Song:Mary Don't Take Me On No Bad Trip
Album:Shaak
Ellington "Fugi" Jordan was probably way ahead of his time in the late 60s when he mixed funk, psychedelia and social commentary. It was all too much for his label Chess Records. He recorded an album in 1969. And after testing the market with the single Mary Don't Take Me On No Bad Trip, Chess decided not to release the album. Jordan was born in Los Angeles but he moved to Detroit. Jordan's claim to fame is writing the 1968 Etta James classic I'd Rather Go Blind. Etta visited Jordan in jail to discuss the song. He decided not to take a songwriting credit for tax reasons but Etta wrote in her autobiography that Jordan wrote the song. Then Jordan started working with the psychedelic funk band Black Merda. He says he met them through Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations. He signed with Chess records as Fugi and recorded an album backed by Black Merda. Mary Don't Take Me On No Bad Trip was the first single. Though today the song is praised as innovative, back in 1969 Chess thought Fugi's album was too "out there" and decided not to release it. Fugi's album was discovered and released on CD in 1997. Jordan acquired the rights to the album and he released it himself in 2003. He also released the CD Almost Home as Ellington Jordan in 2005 and it is available from CD Baby. I'd Rather Go Blind has been covered by so many artists that Jordan still receives royalty cheques and that keeps him going. But he probably deserved a better fate in the late 60s. At least his recordings are now available. Here's a video for Mary Don't Take Me On No Bad Trip by Fugi.
He was in jail when she went to see him and got her big hit. That is just wild. sounds to me like he had a hard life Frank.
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