The Meters Drop Some NOLA Funk On “Just Kissed My Baby”

“Just Kissed My Baby” is a stone-cold banger by New Orleans funkmasters the Meters.  This cut showcases the band’s formidable skills at creating nasty deep-funk grooves. George Porter Jr. makes his presence felt in a big way with a mammoth bass line, and Zigaboo Modeliste burns up the pocket with his super-funky drumming, while Leo Nocentelli cooks up some wicked wah-wah voodoo on guitar. Art Neville infuses his Hammond organ work with massive dollops of Big Easy soul. And the horn section drops pure fire with some tight horn blasts. Also, Lowell George from the rock band Little Feat contributes some sweet slide guitar licks.

“Just Kissed My Baby” was written by Modeliste, Nocentelli, Porter and Neville.  It’s a track from the Meters’ influential and acclaimed fifth album Rejuvenation, released in 1974. The collection—co-produced by Allen Toussaint and the Meters—is filled with stellar funk and soul tracks, including the irresistible “Hey Pocky A-Way,” which peaked at #31 on the Billboard R&B singles chart. Rejuvenation was ranked number 138 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of all time.

Many hip-hop heads discovered “Just Kissed My Baby” via samples. Public Enemy sampled it on their track “Timebomb.” Other artists who sampled it include EPMD (“Never Seen Before”) and Fabolous (“Right Now & Later On”). It was also featured on the popular video game Grand Theft Auto IV’s soundtrack.

 The Meters dropped tons of great funk back in the day and built a sterling rep as one of the baddest funk outfits in the game. Although they didn’t attain the popularity or record sales of bands like P-Funk, Sly & the Family and the Ohio Players, the Meters left a huge musical legacy and are one of the most influential funk bands of all time. They brought a down-home New Orleans flavor to funk music that all funk lovers are extremely thankful for.

"Just Kissed My Baby" at Amazon

Related blog entry: No More Okey Doke by The Meters