"Soul Finger" is the first single released by R&B group the Bar-Kays. It was issued by

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

on the

Volt Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

label on April 14, 1967.

Background

The song was written by the Bar-Kays while they were rehearsing with Norman West to perform a cover of J. J. Jackson's "But It's Alright".Liner notes, ''The Complete Stax/Volt Singles, 1959–1968''.

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, 1991. p. 31. It begins with the melody of the popular children's song " Mary Had a Little Lamb" and then cuts into the main riff, punctuated with a high

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

trill. It features a chorus of neighborhood children who had been

loitering Loitering is the act of remaining in a particular public place for a prolonged amount of time without any apparent purpose. While the laws regarding loitering have been challenged and changed over time, loitering is still illegal in various j ...

outside the recording studio; they were instructed to shout "Soul Finger!" and were paid with

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

. The idea for the title and the shouts came from the Stax songwriters Isaac Hayes and David Porter. The track was used as the opening theme tune to BBC Radio 1 DJ Stuart Henry's shows from 1969 to 1974.

Chart performance

"Soul Finger" was a hit in the United States, peaking at number 3 on the U.S. '' Billboard'' R&B singles chart and number 17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Billboard Singles

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 databa ...

. The B-side of the single was "Knucklehead", written by

Booker T. Jones Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. (born November 12, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known art ...

and Steve Cropper, which reached number 28 on the R&B singles chart and number 76 on the Hot 100. "Soul Finger" and "Knucklehead" were the first two tracks of the Bar-Kays' first LP, ''Soul Finger'', issued on July 10, after nine more tracks had been recorded on June 23. Review of ''Soul Finger''

References

{{Authority control 1967 songs 1967 debut singles 1960s instrumentals Stax Records singles The Blues Brothers songs