"Jimmy James" is the first song and third single from American

rap rock Rap rock is a fusion genre that fuses vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock's most popular subgenres include rap metal and rapcore, which include heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented influences, resp ...

band the

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

' third album ''

Check Your Head ''Check Your Head'' is the third studio album by American rap rock group Beastie Boys, released by Grand Royal and Capitol Records on April 21, 1992. Three years elapsed between the releases of the band's second studio album ''Paul's Boutique'' ...

''. The song has been described as a tribute to

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

by Beastie Boys member MCA, and contains samples from several Hendrix songs including "

Foxy Lady "Foxy Lady" (or alternatively "Foxey Lady") is a song by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It first appeared on their 1967 debut album ''Are You Experienced'' and was later issued as their third single in the U.S. with the alternate spelling. It is o ...

", "Happy Birthday", and "Still Raining, Still Dreaming". The song also samples the

drum beat A drum beat or drum pattern is a rhythmic pattern, or repeated rhythm establishing the meter and groove through the pulse and subdivision, played on drum kits and other percussion instruments. As such a "beat" consists of multiple drum strokes o ...

from "I'm Chief Kamanawanalea (We're the Royal Macadamia Nuts)" by

The Turtles ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, as well as a line from Mantronix's

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

single, "Fresh Is the Word" ("...for all the Blacks, Puerto Ricans, and the White People too").

Song information

"Jimmy James" originally started out as an instrumental track with

scratching Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to fade between two record ...

done by Yauch (this version of the song appears on the "Jimmy James" EP as the "original original version"). Later on, lyrics were written and the other two Beastie Boys, Mike "Mike D" Diamond and Adam "King Adrock" Horovitz, asked to lend their vocals to the song along with Yauch. However, Hendrix's family, who own the rights to most of his catalogue, denied the group clearance to use the samples (the group, however, were somehow able to keep the "Happy Birthday" and "Foxy Lady" samples in the song, though). Determined to keep the song on ''Check Your Head'', the group re-recorded "Jimmy James" using samples similar to the Hendrix ones. This version ended up being released as the first track on the album. A few months after ''Check Your Head'' was released, Hendrix's family finally relented and gave the Beastie Boys clearance to use the samples. As a result, the "single version" of "Jimmy James" was released as the third single from ''Check Your Head'', and a music video was made for it which premiered in August 1992. The original version has since been issued on their compilation album '' The Sounds of Science''. The beginning of the album version of the track ("This next one...") is a sample from the live version of "

Surrender Surrender may refer to: * Surrender (law), the early relinquishment of a tenancy * Surrender (military), the relinquishment of territory, combatants, facilities, or armaments to another power Film and television * ''Surrender'' (1927 film), an ...

" by

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...

from their live album ''

Cheap Trick at Budokan ''Cheap Trick at Budokan'' is the first live album by American rock band Cheap Trick, and their best-selling recording. It was first released in Japan on October 8, 1978, and later released in the United States on February 1979, through Epic Reco ...

''.

Music video

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

and VH1 credit the "Jimmy James" music video to Nathanial Hörnblowér, Adam Yauch's director

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...

. However, on the Beastie Boys' ''Sabotage'' VHS tape released in 1994, the "Jimmy James" music video is listed as being co-directed by Yauch (as Nathanial Hörnblowér) and

Lisa Ann Cabasa '' Dark Angel'' is an American television series created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee. The series premiered in the United States on the Fox network on October 3, 2000. Max Guevara, portrayed by Jessica Alba, is the protagonist of the s ...

, an

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

, and Yauch's girlfriend at the time the video was made. Cabasa directed the dance sequences in the music video and also appeared in the video as one of the silhouetted female dancers.

