"Hi-Jack" is a 1974 r&b and funk disco based song written by Spanish musician

Fernando Arbex José Fernando Arbex Miró (28 May 1941 – 5 July 2003) was an influential Spanish musician and songwriter from Madrid, who enjoyed success both with his own groups and also with other artists. While still in his teens, he was the drummer in Los ...

and originally recorded by his group

Barrabás Barrabás are a Spanish musical group, most successful in the 1970s and 1980s when they were led by drummer and producer Fernando Arbex. The group's musical style was initially Latin rock with jazz and funk influences, and later developed into ...

for their album ''

¡Soltad a Barrabás! ''¡Soltad a Barrabás!'' is the third album by the Spanish group Barrabás, released in 1974. The album was originally released as ''Release Barrabás'' or ''Hi-Jack'' in some other countries, but the modern CD release retains the Spanish title. I ...

''. While their version of the song was a huge success in their native Spain, going all the way to Number one over there, the song flopped in America, stalling at just number No. 104 on the Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 Charts in July 1975. It was later a hit single for jazz flautist

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (incl ...

Herbie Mann version

Mann's recording of the song featured

Cissy Houston Emily "Cissy" Houston ( ''née'' Drinkard; born September 30, 1933) is an American soul and gospel singer. After a successful career singing backup for such artists as Roy Hamilton, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin, Houston embar ...

on vocals and hit number one on the US Disco Action chart for three weeks in early 1975 and made the top 30 on the R&B and pop singles charts. The song was banned on several AM radio stations because of the recent cases of hijackings in the middle East, as well as for the suggestive repeated lyric lines:. "Hijack your love", and "I'm gonna steal your love". In addition to Mann's version, the song has been covered many other artists (notably by

Enoch Light Enoch Henry Light (August 18, 1907 – July 31, 1978) was an American classically trained violinist, danceband leader, and recording engineer. As the leader of various dance bands that recorded as early as March 1927 and continuing through at le ...

) and the various versions have been sampled in songs by hip-hop artists, including

The Beatnuts The Beatnuts are an American hip hop group and production duo from New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu (born Jerry Tineo on December 14, 1968) is a Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les (born Lester Fernande ...

and

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

Chart positions (Herbie Mann version)

References

1975 singles Disco songs Songs written by Fernando Arbex 1974 songs {{1970s-pop-song-stub

Herbie Mann version

Chart positions (Herbie Mann version)

See also

References