Rockit

Video gives Herbie Hancock's a hit

Continuing on with instrumental week, here’s the biggest instrumental hit of the 80s. Herbie Hancock is an influential jazz musician who had been known for his experimentations with jazz fusion, funk, and electro in the 70s. Collaborating with bassist/producer Bill Laswell and composer/producer Michael Beinhorn in creating the Future Shock album, this track is considered the first jazz/hip hop song as it’s the first to feature scratching.

Technically it has one snippet of verse sampled from the hit song Planet Rock, “Rock it, don't stop it”, but it’s all about the mix of various sounds in the track. They tested a cassette of the final mix in a stereo shop and the reaction said they had a hit.

What took it over the top though was the video, directed by the English rock duo Godley and Creme. We barely see Hancock, which is by design as they wanted to get on MTV but in the early years it was very difficult for black artists to get on. Instead there are animated mannequins and other animatronic objects. These were created by Jim Whiting, a British artist who had been working on mechanical art installations exploring the intersection of man and machine. There wasn’t anything else like it. I remember being utterly transfixed by the machines. If you haven’t seen it before, do yourself a favour.

Enjoy your song of the day!