| Tramp | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Lowell Fulson |
| Album: | Tramp |
| B-Side: | Pico |
| Recorded: | 1966 |
| Genre: | Soul blues, funk |
| Length: | 3:04 |
| Label: | Kent |
| Prev Title: | Black Nights |
| Prev Year: | 1967 |
| Next Title: | Make a Little Love |
| Next Year: | 1967 |
"Tramp" is a soul blues song with funk elements, written by West Coast blues artists Lowell Fulson and Jimmy McCracklin. First recorded by Fulson in 1967, it was his highest-charting single since "Reconsider Baby" in 1954. It reached #56 in Canada.[1] The song was covered by Otis Redding in a duet with Carla Thomas, and this version reached No. 2 on Billboard R&B chart.
Jules Bihari, the owner of Fulson's label, Kent Records, disliked the song at first: "Oh, he hated 'Tramp', Jules [Bihari] did.", Fulson recalled.[2] However, when Bihari previewed the song for two influential disc jockeys, the response was "Hush! Man, get me my copy, quick. You sitting on a gold mine, talking about you want to hear some blues. You better get that record out."[2] Fulson elaborated:
When Kent released it as a single, "Tramp" became a hit, peaking at number five in the Billboard R&B chart.[3] The song was also Fulson's most popular single in the broader, pop-oriented Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it reached number 52.[3]
As one of Fulson's best-known songs, "Tramp" appears on numerous compilations, including the popular 1967 Kent album, also titled Tramp.[2] For the album cover, Fulson, who normally wore suits, posed dressed up as a railroad yard hobo:
The song is partly narrative, with the singer ignoring the criticism of his unsophisticated appearance:
Fulson's "Tramp" has been described as a "comfortably laid-back but groovin' soul-blues workout" and "a loping funk-injected workout [which restored] the guitarist to R&B stardom", by AllMusic reviewers.[4] [5] The entertainment magazine LA Weekly called it "a near-perfect slice of barbecued funk".[6]
| Tramp | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Otis Redding & Carla Thomas |
| Album: | King & Queen |
| B-Side: | Tell It Like It Is |
| Recorded: | 1967 |
| Genre: | Soul |
| Label: | Stax |
| Producer: | Jim Stewart |
Otis Redding recorded "Tramp" as a duet with Carla Thomas for Stax Records. The song was first included on the joint album by Redding and Thomas, King & Queen (1967). Described as "playful" by Dahl, it was released as a single only months after Fulson's. Credited to "Otis and Carla", the duo's version outsold Fulson's original[5] and peaked at number two on Billboard's Top Selling R&B singles and number 26 on the Hot 100 charts.[3]
In Dynamic Duets: The Best Pop Collaborations from 1955 to 1999, author Bob Leszczak describes their rendition:Leszczak points out that the Otis and Carla single peaked higher in the UK, where it reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart (Fulson's single did not appear in the UK charts). He also notes "the song's beat likely influenced 'You Haven't Done Nothin'' by Stevie Wonder seven years later".
| Chart (1967) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| scope="row" | |
| UK R&B (Record Mirror)[7] | 1 |
| scope="row" | |
| scope="row" | |
| Canada R&B[8] | 10 |
| Canada Top 100[9] | 43 |