Today’s classic 1970 tune of the day has a little harder edge than what we’ve been listening to so far. The tune is “The Rapper” by the Jaggerz; it was released in January of 1970 and rose to #2 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 charts. It ended up earning a gold record for selling more than 1 million copies.
“The Rapper” was written by the band’s lead guitarist, Donnie Iris (real name: Dominic Ierace). It’s a song about a dude who tries to seduce a girl by telling her lies (that’s “rapping,” in this parlance). It is not about the hip-hop type of rapping, which really didn’t exist at that point in time. It’s clear in the lyrics:
So, he starts his rappin’
Hoping something will happen
He’ll say he needs you
A companion, a girl he can talk to
He’s made up his mind
He needs someone to sock it to
And, if the dude gets his way, he’ll ask the young lady to “come up to my place, for some coffee or tea or me.” He knows what he’s after.
The Jaggerz were a hard rock band from Pittsburgh, PA. The name comes from the Pennsylvanian term “jagger,” which refers to any small, sharp-pointed object. They first got together in 1964, bounced around a few different labels, and finally hit it big with “The Rapper.” After that, they went through some personnel changes and broke up in 1977.
The band’s founder and lead guitarist, Donnie Iris, joined the group Wild Cherry, which had a 1976 hit with “Play That Funky Music;” he later had a somewhat successful solo career. Lead singer Jimmie Ross joined the doo-wop group the Skyliners, who were then (as now) performing on the oldies circuit.
Ross and the other original members (minus Donnie Iris) reformed Jaggerz in 1989. They’ve released a few albums since then and continue to perform a few dozen dates each year.
The week that “The Rapper” peaked on the charts (March 21, 1970), the rest of the top ten looked like this:
- “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (Simon & Garfunkel)
- “The Rapper” (The Jaggerz)
- “Give Me Just A Little More Time” (Chairmen Of The Board)
- “Instant Karma (We All Shine On)” (John Lennon)
- “Rainy Night In Georgia” (Brook Benton)
- “Let It Be” (The Beatles)
- “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” (The Hollies)
- “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)” (Edison Lighthouse)
- “Evil Ways” (Santana)
- “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)” (The Delfonics)
Great songs, all.
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