The song "Mess Around" was written by Ahmet Ertegun, who co-founded and was the vice president of Atlantic Records. He used the fake name A. Nugetre, also known as "Nuggy," when writing the song. Ray Charles performed the song, and it became one of his earliest popular successes.
Origins and composition
Ertegun said his inspiration for writing "Mess Around" came from stride pianist Pete Johnson. Earlier songs from the 1930s and 1940s include similar piano parts to the tune, with one of the earliest examples being Charles "Cow Cow" Davenport's "Cow Cow Blues" from 1928. Dr. John also discussed the origin of this song in his DVD series Dr. John Teaches New Orleans Piano.
The lyrics of the song tell listeners to dance ("everybody do the Mess Around") and include other important phrases, such as "see that girl with the red dress on," which is similar to the song "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie," an early boogie-woogie classic by Pinetop Smith.
Release
The song "Mess Around" became a popular R&B hit when it was released as a single in early 1953. It was later added to Ray Charles's first album, Ray Charles, in 1957.
Cover versions
- The Animals performed the song in 1965 on their albums The Animals on Tour and Animal Tracks.
- Dr. John included the song in his 1972 collection of New Orleans classics, Dr. John's Gumbo.
- Professor Longhair performed the song on several of his albums, including Rock 'n' Roll Gumbo (1974).
- The UK new wave band Squeeze performed the song and included it as a live version on their 1980 album Argybargy deluxe edition. Jools Holland mentioned that Ray Charles was very impressed by Squeeze's version and sent the band his suit.
In popular culture
The song appeared in the 1987 American comedy movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles during a scene where Del Griffith (played by John Candy) attempts to dance to the song on the radio while driving at night on a freeway. His passenger, Neal Page (played by Steve Martin), is sleeping beside him during this moment. This scene was mimicked in the Family Guy special It's a Trap! (2011) and the movie Ted 2 (2015).
The song was also included in the 2004 movie Ray, which is about the life of musician Ray Charles.
Additionally, the song was played on the piano in the TV show Lucifer, during season one, episode nine, by characters Lucifer Morningstar and Father Frank.