(Do the) Mashed Potatoes

1960 single by Nat Kendrick and the Swans

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"(Do the) Mashed Potatoes"

Single by Nat Kendrick and the Swans
A-side| "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes (Part 1)"
B-side| "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes (Part 2)"
Released| February 1960 (1960-02)
Recorded| December 1959, Dukoff Studios, Miami, Fla.
Genre| R&B
Length|

* 1:55 (Part 1)
* 1:50 (Part 2)

Label| Dade
1804
Songwriter(s)| Dessie Rozier
Nat Kendrick and the Swans singles chronology
| "n.a."  | "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes"
(1960)  | "Dish Rag"
(1960)

|
|

"Mashed Potatoes"

Single by Steve Alaimo
from the album  Mashed Potatoes
A-side| "Mashed Potatoes (Part 1)"
B-side| "Mashed Potatoes (Part 2)"
Released| February 1962 (1962-02)
Genre| R&B
Length|

* 2:25 (Part 1)
* 2:15 (Part 2)

Label| Checker 1006
Songwriter(s)| Dessie Rozier
Steve Alaimo singles chronology
| "The Waiting's So Hard"
(1961)  | "Mashed Potatoes"
(1962)  | "My Friends"
(1962)

|
|

"(Do the) Mashed Potatoes" is a rhythm and blues instrumental. It was recorded by James Brown with his band in 1959 and released as a two-part single in 1960. For contractual reasons the recording was credited to "Nat Kendrick and the Swans".

## Circumstances of the recording

[edit]

The recording of "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes" arose out of James Brown's success in using the Mashed Potato dance as part of his stage show. Brown wanted to record a Mashed Potatoes-themed instrumental with his band in order to capitalize on the dance's popularity. However, King Records head Syd Nathan, a frequent critic of Brown's proposals, would not allow it. (The first instrumental recorded by Brown and his band, titled "Doodle Bee" and credited to Brown's tenor saxophonist J.C. Davis, had not sold well when it was released on King's sister label Federal Records.) Brown approached Henry Stone, a friend in the music business who ran the Dade Records label, about recording the piece with him. Stone, although nervous about crossing Nathan (with whom he did business), arranged for Brown to record at his Miami studio.

"(Do The) Mashed Potatoes" was recorded with Brown playing the piano and shouting the song's title. To prevent Brown's voice from being recognized, Stone overdubbed shouted vocals by Carlton "King" Coleman, a local radio DJ, onto the recording, though Brown's voice remains audible in the background. Leadership of the band was officially credited to Nat Kendrick, who was Brown's drummer at the time, while the writing was credited to "Dessie Rozier", a pseudonym for Brown. A simple twelve bar blues tune, "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes" became a Top Ten R&B hit in 1960 and fed what would eventually grow into a national dance craze. The band recorded several more singles under the Nat Kendrick & the Swans name, including "Dish Rag", "Slow Down", and "Wobble Wobble", but none was successful. Eventually made aware of Brown's outside success, Syd Nathan relented and allowed him to release future instrumentals on King, starting with the 1961 single "Hold It" b/w "The Scratch".

James Brown had a second Mashed Potatoes-themed hit with "Mashed Potatoes U.S.A." in 1962.

## Personnel

[edit]

"Nat Kendrick & The Swans":

* Carlton "King" Coleman \- lead vocal
* Alfred Corley - alto saxophone
* J.C. Davis - tenor saxophone
* James Brown - piano, vocal yelps
* Bobby Roach - guitar
* Bernard Odum \- bass
* Nat Kendrick - drums

## Charts

[edit]

Chart (1960)  | Peak
position

|

Billboard Hot 100 | 84
Billboard Hot R&B Sides | 8

Steve Alaimo version:

Chart (1962)  | Peak
position

|

Billboard Hot 100 | 74
Billboard Hot R&B Sides | ?

## Other versions

[edit]

Steve Alaimo released the song in 1962, also on album Mashed Potatoes.

The British beat group The Undertakers recorded a cover version of "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes" in 1963.

German beat group The Rattles recorded a version for their 1963 debut single A-side.

The Kingsmen covered the song on their 1964 album The Kingsmen In Person.

James Brown recorded a remake of "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes" for his 1980 album Soul Syndrome.

Surf rock group Man or Astroman released a cover of the song called "Space Potatoes" on their 1993 EP Captain Holojoy's Space Diner, with modified lyrics.

## References

[edit]

* Guralnick, P. (1986). Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom. New York: Back Bay Books. ISBN 0-452-26697-1.
* Leeds, Alan M., and Harry Weinger (1991). Star Time: Song by Song. In Star Time (pp. 46–53) [CD liner notes]. London: Polydor Records.
* Nat Kendrick & The Swans. Henry Stone Music, Inc.
* White, Cliff, and Harry Weinger (1991). Are You Ready for Star Time? In Star Time (pp. 14–44) [CD liner notes]. London: Polydor Records.
* Wolk, Douglas. (2004). Live at the Apollo. New York: Continuum Books.

