The story behind puzzle No. 24
Lee Morgan · The Sidewinder · Blue Note · 1963 (released 1964)
Blue Note pressed 4,000 copies and sold out in days. The Sidewinder became the label's best-selling album and helped rescue it from near bankruptcy.
Lee Morgan recorded The Sidewinder on December 21, 1963, at Rudy Van Gelder's studio, and Blue Note released it in July 1964. The title track reached No. 81 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the album reached No. 25 on the album chart.
Morgan said the title referred to the bad guy on television, not the snake.
Chrysler used the recording in a 1965 World Series advertisement without permission. Morgan saw the broadcast, threatened legal action, and Chrysler pulled the ad and settled.
The form is 24 bars long, and bars 17 and 18 swerve into a surprise minor chord. Listen for the catchy, strutting melody and Joe Henderson's tenor solo.
Who's on it
Keep listening
Play Moanin', puzzle No. 3, to hear Morgan at 20 with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.
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