"Raunchy" is an instrumental by American

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

artist Bill Justis, co-written with Sidney Manker and produced by Sam Phillips. The tune, from the album ''Cloud 9'', was released as a single on the record label

Phillips International Records Phillips International Records is a sub-label of Sun Records started by Sam Phillips in October 1957. The design had the whole label as a blue and white Earth-globe with "Phillips" prominent between the words "Sam C." and "International Corp" o ...

, a sub-label of

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

, on September 23, 1957.

History

"Raunchy" is one of the first rock songs to use the "twangy" lead guitar effect, which was later developed by others and became common for several years following its first appearance. In 1958, a then fourteen-year-old George Harrison performed it for

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...

on the top deck of a bus in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, and was so note-perfect that Lennon decided, despite earlier reservations about Harrison's age, to let him into his band the Quarrymen, which later became

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

Other versions

Justis recorded another rendition of the tune in 1962, in stereo and with considerably different guitar, for his album ''Bill Justis Plays 12 More Big Instrumental Hits''. He recorded it once more in 1969, for his album ''Raunchy & Other Great Instrumentals''. Competing with Justis's release in 1957 were renditions by

Billy Vaughn Richard Smith "Billy" Vaughn (April 12, 1919 – September 26, 1991) was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, orchestra leader, and A&R man for Dot Records. Biography Vaughn was born in Glasgow, Kentucky, United States, where his father, ...

and

Ernie Freeman Ernest Aaron Freeman (August 16, 1922 – May 16, 1981) was an American pianist, organist, bandleader, and arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition ...

. Freeman's version was his biggest solo success, reaching No. 4 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

in 1957, No. 1 on the R&B singles chart, and No. 11 on the

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

singles chart in 1958. Justis' version charted in the UK in 1958 at No. 11, beating an interpretation by Ken Mackintosh which charted at No. 23. Soon after the hit, guitarist Duane Eddy and producer Lee Hazlewood took it upon themselves to develop that style to an ultimate degree. They greatly enhanced the

reverberation Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abs ...

in their recordings, creating a far-from-light lead guitar sound. Eddy started with the big hit " Rebel Rouser" in 1958; he later made a recording of "Raunchy" for the

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 ...

album ''Twangin' the Golden Hits'' in 1965. The Jimmy Bowen Orchestra and Chorus released a version as the

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 company ...

to their 1967 single "

It's Such a Pretty World Today "It's Such a Pretty World Today" is a popular song released in 1967, written by songwriter Dale Noe. Wynn Stewart version The song was originally a country music single by singer Wynn Stewart. Although Stewart had previously hit the Top 40 on t ...

". "Raunchy" has been recorded by many artists, including

the Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...

, Bill Black,

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series centers on the ...

Al Caiola Alexander Emil Caiola (September 7, 1920 – November 9, 2016) was an American guitarist, composer and arranger, who spanned a variety of music genres including jazz, country, rock, and pop. He recorded over fifty albums and worked with some of ...

, Ace Cannon, Billy Strange, the Bill Smith Combo (also known as Tommy & the Tom Toms), Santo & Johnny,

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

, and the Incredible Bongo Band. Years later, while working on the '' Beatles Anthology'' project in 1994, the three surviving Beatles (Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

) played the tune during a jam session, it having been the song that landed George a spot in the early version of the group.

Chart positions

Bill Justis

Ernie Freeman

References