"The Sidewinder" is a composition by

Lee Morgan Edward Lee Morgan (July 10, 1938 – February 19, 1972) was an American jazz trumpeter and composer. One of the key hard bop musicians of the 1960s, Morgan came to prominence in his late teens, recording on John Coltrane's '' Blue Train'' (1 ...

. It was first recorded for Morgan's

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

album of the same name, on December 21, 1963, and has become a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

Composition and recording

The name of the composition, according to Morgan, came from "the 'bad guy' on television", not the snake.Feather, Leonard "The Sidewinder" P liner notes. Bars 17–18 of the 24-bar composition feature a surprise change to a minor chord. Trumpeter Morgan recorded the track with tenor saxophonist

Joe Henderson Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent l ...

, pianist

Barry Harris Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style. Life and career Harris was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December ...

, double bassist

Bob Cranshaw Melbourne Robert Cranshaw (December 3, 1932 – November 2, 2016) was an American jazz bassist. His career spanned the heyday of Blue Note Records to his recent involvement with the Musicians Union. He is perhaps best known for his long associa ...

and drummer

Billy Higgins Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop. Biography Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, be ...

. It was released as part of Morgan's album ''

The Sidewinder ''The Sidewinder'' is a 1964 album by the jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, recorded at the Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, U.S. It was released on the Blue Note label as BLP 4157 (mono) and BST 84157 ( stereo). The title track ...

'', as well as on both sides of a single (BN 1911).McMillan, Jeffery S. (2008) ''DelightfuLee: The Life and Music of Lee Morgan''. University of Michigan Press. The single entered ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s Hot 100 chart at No. 93 on December 19, 1964, and rose in subsequent weeks, peaking at No. 81.

Reception

The track was an immediate commercial success. It became the biggest success that producer

Alfred Lion Alfred Lion (born Alfred Löw; April 21, 1908 – February 2, 1987), was an American record executive who co-founded the jazz record label Blue Note in 1939. Lion retired in 1967, having sold the company, after producing recordings by leading music ...

had up to that point.Cook, Richard (2004) ''Blue Note Records: The Biography'', Justin, Charles & Co., p. 182. It helped make Morgan more prominent in the minds of jazz fans internationally. ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...

'' described the original recording as "a glorious 24-bar theme as sinuous and stinging as the beast of the title. It was both the best and worst thing that was ever to happen to Morgan before the awful events of 19 February 1972", a reference to the date of Morgan's murder.

Influence

Television coverage of the 1965 baseball World Series included an advertisement by

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

that featured a version of Morgan's recording.Perchard, Tom (2006) ''Lee Morgan: His Life, Music and Culture'', Equinox, p. 159. Morgan was watching the program, did not know that his composition was to be used, and found out the next day that its use had not been authorized. After Morgan threatened to sue, Chrysler agreed not to show the advertisement again and settled the case. "The Sidewinder" was soon covered by other musicians, including trombonist

Kai Winding Kai Chresten Winding ( ; May 18, 1922 – May 6, 1983) was a Danish-born American trombonist and jazz composer. He is known for his collaborations with fellow trombonist J. J. Johnson. His version of "More", the theme from the movie ''Mondo Ca ...

on his 1966 album '' Dirty Dog''."Kai Winding: Dirty Dog".
AllMusic. Retrieved October 22, 2013. The success of the track led to similar themes being used on subsequent albums by Morgan and others: "it also established a more or less unbreakable pattern for future LPs, a bold, funky opener ..followed by half a dozen forgettable blowing themes".

References

External links

* (single) * (album) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sidewinder (composition) 1960s jazz standards 1963 compositions Hard bop jazz standards