## External links

[edit]

* "[Do The] Mashed Potatoes" on YouTube

* v
* t
* e

James Brown singles

Billboard charting singles (R&B and Pop)

1950s|

| 1956|

* "Please, Please, Please"

|

1958|

* "Try Me"

1959|

* "I Want You So Bad"

1960s|

| 1960|

* "I'll Go Crazy"
* "Think"
* "You've Got the Power"
* "This Old Heart"
* "The Bells"

|

1961|

* "Bewildered"
* "I Don't Mind"
* "Baby, You're Right"
* "Just You and Me, Darling"
* "Lost Someone"

1962|

* "Night Train"
* "Shout and Shimmy"
* "Mashed Potatoes U.S.A."
* "Three Hearts in a Tangle"
* "I've Got Money"

1963|

* "Like a Baby"
* "Every Beat of My Heart"
* "Prisoner of Love"
* "These Foolish Things"
* "Signed, Sealed, and Delivered"

1964|

* "Oh Baby Don't You Weep"
* "Please, Please, Please"
* "Caldonia"
* "The Things That I Used to Do"
* "Out of Sight"
* "Have Mercy Baby"

1965|

* "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"
* "Try Me"
* "I Got You (I Feel Good)"

1966|

* "Lost Someone"
* "I'll Go Crazy"
* "Ain't That a Groove"
* "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"
* "Money Won't Change You"
* "Don't Be a Drop-Out"
* "Sweet Little Baby Boy"

1967|

* "Bring It Up"
* "Kansas City"
* "Think"
* "Let Yourself Go"
* "Cold Sweat"
* "Get It Together"
* "I Can't Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)"
* "There Was a Time"

1968|

* "You've Got to Change Your Mind"
* "I Got the Feelin'"
* "Licking Stick – Licking Stick"
* "America Is My Home"
* "I Guess I'll Have to Cry, Cry, Cry"
* "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud"
* "Goodbye My Love"
* "Tit for Tat (Ain't No Taking Back)"

1969|

* "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose"
* "Soul Pride"
* "I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I'll Get It Myself)"
* "The Popcorn"
* "Mother Popcorn (You Got to Have a Mother for Me)"
* "Lowdown Popcorn"
* "World"
* "Let a Man Come In and Do the Popcorn"
* "Ain't It Funky Now"

1970s|

| 1970|

* "It's a New Day"
* "Funky Drummer"
* "Brother Rapp"
* "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine"
* "Super Bad"
* "Santa Claus Is Definitely Here to Stay"
* "Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved"

|

1971|

* "Spinning Wheel"
* "Soul Power"
* "I Cried"
* "Escape-ism"
* "Hot Pants"
* "Make It Funky"
* "I'm a Greedy Man"

1972|

* "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing"
* "King Heroin"
* "There It Is"
* "Honky Tonk"
* "Get on the Good Foot"
* "I Got a Bag of My Own"
* "What My Baby Needs Now Is a Little More Lovin'"

1973|

* "I Got Ants In My Pants (And I Want to Dance)"
* "Down and Out in New York City"
* "Think"
* "Sexy, Sexy, Sexy"
* "Stoned to the Bone"

1974|

* "The Payback"
* "My Thang"
* "Papa Don't Take No Mess"
* "Funky President (People It's Bad)"
* "Coldblooded"

1975|

* "Reality"
* "Sex Machine"
* "Hustle!!! (Dead on It)"
* "Superbad, Superslick"
* "Hot (I Need To Be Loved, Loved, Loved, Loved)"

1976|

* "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons"
* "Get Up Offa That Thing"
* "I Refuse to Lose"
* "Bodyheat"

1977|

* "Kiss in 77"
* "Give Me Some Skin"
* "If You Don't Give a Doggone About It"

1978|

* "Eyesight"
* "The Spank"
* "For Goodness Sakes, Look at Those Cakes"

1979|

* "It's Too Funky in Here"
* "Star Generation"

1980s|

| 1980|

* "Regrets"
* "Rapp Payback (Where Iz Moses)"

|

1981|

* "Stay with Me"

1983|

* "The Night Time Is the Right Time (To Be with the One That You Love)"

1984|

* "Unity"

1985|

* "Living in America"

1986|

* "Gravity"

1987|

* "How Do You Stop"

1988|

* "I'm Real"
* "Static"

1989|

* "Gimme Your Love"

1990s|

| 1991|

* "(So Tired of Standing Still We Got to) Move On"

|

1993|

* "Can't Get Any Harder"

UK-only
charting
singles|

* "Hey America" (1970)
* "Bring It On...Bring It On" (1983)
* "Froggy Mix" (1985)
* "She's the One" (1988)
* "The Payback Mix" (1988)
* "I Got You (I Feel Good) [James Brown v. Dakeyne]" (1992)
* "Funk on Ah Roll" (1999)

Notable
productions|

* "The Grunt" (1970)
* "Gimme Some More" (1971)
* "I Know You Got Soul" (1971)
* "Pass the Peas" (1972)
* "Think (About It)" (1972)
* "Doing It to Death" (1973)
* "Soul Power 74" (1973)

Other
songs|

* "(Do the) Mashed Potatoes" (1960)
* "Maybe the Last Time" (1964)
* "Old Landmark" (1980)
* "Killing Is Out, School Is In" (2001)
* "Gut Bucket" (2006)

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