"Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)" is a 1967 song by

the Hombres The Hombres were an American garage rock band from Memphis, Tennessee, known primarily for the 1967 single, "Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)". Origins Formed in 1966, The Hombres comprised Jerry Lee Masters (leader and bass player); Gary Wayne ...

and the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may al ...

of their album of the same name. It is, according to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

journalist Stewart Mason, a "deadpan southern-fried parody" of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's "

Subterranean Homesick Blues "Subterranean Homesick Blues" is a song by Bob Dylan, recorded on January 14, 1965, and released as a single by Columbia Records, catalogue number 43242, on March 8. It was the lead track on the album ''Bringing It All Back Home'', released some ...

Background

The song's spoken intro – "A preachment, dear friends, you are about to receive on

John Barleycorn "John Barleycorn" is an English and Scottish folk song listed as number 164 in the Roud Folk Song Index. John Barleycorn, the song's protagonist, is a personification of barley and of the alcoholic beverages made from it: beer and whisky. ...

nicotine Nicotine is a natural product, naturally produced alkaloid in the nightshade family of plants (most predominantly in tobacco and ''Duboisia hopwoodii'') and is widely used recreational drug use, recreationally as a stimulant and anxiolytic. As ...

and the temptations of

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

" – dates to the 1947 novelty recording "Cigareetes, Whuskey and Wild, Wild Women" by Red Ingle and His Natural Seven, and is followed by a

raspberry The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with w ...

Go Girl, Go

The song's

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 ...

, "Go Girl, Go", has the singer complaining about having to "stand in line" to see his girlfriend now that she is a "hip-swingin', fringe-slingin' Watusi go go girl". It is featured in the compilation album ''

Essential Pebbles, Volume 1 ''Essential Pebbles, Volume 1'' is the first compilation album in the Essential Pebbles series. Although subtitled Ultimate '66 garage classics!, not all of the recordings on the album were originally released in 1966. Release data This album wa ...

'', where it is incorrectly titled "Go Go Girl" in the track listing, and attributed to "unknown artist".

Cover versions

*In 1970,

Jonathan King Jonathan King (born Kenneth George King; 6 December 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. He first came to prominence in 1965 when "Everyone's Gone to the Moon", a song that he wrote and sang while still an undergraduate, ...

reached number 26 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

with his rendition. * In 1984,

the Nails The Nails were originally a five-piece new wave band that formed in Boulder, Colorado in 1976. In Colorado, they were originally named The Ravers. The band members were Marc Campbell (lead vocals, guitar), Dave Kaufman (keyboards), Al Leis (drum ...

included it on their debut album ''

Mood Swing A mood swing is an extreme or sudden change of mood. Such changes can play a positive part in promoting problem solving and in producing flexible forward planning, or be disruptive. When mood swings are severe, they may be categorized as par ...

''. * In 1988,

Scrawl Scrawl was an American indie rock trio based in Columbus, Ohio, and active from the mid-1980s. History The band formed in 1985, originally under the name Skull. The founding members were Marcy Mays (lead vocals, guitar, songwriting), Sue Harsh ...

released it (with amended lyrics) on their albu
''He's Drunk''
* In 1989

John Cougar Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

recorded it for his '' Big Daddy'' LP. A

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

featured ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' "swimsuit issue"

cover model A cover model is a male or female whose photograph appears on the front cover of a magazine. The cover model is generally a fashion model, celebrity, or contest winner. Generally, cover models are depicted solitarily; however, on occasion magazines ...

Ashley Richardson Ashley C. Richardson (born June 27, 1965), sometimes credited as Ashley Montana, is an American former model. She appeared on the cover of ''Elle'' a total of seven times and on the cover of ''Cosmopolitan'' twice. She also appeared six times in t ...

Uses in popular culture

* One of the earliest uses of the song was when it was sampled in 1968 by

Dickie Goodman Richard Dorian Goodman (April 19, 1934 – November 6, 1989), known as Dickie Goodman, was an American music and record producer born in Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for inventing and using the technique of the "break-in", an early precur ...

for his single " Washington Uptight." * It was sampled by the London based dance-music act

Definition of Sound Definition of Sound was a London-based dance-music group, consisting of Kevin Clark and Don Weekes, working with musicians Rex Brough (aka The Red King) and later Mike Spencer. Their second and fourth singles, "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" (199 ...

on their top 20 hit "Wear Your Love Like Heaven", in 1991. * It was featured on the 1998 box set '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968''. * "Let It All Hang Out" was included on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

of the 2005 film ''Elizabethtown''. *

Foster's Lager Foster's Lager is an internationally-distributed brand of lager. It is owned by the international brewing group Asahi Group Holdings, and is brewed under licence in a number of countries, including its biggest market, the UK, where the Europe ...

used it in a 2006 advertisement for Foster's Twist.

Chart performance

References

{{authority control 1967 songs 1967 singles 1970 singles Novelty songs Jonathan King songs Song recordings produced by Huey P. Meaux Song recordings produced by Jonathan King Verve Forecast Records singles Decca Records singles