The song was loosely based on Bobby's brother's carefree behavior and was originally recorded as a funny tribute to his brother, that turned tragic when Harry Womack was killed by his girlfriend during a fight in 1974. From then on until his death, Bobby Womack sung the song as a dedication to his fallen late brother.[1]
Womack explains the story behind the song and its aftermath:
"Harry was the bass player and tenor for the brothers when we were the Valentinos. He lived a very carefree life. As a child he always said he wanted to live on an Indian reservation. We used to joke about it, but when we got older he was the same way. He always thought I wanted the materialistic things and I said, 'I just want to do my music. My music put me into that comfortable territory.' He didn't want the pressure. We used to laugh and joke about the song when I'd sing it. When he was brutally killed in my home, it was by a jealous girlfriend who he'd lived with for five years. She fought a lot, violence. And in our home it was considered to be worth less than a man to fight a woman, so he didn't fight back and she stabbed him to death. At the time I was in Seattle doing a gig and he was going to join me when we got back. Previously I had hired a new bass player because I felt it would help Harry's relationship with his spouse if he wasn't on the road. And that turned out to be very sour. He ended up losing his life behind it. At that time, "Harry Hippie" wasn't a joke anymore; I had lost a brother. I still do that song in his honor today."
— Bobby Womack
Chart performanceedit
The song was a top-10 R&B hit for Womack when issued as a single in 1973, reaching number eight on the chart, and was Womack's second top-40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number 31 on the chart.[2]
harry, hippie, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, march, 2010,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Harry Hippie news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2010 Learn how and when to remove this message Harry Hippie is a 1972 song written by Jim Ford who wrote it for singer Bobby Womack as a dedication to his brother bass guitarist Harry Womack Harry Hippie Single by Bobby Womackfrom the album UnderstandingA side Sweet Caroline Good Times Never Seemed So Good ReleasedDecember 1972Recorded1972StudioAmerican Studios Memphis TennesseeGenreR amp B deep soul country soulLength3 51LabelUnited ArtistsSongwriter s Jim FordProducer s Bobby WomackBobby Womack singles chronology Woman s Gotta Have It 1972 Harry Hippie 1972 Across 110th Street 1973 Contents 1 Background 2 Chart performance 3 References 4 External linksBackground editThe song was loosely based on Bobby s brother s carefree behavior and was originally recorded as a funny tribute to his brother that turned tragic when Harry Womack was killed by his girlfriend during a fight in 1974 From then on until his death Bobby Womack sung the song as a dedication to his fallen late brother 1 Womack explains the story behind the song and its aftermath Harry was the bass player and tenor for the brothers when we were the Valentinos He lived a very carefree life As a child he always said he wanted to live on an Indian reservation We used to joke about it but when we got older he was the same way He always thought I wanted the materialistic things and I said I just want to do my music My music put me into that comfortable territory He didn t want the pressure We used to laugh and joke about the song when I d sing it When he was brutally killed in my home it was by a jealous girlfriend who he d lived with for five years She fought a lot violence And in our home it was considered to be worth less than a man to fight a woman so he didn t fight back and she stabbed him to death At the time I was in Seattle doing a gig and he was going to join me when we got back Previously I had hired a new bass player because I felt it would help Harry s relationship with his spouse if he wasn t on the road And that turned out to be very sour He ended up losing his life behind it At that time Harry Hippie wasn t a joke anymore I had lost a brother I still do that song in his honor today Bobby WomackChart performance editThe song was a top 10 R amp B hit for Womack when issued as a single in 1973 reaching number eight on the chart and was Womack s second top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number 31 on the chart 2 Chart 1972 73 Peakposition US Billboard Hot 100 31 US Best Selling Soul Singles Billboard 3 8References edit The Story Behind Harry Hippie Retrieved February 29 2016 Steve Huey Bobby Womack AllMusic Retrieved February 29 2016 Whitburn Joel 2004 Top R amp B Hip Hop Singles 1942 2004 Record Research p 634 External links editRita Lorraine Harry Hippie Bobby Womack The Black History Channel February 6 2016 nbsp This 1970s single related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Harry Hippie amp oldid 1110924256, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
