"Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter" is a song written by

Alline Bullock Ruby Alline Bullock Selico (December 1, 1936 – September 4, 2010) was an American songwriter. She was the older full sister of singer Tina Turner. Bullock once served as the manager of the girl group the Ikettes. She wrote songs for Ike & Tina ...

, sister of

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

. It was first released by

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner was an American musical duo consisting of husband-and-wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by the Kings of Rhythm and backing vocalists, the Ikettes. ...

on their 1970 album ''

Workin' Together ''Workin' Together'' is a studio album released by Ike & Tina Turner on Liberty Records on November 9, 1970. This was their second album with Liberty and their most successful studio album. The album contains their Grammy Award-winning single "Pro ...

'' with Tina Turner and

the Ikettes The Ikettes, originally The Artettes, were a trio (sometimes quartet) of female backing vocalists for the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. Despite their origins, the Ikettes became successful artists in their own right. In the 1960s they had chart-toppe ...

on vocals. Mosquita's was the original spelling of Mosquito's, but after

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

singer

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

released her version in 1974, most subsequent releases of the song have used the latter spelling including Ike & Tina Turner reissues. "Funkier Than a Mosquita's Tweeter" was produced by

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and ...

and released as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

single to "

Proud Mary "Proud Mary" is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, written by vocalist and lead guitarist John Fogerty. It was released as a single in January1969 by Fantasy Records and on the band's second studio album, '' Bayou Coun ...

" on

Liberty Records Liberty Records was a record label founded in the United States by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Alvin Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous rev ...

in January 1971. This song is a scathing assessment of an unidentified man, opening with "you're nothin' but a dirty, dirty old man." The song was used as the title for Ike & Tina Turner's 2002 compilation album '' Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter''.

Nina Simone version

Nina Simone began performing a rendition of "Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter" in 1971. She recorded her performance at New York's Philharmonic Hall in July 1973. It was released on her 1974

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

, ''It Is Finished'', on

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

. Her version differs greatly from the original, using "special rhythmic effects on a variety of African and Eastern instruments." Simone's rendition has since become a classic and the best known version of the song. It is regarded as one of her best vocal performances. "Her voice cracks with exasperation, alluding that the predator she sings about might well be the good ol' US of A," observed Julianne Escobedo Shepherd for ''Pitchfork''. Alex Deley at DJ D-Mac & Associates wrote, "Simone manages to transform the song into something even greater than the original, really digging deep and pulling out the righteous, accusatory essence of the song." A remixed version was released on the 2006 compilation album '' Remixed & Reimagined''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter (song) Songs about insects 1970 songs 1971 singles Ike & Tina Turner songs Liberty Records singles Song recordings produced by Ike Turner Nina Simone songs Jazz-funk songs American funk songs