Another passing that happened after I’d recorded the “Adoration” themed December “Moods,” was that of guitarist and vocalist Leslie West at 75. West was best known as the founder of Mountain, which recorded one of the most iconic licks in all of guitar god rockdowm with “Mississippi Queen,” in 1970. While that song does have some heavy drums that would find a happy home in many a Hip-Hop production if the breaks were a bit cleaner, it’s the song “Long Red,” taken from a live Mountain record that somehow became a staple sample of the golden era.
You find a part of “Long Red” in some 600+ rap songs from 1986 to 2019. I’ve always been curious about how this song became a bedrock sample. It doesn’t lend itself easily to sampling. It’s a live recording, while the drums are clean at the start, it’s most often the “Clap your hands to what he’s doing!” that gets sampled (though I originally thought, due to how it was cut up in Eric B & Rakim’s “Eric B Is President,” that they were saying, “clap your hands to what is the 1, 2.” I know it doesn’t make much sense but that’s what I heard). But a bedrock sample it has become. I don’t know what Leslie West thought of his influence on Hip-Hop culture, but in addition to all the muscular licks he laid down, I’m thankful for it. RIP