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/2023\/08\/10\/when-did-jack-first-hit-the-road\/","title":{"rendered":"WHEN DID JACK FIRST HIT THE ROAD?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WHEN DID JACK FIRST HIT THE ROAD?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

wonders Norman Warwick<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHEN DID JACK FIRST HIT THE ROAD?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

wonders Norman Warwick<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I haven\u2019t been able to find out whether or not the phrase Hit The Road Jack was part of the spoken idiom before we heard it so regularly coined in the Ray Charles recording. None of my internet search engines have yet dug up  any evidence either way, so I decided to root through a thesaurus but even then I couldn\u2019t find a definitive answer. If anybody out there has any idea, pleased drop me a line to normanwarwick55gmail.com. Meanwhile, though, come follow your art down Sidetracks And Detours, clicking your fingers, and mumbling no more, no more, no more, no more,  as we look to AN American Songwriter for an explanation.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Jacob Uitti, frequently offers the \u2018meaning\u2019 of particularly good songs in the magazine American Songwriter, an recently. just in case  I haven\u2019t got the message he\u2019s been telling me to Hit The Road Jack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The famed R&B song, which was written by artist Percy Mayfield (left)<\/em><\/strong> and recorded, of course, by the legendary American songwriter, Ray Charles, was a No. 1 hit in the United States upon its release in 1961.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tune also won the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording and has gone on to become one of Charles\u2019 longest-lasting hits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by Mayfield, who first recorded an a cappella rendition in 1960 as a demo to send to music executive Art Rupe, the track raised Charles\u2019 eyebrows enough for him to get it on wax. Charles recorded it with The Raelettes vocalist Margie Hendrix backing him up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PHOTO 2 Charles\u2019 track hit the No. 1 spot for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, beginning on October 9, 1961. Originally, the tune came out as the B-side to Charles\u2019 single, \u201cThe Danger Zone.\u201d Both were released in August 1961.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Above all else, the track is just supremely catchy. It\u2019s one of those songs that could be on the old game show, Name That Tune<\/em> because, within the first two or three notes, it\u2019s immediately recognizable. That descending blues piano line, one note after the other\u2014you know what\u2019s about to hit your eardrums. And then the horns come in, too, doubling the line. Chef\u2019s kiss!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Charles, who died in 2004 at the age of 73, many decades after the song was released, the content of the track was too good to pass up. Long had he created a reputation for himself as a lover of all things, um \u2026 pleasurable. So, to write a song that calls that out and calls out his necessary departure was an admirable, self-aware move that helped secure his legend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While domestic arguments certainly aren\u2019t the goal for any partnership, this song certainly is the anthem for them. The chorus, most often sung by women, begins:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Hit the road Jack and don\u2019t you come back
No more, no more, no more, no more
Hit the road Jack and don\u2019t you come back no more
What you say?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hit the road Jack and don\u2019t you come back
No more, no more, no more, no more
Hit the road Jack and don\u2019t you come back no more<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Old woman, old woman, don\u2019t treat me so mean
You\u2019re the meanest old woman that I\u2019ve ever seen
I guess if you said so<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll have to pack my things and go<\/em> (that\u2019s right)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More chorus, and then Charles responds<\/p>\n\n\n\n

:Now baby, listen baby, don\u2019t ya treat me this way
\u2018Cause I\u2019ll be back on my feet some day<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lead female voice sings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Don\u2019t care if you do \u2019cause it\u2019s understood)
(You ain\u2019t got no money, you just ain\u2019t no good)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Charles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, I guess if you say so<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll have to pack my things and go<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, Charles, the singer, is not let back home. And the song ends with him begging and pleading for his chance to be let back in. It\u2019s a cathartic tune and one that has lasted in the proverbial consciousness of American\u2014and global song appreciators\u2014for decades and should continue to do so for much more time come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u00b4s right !<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

come follow your art down Sidetracks And Detours, clicking your fingers, and mumbling no more, no more, no more, no more,\u00a0 as we look to AN American Songwriter for an explanation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15927"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15935,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15927\/revisions\/15935"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}