Why do some musicians dislike and refuse to play ‘Mustang Sally’ on gigs?
I was intrigued by my friend bass player Bill Arzt’s post in defense of the song in response to his Facebook friend’s searing attack on it. Here’s the thread with his and other musicians’ comments and those from New Jersey I interviewed.
Bill Arzt: “One of my FB buddies posted about whether or not one should play ‘Mustang Sally.’ I feel compelled to defend the tune. The poor thing’s been bastardized and is the butt of all manners of abuse. A lot of musicians refuse to play it, and I can’t figure out why. It’s scorned not only in jazz or blues clubs, but pretty much everywhere. Its longevity pretty much proves it’s a good tune, and if you play it the way it’s supposed to be played it’s got a great groove and is fun. So far, my best guess is those musicians have totally lost sight of why they’re being paid to play in the first place.”
Gene Potts: “I’ve included ‘Mustang Sally’ on cover gigs. If sung with soul and conviction it’s a great song. Wilson Pickett, who popularized it, was a great artist and I don’t feel that song should be in the same “do not play” category as ‘Build Me up Buttercup’ or ‘Brown Eyed Girl.’”
Christine Martucci: “I just think it is one of the go-to bar songs we all love to hate. When it’s being played you just can’t help but tap your foot and sing along.”
Ray Johnson: “I like the tune and would still play it, but most of the people I play with don’t want to do it any more. It’s worn out. If someone requests it, it kind of depends on who is asking whether it will get played or not.”
Daniel Jake Likins for The Florida Blues Brothers: “Our mission is to get ‘em up dancin’ and keep ‘em up dancin’. ‘Mustang Sally’ makes ‘em dance. Enough said.”
Steve Conte: “Wilson Pickett’s recording is fantastic, classic, but it’s become a standard party tune played by every horrible wedding band in the world ever since The Commitments movie came out (1991). I last played the tune on a gig with Willy Deville in a backstage beer tent in Freiburg, Germany after our concert. I couldn’t believe Willy called the tune. It was surreal. I would never call it on a gig, but he wanted to make it a party…and he did!
Michele Mupo, a.k.a. Fuschia: “I don’t care for the song. It doesn’t move me.”
Marc Ribler: “‘Mustang Sally’ is one of the greatest and most wrongly played songs in the history of modern music. It’s a timeless gem, and I always welcome the chance to perform it. Do play it. Folks love to hear it. I suggest musicians listen to the Pickett version for pointers on how it’s done.”
George Naha: “I used to play it with Wilson Pickett, and his recorded version is still my favorite. I like playing it now, although I’d prefer it if all the bands I play it with did it like the Pickett record. I last played it at my New Year’s gig. In general I like playing old R&B songs in cover bands, as I played a lot of those tunes with the folks who recorded them back in the day, and I feel a deep connection with that era and that genre. If people aren’t careful their egos can get in the way and they can start thinking ‘I shouldn’t be doing this music,’ which is like drinking musical poison. We’re never bigger than the music, and if we think we are, we’re setting ourselves up for unhappiness.”
Layonne Holmes: “I love it because it’s a crowd pleaser. We played it a month ago. JT Bowen was singing it, so having a legendary great singer belting it out and working the crowd helps!”
Tommy Zvoncheck: “I hate to play it. My favorite version is The Rascals.”
Gerry Gironda: “It’s a musician on an ego trip that won’t play the song. Buzz kill!”
Anonymous: “It’s a sexy number that employs the best of dirty rock phrasing and double entendres.”
Anonymous: I would never choose to play it. It’s been over played and butchered. If I did play it, it would have to be with players who have a sensibility and reference for real soul music.
Anonymous: “Konstantin Stanislavski (Acting Teacher) remarked that ‘There are no small parts, only small actors.’ There should probably be an analog for music and musicians. Can a musician really afford to think he or she is better than the songs they play that pay their rent?”
“Mustang Sally” was written and recorded by Mack Rice in 1965. Wilson Pickett recorded it in 1966. His version eclipsed all others in popularity, and the song made Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of Top 500 Songs of All Time. It’s about a girl who lives a wild life in her new Ford Mustang, paying little attention to the sugar daddy who paid for it, and the lyric warns her to slow it down.
You can’t miss the sex innuendo in the song. It crosses over and in and out of genres, as Southern Soul, and Rock N’ Roll, and even fitting comfortably into the outrageous “filthy and dirty” early blues of the 1920s through the 40s, with vaudeville titles like “I Need-A Plenty Grease In My Frying Pan ‘Cos I Don’t Want My Meat to Burn,” and “I Need A Little Sugar In My Bowl.” And when Ruth Brown sang “If I Can’t Sell It, I’ll Sit On It” she wasn’t talking about her couch!
“Mustang Sally” joins a bunch of double entendre car songs, like “Pay Before You Pump” by Denise LaSalle, and the more recent “Shut Up and Drive” by Rihanna. Sex in song will always be with us riding on metaphors about almost anything.
By the way, it’s reported that songwriter Rice never owned a Mustang, though he rode in one when he did a show for Ford at the company headquarters. He joked about struggling to get in and out of the car at his age. “Man!” he said. “It was tight!”
