I'm a Man

"I'm a Man" is a song written by Spencer Davis Group singer-songwriter Steve Winwood and record producer Jimmy Miller.

The original recording was a fast, Hammond organ-driven blues rock track released as a single by the Spencer Davis Group in early 1967, reaching #9 in the UK Singles Chart and #10 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was the last hit single by the band before the brothers Steve and Muff Winwood left to pursue their own separate careers.

The song is sometimes confused with another SDG hit, "Gimme Some Lovin'", which has been a hit for various other bands, and was also covered by Steve Winwood's next band, Traffic.

"I'm A Man" was included on the band's summer 1967 album, I'm a Man, as well as being featured on the recent Spencer Davis Group DVD "Gimme Some Lovin' Live 1966". Although the recording is said to be late 1966, this date is in fact controversial. In an article and an interview on the "Living Archives" (Elävä arkisto) website of YLE, the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation, the producer of the original live recording, Mr. Tapani Karhu, clearly states that the date of the show was March 19, 1967.

Cover versions

The Serfs album The Early Bird Cafe, Capitol, 1968, featured a percussion-heavy intro (pre-dating Chicago's) and Mike Finnigan's lead vocal. Their arrangement segued into Bo Diddley's song of the same name. Chicago Transit Authority (now known as Chicago) recorded a cover version of "I'm A Man" for their 1969 debut album, The Chicago Transit Authority. When the band's popularity surged after their second album, "I'm A Man" was released as the B-side to a re-release of "Questions 67 and 68". Radio stations ended up playing both sides, and "I'm A Man" reached #49 on the U.S. chart in 1971.

CTA's cover is a borderline heavy metal arrangement, clocking in at 7 minutes and 40 seconds, and is based around the power guitar playing of Terry Kath, the virtuoso drumming of Danny Seraphine and the horn section doubling on auxiliary percussion instruments, such as claves, cowbell and tambourine. Kath, Peter Cetera and Robert Lamm each sing a verse apiece (singing not the lyrics as written, but as CTA apparently misunderstood them), preluding an extended drum solo before a return to the second and third verses and choruses that bring the song to a climactic drum roll, and finally leading into a Terry Kath guitar solo to bring the song to a dramatic close. This version remains a fan favourite. Santana has also used a small part of this song in the track "Waiting" which appears on their self titled 1969 debut album.

Marzio Vincenzi, lead and background vocalist originally from Bologna, Italy, and Mauro Malavasi produced in 1978 a version of "I'm A Man" under the name Macho which is a classic of disco music, or as some have classified it, "rosco music", a hybrid between rock and disco genres.

A further disco-flavored version is the one released by keyboardist Keith Emerson in his soundtrack album of the 1981 film Nighthawks, featuring him providing unlikely lead vocals. The song underpins a key scene in the movie in a slightly different version which features a longer instrumental coda not included in the original record.

Guitarist Roy Z's band, Tribe of Gypsies, included a cover of "I'm A Man" on their 1997 (Japanese import only) mini-album, Nothing Lasts Forever, adding a strong Latin Rock flavor to the song.

Los Lonely Boys have recorded a version on their 2008 album Forgiven.

The Sub recorded a version on their 1970's album Sub - In Concert.

VW Polo advert

Volkswagen aired a UK television commercial titled "Dog" in late winter 2008 which featured a dog miming singing "I'm a Man". The version used in the advert for the Polo was a cover version by a young British singer-songwriter, Charlie Winston. The Noam Murro-directed^[1] advert was banned after complaints from the RSPCA and over 750 viewers.^[2][3]

In other media

An instrumental disco version of the song is occasionally featured in the game show, The Price Is Right, mostly for reveals of new cars.

The Live365 internet radio service Radio Vietnam uses excerpts from I'm a Man as one of their station I.D.'s.

In many live performances, Chicago would hand pick a female track athlete from the crowd to run out on to the stage and perform gymnastic moves to eccentuate her man-esque body features, particularly the legs.

References

• http://www.brumbeat.net/sdgroup.htm (the section on the Spencer Davis Group)
• The back of the 1967 album The Best of the Spencer Davis Group Featuring Stevie Winwood

External links

• Winwood Lyric index