THE HIT HAMMER: The Doobie Brothers' "Black Water"

(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)

The Doobie Brothers - "Black Water"

Hit Number 1: March 15, 1975

Stay at Number 1: 1 Week

A common thing for musicians to do when they're bored is to mess around on their respective instruments. Sometimes, this ends up being a pretty big deal. Patrick Simmons, the occasional lead singer for the Doobie Brothers, knows this all too well. The band were in the process of recording their album The Captain and Me, and as is the case with any recording sessions, there can sometimes be long breaks in between recording songs. In one of those breaks, Simmons was messing around on his guitar, and was playing some random riff when the band's lead producer, Ted Templeton, turned on the studio's talk-back so he could speak to the band members in the studio. He asked Simmons what the riff was that he was playing, and Simmons said that it was only some random riff and it wasn't supposed to be a part of anything. Templeton assured Simmons that the riff was too good to not belong in a song, and that riff is what we hear on "Black Water."

Simmons was always fascinated by the Delta Blues, and when the Doobie Brothers were doing a show in New Orleans, he wrote "Black Water." Simmons was very impressed by his surroundings in New Orleans, and he said how everything lived up to the hype that was brought upon the city. "Black Water" was inspired by not only New Orleans but also two of Simmons' favorite childhood books, Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. It's worth pointing out that Simmons was not the usual songwriter or leader of the Doobie Brothers. That would be Tom Johnston, and the band was just coming off of great success of The Captain and Me album, which spawned two singles that did well on the Hot 100, both of them cracking the top 20, and both of them were songs that Johnston had written. (The more successful one of these singles, "Long Train Runnin'", did even better, as that one made the top ten. It peaked at #8, and it's an 8) There really wouldn't be any pressure on Simmons, though, cause even once "Black Water" was complete, it wasn't planned to be an A-side for any single release.

Even though Templeton was the one who encouraged Simmons to put his guitar hook into a song, he always thought that the song was meant to be a B-side, due to it being "more of an acoustic thing," in his opinion. "Black Water" was a lot different from anything the Doobie Brothers had done in the past; it wasn't a rocker and it was a lot closer to country, or even bluegrass, which is not a genre you could ever associate the Doobies with. The A-side was supposed to be "Another Park, Another Sunday," which had been doing just fine as a single until the radio pulled it for the line "And the radio just seems to bring me down." They had to come up with a backup plan, but still, they didn't turn to "Black Water" just yet. They tried a couple other songs, with the second one, "Nobody," doing okay on the charts, but it was rising very slowly. When they finally became smart enough to release "Black Water," this time as an A-side, it blew "Nobody" out of the water. I guess Templeton and the Doobies had no idea how powerful that hook really was.

You can easily hear the Louisiana influence in "Black Water," the Cajun-sounding viola and the country rock guitars take over the track. At least for a little while. The song is simply about living life in the Mississippi/Louisiana south. The narrator enjoys his time out on the black water at night, with the Mississippi moon shining on him while he's fishing. (A rather relaxing scene) But if it's raining, that's no problem for the narrator either, as he says he'd just take a streetcar heading for uptown. He likes to party at the honky-tonks and buy everyone drinks while listening to "that funky Dixieland." The narrator really fits the vibe of the whole song: content and relaxed. The lyric "And I ain't got no worries cause I ain't in no hurry at all" really says it all.

All things told, "Black Water" is a really cool song. The Cajun influence is very strong, and Cajun music is obviously cool as hell. The Doobies' harmonies are also close, and the call-and-response viola and guitar solo is an amazing addition. It's all just so mesmerizing, it can put the listener in some weird trance. It's impossible to not find yourself right along this guy while he's fishing during a Mississippi night. He's not in a hurry, and neither are you. As long as that Mississippi moon keeps shining on you, that's all that matters. And in case that wasn't enough, you're treated to a surprise a cappella by the band, which Templeton said he stole that idea from his old producer. The lyrics of that part: "I'd like to hear some funky Dixieland/Pretty mama, come and take me by the hand." That's the point where "Black Water" becomes something super special. That part of the song is irresistibly catchy and fun, it seems to always bring a smile to my face. Before "Black Water," The Doobies released some very good music, but nothing that was so unique like "Black Water." This song remains in a class of its own.

Ol' black water, keep on rollin'.

GRADE: 10/10

IN POP CULTURE:

Garth Brooks did a cover version of "Black Water" in 2013, but since he makes it impossible to listen to his music nowadays, I can't find any YouTube videos with that audio. I wanted to share that here, but I can't. So instead, here's a remake of "Black Water" that the Doobie Brothers themselves did with the Zac Brown Band for their 2014 album Southbound:

(The Zac Brown Band's highest-charting single, "Knee Deep" featuring Jimmy Buffett, peaked at #18 in 2011. It's an 8)