"Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)" is a song originally performed by The Gap Band in 1980 and written by member Charlie Wilson, Rudy Taylor, and producer Lonnie Simmons.
| "Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Gap Band | ||||
| from the album The Gap Band III | ||||
| A-side | "Yearning for Your Love" | |||
| B-side |
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| Released | 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1980 | |||
| Genre | Funk[1] | |||
| Length | 4:11 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Charlie Wilson, Lonnie Simmons, Rudy Taylor[2] | |||
| The Gap Band singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)" (TopPop, 1981) on YouTube | ||||
Background
editAccording to engineer Jack Rouben, the foundation of the song started with its bassline: "[The track] was a musical idea that Charlie came up with on the Minimoog that turned into a groove, then a completed arrangement, and then they put the lyrics at the very end...This song was built upon that one repeating bass track, and that was the jam that blossomed into a whole complete song."[3] Rouben also remarked how the title for this song, along with many other hits by the band, was a phrase coined by co-writer Rudy Taylor.
Chart performance
editIn 1981, it peaked at number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 90 on Cash Box and number 1 hit on the R&B charts.[4]Billboard magazine ranked it as the 12th biggest R&B single of 1981. A later single released, featuring "Humpin'" on the B-side, scored a number 19 appearance on the dance charts.[5]
Inspiration
editOn June 30, 2021, Dave Grohl said that the drumming on "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was ripped off from the drum intro of "Burn Rubber on Me".[6]
References
edit- ^ Molanphy, Chris (July 31, 2021). "What a Fool Believes Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ "discogs.com". discogs.com. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ^ Chris Williams (2021). "The Making of 'Gap Band III', The Album That Turned The Gap Band Into Stars" (Interview). Retrieved 11 April 2023.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 223. Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits 1952-1996. Record Research. p. 155.
- ^ Chart History
- ^ "You Won't Believe Which Funky Drummers Dave Grohl Was 'Ripping Off' on Nirvana's 'Nevermind'". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-07-01.