Watermelon Man

E128126

"Watermelon Man" is a jazz standard composed by Herbie Hancock that became one of his most famous and frequently covered tunes, blending soulful grooves with catchy, accessible melodies.

All labels observed (4)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (44)

Predicate Object
instanceOf composition
jazz standard
appearsOn Head Hunters (as reworked funk version)
Takin' Off (Herbie Hancock album)
associatedArtist Herbie Hancock
associatedEra 1960s jazz
associatedInstrument piano
composer Herbie Hancock
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
culturalImpact became a crossover hit in Latin jazz via Mongo Santamaría's version
helped establish Herbie Hancock's reputation as a composer
firstRecordedBy Herbie Hancock
firstReleaseAlbum Takin' Off
firstReleaseYear 1962
genre hard bop
jazz
soul jazz
hasMainRiff piano and horn riff based on blues scale
hasRhythmicInfluence Latin jazz (in Mongo Santamaría arrangement)
hasVersion Watermelon Man self-linksurface differs
surface form: Watermelon Man (1962 Herbie Hancock version)

Watermelon Man self-linksurface differs
surface form: Watermelon Man (1973 Herbie Hancock funk version)

Watermelon Man self-linksurface differs
surface form: Watermelon Man (Mongo Santamaría version)
influencedBy rhythms of street watermelon vendors in Chicago
isFrequently covered by jazz musicians
performed in jazz education settings
isOneOf Herbie Hancock's most famous compositions
isTaughtAs standard repertoire in jazz improvisation courses
key F major (original 1962 version)
language instrumental
notableCoverArtist Buddy Guy
Manhattan Transfer
Mongo Santamaría
Poncho Sanchez
Quincy Jones
publisher Blue Note Records
surface form: Blue Note Music
recordLabel Blue Note Records
reworkedBy Herbie Hancock
reworkedVersionStyle funk and jazz-fusion (1973 version)
structure 32-bar form
styleCharacteristic blues-influenced harmony
catchy, riff-based melody
strong backbeat groove
tempo medium tempo
typicalEnsemble small jazz combo

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (8)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Herbie Hancock notableWork Watermelon Man
Head Hunters hasPart Watermelon Man
Head Hunters notableTrack Watermelon Man
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock notableWork Watermelon Man
subject surface form: Herbie Hancock
Watermelon Man hasVersion Watermelon Man self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Watermelon Man (1962 Herbie Hancock version)
Watermelon Man hasVersion Watermelon Man self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Watermelon Man (1973 Herbie Hancock funk version)
Watermelon Man hasVersion Watermelon Man self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Watermelon Man (Mongo Santamaría version)
Live Wire/Blues Power (1968 album) hasTrack Watermelon Man
subject surface form: Live Wire/Blues Power