"Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter" is a song written by Alline Bullock, sister of

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

. It was first released by Ike & Tina Turner on their 1970 album ''

Workin' Together ''Workin' Together'' is a studio album released by Ike & Tina Turner on Liberty Records on November 9, 1970. This was their second album with Liberty and their most successful studio album. The album contains their Grammy Award-winning single "Prou ...

'' with Tina Turner and

the Ikettes The Ikettes, originally The Artettes, were a trio (sometimes quartet) of female backing vocalists for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Despite their origins, the Ikettes became successful artists in their own right. In the 1960s they had hits such as ...

on vocals. Mosquita's was the original spelling of Mosquito's, but after

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

singer Nina Simone released her version in 1974, most subsequent releases of the song have used the latter spelling including Ike & Tina Turner reissues. "Funkier Than a Mosquita's Tweeter" was produced by Ike Turner and released as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

single to " Proud Mary" on

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revival ...

in January 1971. This song is a scathing assessment of an unidentified man, opening with "you're nothin' but a dirty, dirty old man." The song was used as the title for Ike & Tina Turner's 2002 compilation album '' Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter''.

Nina Simone version

Nina Simone recorded a rendition of "Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter" at New York's Philharmonic Hall in July 1973. It was released on her 1974

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''It Is Finished'', on

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. Her version differs greatly from the original, using "special rhythmic effects on a variety of African and Eastern instruments." Simone's rendition has since become a classic and the best known version of the song. It is regarded as one of her best vocal performances. "Her voice cracks with exasperation, alluding that the predator she sings about might well be the good ol' US of A," observed Julianne Escobedo Shepherd for ''Pitchfork''. Alex Deley at DJ D-Mac & Associates wrote, "Simone manages to transform the song into something even greater than the original, really digging deep and pulling out the righteous, accusatory essence of the song." A remixed version was released on the 2006 compilation album '' Remixed & Reimagined''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter (song) Songs about insects 1970 songs 1971 singles Ike & Tina Turner songs Liberty Records singles Song recordings produced by Ike Turner Nina Simone songs Jazz-funk songs Funk songs