Artist:Fatboy Slim
Song:Praise You
Album:The Greatest Hits: Why Try Harder
British DJ Norman "Fatboy Slim" Cook has been influential in developing the "big beat" genre of electronic dance music. His commercial success has mostly been in England. The 1999 single Praise You topped the British charts. It's his best known song. He was born July 16, 1963 in Bromley, England and he grew up in Surrey. He got into punk as a teen and led the band Disque Attack. He got into DJing while attending Brighton Polytechnic. Cook played bass in The Housemartins who scored a big hit with the 1985 single Happy Hour. They split up in 1988. Half of the band became The Beautiful South. Cook retreated to the recording studio to work on electronic music with recording engineer Simon Thornton. These two have worked together ever since. Cook released music under his own name, Beats International, Freak Power and Pizzaman. He started calling himself Fatboy Slim in 1996. He signed with Skint Records in England and Astralwerks in the US. Praise You is from the 1998 album You've Come a Long Way, Baby. It topped the British charts and reached #36 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was a big dance club hit. The main sample which you can hear in the opening is Take Yo' Praise by Camille Yarbrough. I had to look her up. She recorded a 1975 album for Vanguard Records. Cook obviously discovered it through cratedigging. At least she got paid for his use of the song. The video is also notable as I think that made Praise You more successful than the charts would indicate. It was shot guerilla style by Spike Jonze. Cook recorded two more albums as Fatboy Slim. He still releases occasional singles under the name. He's still active but he uses many pseudonyms. This comp is a good intro to the Fatboy Slim recordings. Here's the video for Praise You by Fatboy Slim.
No comments:
Post a Comment