Formats and track listing

; U.S. CD single # "Jimmy James" (single version) – 3:05 # "The Maestro" – 2:52 # "Jimmy James" (LP version) – 3:14 # "Boomin' Granny" – 2:18 # "Jimmy James" (original original version) – 3:42 # "Drinkin' Wine" – 4:42 ; European CD single # "Jimmy James" (single version) – 3:05 # "Jimmy James" (LP version) – 3:14 # "Jimmy James" (original original version) – 3:42 # "The Maestro" – 2:52 ; UK CD single ''Frozen Metal Head'' EP # "Jimmy James" (single version) – 3:05 # "The Blue Nun" – 0:31 # "Jimmy James" (original original version) – 3:42 # "Drinkin' Wine" – 4:42 ; U.S. 12-inch single :A1. "Jimmy James" (single version) – 3:05 :A2. "Jimmy James" (LP version) – 3:14 :A3. "Jimmy James" (original original version) – 3:42 :B1. "The Maestro" – 2:52 :B2. "Boomin' Granny" – 2:18 :B3. "Drinkin' Wine" – 4:42 ; European 12-inch single :A2. "Jimmy James" (LP version) – 3:14 :A3. "Jimmy James" (original original version) – 3:42 :B1. "The Maestro" – 2:52 :B2. "Boomin' Granny" – 2:18 ; UK 12-inch single ''Frozen Metal Head'' EP :A1. "Jimmy James" (single version) – 3:05 :A2. "So What'cha Want" (All the Way freestyle version) – 3:37 :B1. "Jimmy James" (original original version) – 3:42 :B2. "Drinkin' Wine" – 4:42

In popular culture

The name of the character Jimmy James played by

Stephen Root Stephen Root (born November 17, 1951) is an American actor. He has starred as Jimmy James on the television sitcom ''NewsRadio'', as Milton Waddams in the film ''Office Space'' (1999), and provided the voices of Bill Dauterive and Buck Stricklan ...

on the television series ''

NewsRadio ''NewsRadio'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from March 21, 1995 to May 4, 1999, focusing on the work lives of the staff of a New York City AM news radio station. It had an ensemble cast featuring Dave Foley, Stephen ...

'' came from this song.

Personnel

; Beastie Boys * Mike D – vocals, producer * MCA – vocals, producer * Ad-Rock – vocals, producer ; Production * Mario Caldato, Jr – producer * Tom Baker – mastering ; Other personnel * Eric Haze – artwork

Samples

* " Are You Experienced?" by

* "EXP" by Jimi Hendrix * "

Third Stone From the Sun "Third Stone from the Sun" (or "3rd Stone from the Sun") is a mostly instrumental composition by American musician Jimi Hendrix. It incorporates several musical approaches, including jazz and psychedelic rock, with brief spoken passages. The ti ...

" by Jimi Hendrix * "

" by Jimi Hendrix * " Still Raining, Still Dreaming" by Jimi Hendrix * "

Voodoo Child (Slight Return) "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" is a song recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1968 that appears as the final track on the ''Electric Ladyland'' album released that year. It contains improvised guitar and a vocal from Jimi Hendrix, backed ...

" by Jimi Hendrix * "I'm Chief Kamanawanalea (We're the Royal Macadamia Nuts)" by

* "Happy Birthday" by Jimi Hendrix and

Curtis Knight Curtis Knight (May 9, 1929November 29, 1999), born Mont Curtis McNear, was an American musician who is known for his association with Jimi Hendrix. In his Hendrix biography, David Moskowitz notes: "Curtis Knight was born in Fort Scott, Kansas, ...

* "Rockin' It" by The Fearless Four * "Beat Bop" by

Rammellzee Rammellzee (stylized RAMM:ΣLL:ZΣΣ, pronounced "Ram: Ell: Zee"; December 15, 1960 – June 28, 2010) was a visual artist, gothic futurist "graffiti writer", painter, performance artist, art theoretician, sculptor and a hip hop musician from Ne ...

and K-Rob * "Fresh Is the Word" by

Mantronix Mantronix was an influential 1980s hip hop and electro funk music group from New York City. The band was formed by DJ Kurtis Mantronik (Kurtis el Khaleel) and rapper MC Tee (Touré Embden). The group is primarily remembered for its pioneering ...

feat. MC Tee * "

" by

(live version from ''

'') sed on "LP version" only

Charts

In the UK, the song charted as a part of the EP ''Frozen Metal Head''.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jimmy James (Song) 1992 singles Beastie Boys songs 1992 songs Capitol Records singles Songs written by Mario Caldato Jr. Song recordings produced by Mario Caldato Jr.